{"id":928,"date":"2020-05-22T14:59:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T14:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/?p=928"},"modified":"2020-05-22T18:31:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T18:31:57","slug":"going-the-extra-mile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/other-news\/2020\/05\/22\/going-the-extra-mile\/928\/","title":{"rendered":"Going the Extra Mile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Big G Express driver Tim Chelette rolling out his fifth annual motorcycle ride through Tennessee next weekend to benefit St. Jude\u2019s Children\u2019s Research Hospital<\/em>
 
By Al Muskewitz<\/strong>
 
Every day of the year truck drivers across the country go the extra mile for their customers to bring the goods American families need. Next week, on their off time, they\u2019ll be putting in some more leisurely miles for the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Award-winning Big G Express driver Tim Chelette is putting together his fifth annual motorcycle ride to benefit St. Jude\u2019s Children\u2019s Research Hospital May 30.
 
And not just for truck drivers, although more than third of the participants are truckers, but any motorcycle rider with a big heart and sense of adventure who can get to Middle Tennessee for what has become one of Big G Express\u2019 most anticipated events of the year.
 
\u201cIt\u2019s been great,\u201d Chelette said from a rest area in Northwest Indiana on his way to a delivery outside Chicago. \u201cI think truckers relate to motorcycles. We\u2019re in this truck all week long \u2013 some people, two and three weeks long \u2013 and we\u2019re constantly moving, so when we get out we can\u2019t stay home and stay still. I think that\u2019s why people get on the motorcycle \u2013 it\u2019s just therapy. It\u2019s relaxing; very fun, very enjoyable.
 
\u201cAs far as the donating, children just speak to your heart. They\u2019re just pure. It really brings a bond. There\u2019s still a lot of people who really enjoy giving and showing their appreciation. I\u2019m very blessed because I\u2019ve never had to use St. Jude\u2019s, but I know people who have and I know the impact it made in their lives because it was all donated, and it\u2019s people like myself and you who make that difference.\u201d
 
This year\u2019s ride is a familiar 110-mile run through winding country roads of Middle Tennessee, starting at the Big G Express terminal in Mt. Juliet and ending at Jim Oliver\u2019s Smokehouse Restaurant in Monteagle. They could have gone straight down I-24 for a shorter, faster run, but what fun would that have been. The convoy will be brought out by Wilson County officers, escorted in other areas of the trip by Rutherford County officers, and escorted by local LEOs through Woodbury, the only town the riders will encounter on the run. They expect to arrive at their destination around 12:30 p.m. local time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tim Chelette’s Big G Express <\/strong>
motorcycle<\/strong> ride has raised $31,000 <\/strong>
for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital <\/strong>
its first four years.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chelette will be leading the pack on his go-to Honda Gold Wing.
 
\u201cI give them some nice country mountain views plus we\u2019ve got a couple of switchbacks and we just take our time,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the third year doing the same route and I have gotten a lot of great feedback from it.\u201d
 
The ride has raised $31,000 the first four years. Last year\u2019s ride drew 85 bikes from several states and raised a record $14,500. The coronavirus pandemic is expected to impact this year\u2019s final number and Chelette understands that. Still, he\u2019s hoping to raise $10,000. He\u2019s hopeful of a large turnout given the fact everyone\u2019s been stuck inside these last six weeks.
 
\u201cIf I can do that, I\u2019d be very happy with the year we\u2019ve had,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think the people are going to show up from North, South, East and West because people are ready to get out. They\u2019re ready to, as I always like to say, get their knees in the breeze.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here are two of the auction items <\/strong>
available at the Big G Express <\/strong>
Motorcycle Ride for St. Jude’s, <\/strong>
a hand-sewn quilt and<\/strong>
a handcrafted knife.<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Non-riders can also participate and Chelette encourages them to show up at the Smokehouse, where the real action takes place. Among the items up for auction are a hand-sewn patriotic quilt by Chelette\u2019s sister, Dee Jeansonne; a handcrafted knife by Kentucky knifesmith Zachary Staples; and, for the second year in a row, a wind chime that was one of the more popular items a year ago.
 
For more information on the ride or to donate auctionable items contact Chelette at timchelette@yahoo.com<\/a>or Deanna Phelps at 931-684-9140 ext. 3550 or communications@biggeexpress.com<\/a>.
 
\u201cFive years ago I went to Big G and threw out the idea about doing a St. Jude\u2019s ride and they jumped right on board with me,\u201d Chelette said. \u201cThey\u2019ve donated. They\u2019ve helped with different things. It\u2019s been great what they\u2019ve done. They jumped on the horse with me and we\u2019ve been riding it ever since.\u201d
 
Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wrightmediacorp.com<\/a><\/em>
 
Click here for more information on Big G Express<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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