Trucker Buddy News

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Beth Eder personifies Trucker Buddy ideal

Third graders at Delhi Elementary School in Delhi, IA have a partner in education and a great role model, thanks to the volunteer efforts of professional truck driver Beth Eder, who has been named the June 2007 ACS MultiMedia Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month.
     “Beth has been nothing short of terrific. I consider her to be a true partner in education,” says teacher Susanne Reiter, who’s been matched with Eder for more than six years. “Through correspondence with our Trucker Buddy Beth, the students get meaningful practice in writing friendly letters, feeling someone truly cares about them and an understanding of the trucking industry. Because Beth is a woman driver, she is a great role model for the little girls.
     “Beth is incredibly prolific with correspondence,” Reiter continues. “My students receive postcards from all over the country on a regular basis. We have a big wall map dedicated to tracking Beth’s travels. Whenever we receive a postcard from a state, the students vie for the chance to read the postcard and locate the state and attach the postcard to the matching state.”
     To supplement the geography lessons, Eder sends items from around the United States that represent the different parts of the country—tumbleweed from Texas, cotton from Alabama, cactus seeds from Arizona and chopsticks from Chinatown in San Francisco. “The geography really comes in handy in social studies,” writes student Jazz in nominating Eder for Driver of the Month.
     “Another fun thing Beth does is to take photos of herself and her truck next to ‘big’ things. This might include the world’s biggest coffeepot or the biggest statue of something,” Reiter says.
     Eder also reads to the students by recording herself reading a children’s book. She sends the tapes along with the book so the children can hear her personally reading to them.
     Eder is an owner-operator leased to Marten Transport, and she makes her home in Park Falls, WI.
     Each Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month receives a personalized jacket, along with a check for $300 to spend on the class and $200 in Trucker Buddy merchandise, compliments of program sponsor ACS Multi-Media Advertising. Drivers and teachers can find out more about the program by going online to www.truckerbuddy.org or calling 1-800-MY-BUDDY.

Photo caption:
Trucker Buddy Beth Eder