The students in Mrs. Garland's third grade class greeted Santa Clause as he stepped out of a Blue Kenworth W900. This Santa didn't have a white beard or red suit, but he brought gifts for every one of the students in the Simpsonville, Kentucky class. Each child received a game or toy, such as Legos, Sorry, Yatzhee, or a video, compliments of Doug Siefkes, of the Siefkes Group.

Kevin Bradford, is an owner-operator from North Easton, Maine, and has been corresponding with Mrs. Garland's third graders through the TruckerBuddy program. When asked if he would be willing to deliver presents to his class last December, he jumped at the chance. The gifts were sent to the A. Arnold & Sons terminal in Louisville, Kentucky where Kevin is leased to the interstate carrier. Kevin picked up the presents to deliver to his class, along with his "Elves" Rod Russell and Rudy Miller, both Vice Presidents of the corporation.

Since the gifts did not have names on them, the children picked numbers to determine the order they could choose a present. There were 16 gifts, and the girl who picked number 16 was disappointed, until she found out that she got to pick any one of the items since she was last. All of the children enjoyed their toys and games, but Kevin insists that he, "probably had more fun than the kids did."

Mrs. Garland was thrilled with Mr. Siefkes‚ generosity in donating the toys for her students. She is excited to have Kevin as a Trucker Buddy for her class, as "he has been terrific about mailing postcards, and we have been lucky enough to have him come visit the class."

Kevin's class in Simpsonville is one of almost 5,000 classes in the Trucker Buddy program. Each month more than 100,000 students across North America learn math, writing and geography skills from a professional driver who shares his experiences with them. All it takes is for drivers to donate a few minutes of their time each week by corresponding with a class through the program.

Without the generous support of Gold Level sponsors such as Caterpillar and OOIDA, in addition to the support of AT&T, Truckload Carriers Assn., Meritor Automotive and the Wal-mart Foundation, the nonprofit program would not exist. To be a contributor or for more information about Trucker Buddy, call 1-800-MY BUDDY or visit their website at http://www.truckerbuddy.org.