Truck and motorcycle show benefits county Special Olympics athletes

By STACY MILLBERG - Staff Writer - smillberg@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

April 27, 2008 01:36 am

— AUSTINBURG TOWNSHIP — It all started many years ago at the Ashtabula County Fair truck show as a way to help out the Ashtabula County Special Olympics athletes.
Today, Truckers Helping Hands has grown, organizing and participating in more events to benefit the Ashtabula County Special Olympics athletes. Saturday, the group added another notch in its belt as it hosted its first truck and motorcycle show.
The event featured 13 semitrailer trucks and 12 motorcycles as well as a 50/50 raffle, bake sale, auction and cruise. The group had a good turn out for the inaugural event, said Scott Carlson, who helped organize the event with the help of Doug Chevalier and Dave Cutlip.
“A lot of people have been coming and going,” Carlson said. “There have been a lot of people from the truck stop.”
The event was held at Speedco, behind Pilot truck stop. Speedco also served as the event sponsor. Members of the Gaurdian’s motorcycle group and Concerned Motorcycle Riders of Ohio Region 13 were on site as well.
Truckers Helping Hands has been in existence for the past 14 years. The group started small by having T-shirt raffles and things just exploded from there, Carlson said.
The group plans to make the truck and motorcycle show an annual event. Proceeds from Saturday’s event benefit the county Special Olympics athletes. Chevalier said the group did not have a goal to reach from the event.
“Whatever we can make,” he said. “It’s more or less to get the community involved in getting the Special Olympics more known.”