People ask me how they can become part of the JRB Memorial Fund.   For several months I have avoided answering the question until we got through the first year annual meeting.   The Board of Directors decided last September to stop adding people until after Louisville so that we could organize and get all the existing people working together.

Now we are ready we think to expand the community of truckers and friends of truckers who make up the organization. If you want to dedicate a significant part of your life to giving others a hand up when they stumble, we have need of your talents.  We need people to train with our existing investigators who research every claim for assistance and also offer advice to those who come to us for assistance because we do not duplicate services people can find elsewhere. We need people who can listen in to meetings ( and at our meetings everyone takes part) and take notes of what is said to create minutes. We have blank forms to help with that, but the person taking notes can certainly help us to have written minutes of our meetings via email.

We need people to help create and participate in fund raising ideas because without funds we are very limited in what we can do to help those who need our help. We need people who have the time and talents to help upgrade and maintain this very website.  We need people who will spread the word of both our existence and our needs and abilities.

If you think you might be interested, we would like you to contact us via the 513 312 7041 telephone number so that one of our associates can walk you through the application process, explain better to you what you are thinking of joining, and help you become one of our friends.

Our beginnings were as many organizations the actions of individuals. Some driver would become needy, and among the ATN Fans drivers would talk together and pool resources to help that driver.

In small groups we shared concerns, and we shared some efforts. Many of us did what we did quietly through friends in the belief that the recipient should not know where the aid was coming from. “Thank You” was not something most of us wanted to hear. Some of the recipients later became benefactors to others because, among the ATN Fans as among the trucking community in general, the belief in “pay me forward” rather than “pay me back” is strong. Some people did “pay back” when they were helped, those funds always seemed to find a new need to be applied to.

Over time it was only natural that small groups started discussing formalizing an organization to continue this effort. The shock we all experienced when one of the hosts of the radio show our group seemed to revolve around experienced the crushing loss in his personal life that our efforts could not ameliorate, gave some of us the spark that galvanized us into action at last.

Jacob Boulanger and his father Eric ( Bubba Bo) and Steven Sommers and his father Steve are for many of the ATN listeners an extended family. It seemed only fitting that we should guarantee that our trucking community efforts should reflect our acknowledgment of that relationship. Steven we agree to uplift in all his endeavors, and as a group we rejoice in his accomplishments. Jacob however we will with our own efforts try to honor because his life was cut short.

This memorial fund is the continuation of our community building that for most of us began with our participation in, and enjoyment of, the ATN show. Our hope is to also spread the community beyond the ATN audience to the entire trucking community. It is after all the entire trucking community we belong to that shares the beliefs that we put into practice here. Our roots as an organization are after all only the place to gain nourishment for the living plant we are bringing to life here. A fund by truckers for use helping truckers.