Expedite Expo / Information "Overload" / Truck Updates

This last weekend, Judy and I attended the Expediters Online Expedite Expo in Wilmington, OH. This is basically a truck show / convention dedicated solely to the Expedite Trucking segment of the trucking industry.

We drove down early on Thursday afternoon, and stayed in a motel in Wilmington, about 7 miles or so from the Expo site. To say it was hot, would have been a gross understatement! We about melted walking around Wilmington!

We were fortunate enough to spend a good portion of Thursday evening with a couple that has been in expediting for several years. They were able to answer a great many of the questions we have about trucking in general, and about our chosen carrier, FedEx Custom Critical. We left feeling much more confident than we were beforehand, although we know we have a tremendous amount yet to learn.

We arrived at the Expo Friday morning around 8:00am. The couple from Thursday night were part of a group that had organized an early morning "P.J. Walk." This event is designed to promote healthy driver habits (exercise, good nutrition and good sleep habits.) Judy decided to participate in the aprox. mile and a half walk. I on the other hand opted out, and headed inside to pick up our show materials.

The rest of the 2 days were filled with visiting with other drivers, seeing what the vendors had to offer, attending workshops and generally having a good time! We even got to see John Ratzenberger, better known as "Cliff" from Cheers! His father was a truck driver, and he is a big supporter of the trucking industry.

We spent about three hours on Friday with a couple that drive a truck very similar to the one we have been assigned. They drive an Expediter Services truck and are leased on with FedEx CC. They were very gracious and shared a great deal about the truck, FedEx and trucking in general. By the end of the Expo, our heads and brains were certainly filled to the brim! Talk about information overload!

One of the most exciting things that happened was that we were able to find out more information about the actual truck we will be driving. We will be in unit# DR4393. We were very thankful to our recruiter at FedEx, who happened to be in attendance at the show, for getting us this information. We may be able to pick up the truck even earlier than we originally expected. That would be great for us, as it would allow us additional time to get the truck ready before heading out to orientation.

Can't wait!