Angie Banning, a teacher with Longmont Estates Elementary in Colorado, and Steen Gronlund, who drives for Mile High Foods, have been Teacher and Trucker Buddy for more than 10 years. They started when Steen wanted her to take the class because he had a friend whose child was in elementary school. He wanted the young student to see what the trucking industry was all about. After the first year, he wanted to continue the program with Mrs. Banning.
Steen has enjoyed being a Trucker Buddy for Mrs. Banning’s classes, “I see the kids several times during the year. I took Angie and the kids to the National Western Stock Show in Denver many years ago. She was so excited about it that she went back to the school and told everybody about it so now it has become an annual event,” he says. “All four of the fourth grade classes go, which requires us to have one adult for every four kids so it averages 100 kids and 25 adults in 2 school buses. The National Western Stock Show grants us free admission to the grounds.”
Steen says that at the end of the school year, he brings his truck to the school so Mrs. Banning can allow the kids to get in the truck learn about how a truck runs. After touring the truck, Steen and the children have hamburgers and French fries from McDonalds, followed by taking pictures. Every child receives a picture of the truck with the entire class.
On May 26, 2006, Steen became a citizen of the United States and Mrs. Banning had every child write a little poem about becoming a citizen. The lines in the poem were red, white and blue. She also helped the students make a quilt for Steen as each child made a square and Mrs. Banning sewed it all together.
Mrs. Banning and her husband Bob attended the Colorado Motor Carriers Association awards banquet where Steen received driver of the month for July 2001, when he received the award the CMCA also told everyone about Mrs. Banning being his Trucker Buddy Teacher and she was recognized at the banquet.
Steen and his Safety Manager from Mile High are planning a trip to visit the school and have decided to treat them to hamburgers but this time it’ll be a cookout! Of course they will have to go through a guided tour of his truck and listen to a safety message that Trucker Buddies give to classrooms across the country.
Angie Banning Announcement on the TBI Website with Pictures
Trucker Buddy International, an independent, non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, often called the number one trucking image campaign in North America, has helped educate schoolchildren and introduce educators to the trucking industry. This gives them the world through the eyes of a professional truck driver. The Trucker Buddy program helps to educate and mentor schoolchildren via a pen pal relationship between professional truck drivers and children in grades K-8 as supervised by their teachers.
After an extensive screening process, the professional truck drivers are matched with a class and as directed by the teacher, drivers share news about their travels with their class. Students write letters and send pictures to their drivers. Students' skills in reading, writing, geography, mathematics, social studies, and history are enhanced and learning is made fun.
Since 1992, Trucker Buddy International has helped educate over a million schoolchildren and introduced them to caring, compassionate men and women, professional truck drivers. The on-going success of the program is due to driver volunteers, participating teachers and the contributions of sponsors. There is no cost to the drivers or teachers to participate in the program. The Trucker Buddy of the Month is sponsored by Daimler Truck Products and includes, Freightliner Trucks, Western Star Trucks and Detroit Diesel Engines. The Trucker Buddy program is funded entirely by sponsorships and donations.
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