the last word

DaimlerChrysler Services is donating a new 2006-model Freightliner Business Class M2 equipped with an 18-ft. reefer body to Forgotten Harvest, formed in 1990 to “rescue” surplus prepared and perishable food from grocery stores, fruit and vegetable markets, restaurants, caterers, dairies, farmers, wholesale food distributors, and other approved sources and deliver it free of charge to emergency food providers in the Metro Detroit area.

DaimlerChrysler AG, aided by its Truck Finance division and a Freightliner dealership in Mount Clemens, MI, helped get the donation rolling. “This new truck will help ensure that more than 6-million lbs. of food are provided annually to people in need,” said Susan Goodell, executive director of Forgotten Harvest.

“It has been a global wakeup call to witness the ongoing relief efforts for the Gulf Coast and realize how universal the lack of investment in planning and infrastructure is, especially in areas that are prone to recurring natural disasters.”
— Lynn Fritz, director general, Fritz
Institute, San Francisco, CA.

Thanks to employee donations and a company match, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has donated more than $36,500 for projects to aid in the relief efforts for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Spurred on by an initial corporate donation of $10,000, Bendix employees rallied and in just two weeks, contributed nearly $13,500 to the American Red Cross. Bendix then matched the employee contributions dollar-for-dollar.

On a scale of one to 10, winning BP Lubricants' “Big Honkin' Truck Makeover” contest ranks a “Twelve,” says Jeff Fields as he and his wife, Jackie, receive the top prize — a $50,000 top-to-bottom “makeover” for Field's ‘79 Peterbilt cabover.

An owner-operator out of Tully, NY, Fields says he “grew up with trucking in my blood and my son, Jeffrey, has the same dream.” As for the truck headed for fixing-up, he says “We bought this old Pete three years ago with the intention of fixing her up together. She runs strong, but we just haven't had the money or the time to give her everything she needs. She's a classic and just needs some life breathed into her.” He expects to finish “restyling” the truck by December.

The two runners-up in the contest didn't walk away empty-handed, either. Robert Jones of Lithia Springs, GA, won a trip for two to the 2005 ACDelco National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals in Las Vegas, while Ed Godfrey of Dallas, TX, won a portable DVD/CD/MP3 player and a selection of DVDs.

Ah, the vagaries of celebrity. One minute a star, the next a stagehand. You may have missed its screen debut because the movie this International 9900 played a supporting role in-“The Dukes of Hazzard”-blew out of theaters this year faster than “The General Lee” heading for the county line. But besides starring in a cinematic chase scene, the long-hooded beauty made the scene in Hollywood — serving as the stage for Willie Nelson's concert at the film's premier.