4 State Truck’s 2018 Guilty By Association Truck Show and Charity Fundraiser a Record-Breaking Success

JOPLIN, MO… 4 State Trucks, home of the Chrome Shop Mafia, is pleased to announce that its recent annual Guilty By Association Truck Show (GBATS) and charity event, held September 27-29, 2018 at their Joplin headquarters, was a record-breaking success. With origins 10 years ago as a free customer appreciation event, the show has grown enormously, attracting 13,000 attendees this year and raising over $180,000 for the Special Olympics and $6,000 for Autism Awareness.

This year’s show featured 693 participating trucks and a number of popular activities, including a L J Jenkins Bull Riding Tour, Big Rig Burnouts, a motorcycle jump over a complete truck and trailer, a full blown truck and tractor pull, dirt diesel drag racing, a kids pedal-pull, a fundraising dunk tank, and a fireworks display Friday night.

The main event was the Special Olympics fundraiser: the World’s Largest Convoy consisting of 522 trucks which rolled into downtown Joplin late Saturday afternoon to showcase a truck light show, street party, and a concert performed by Confederate Railroad. The Joplin Visitors Bureau along with local merchants enthusiastically co-hosted the downtown festivities. Fantastic weather and a spirit of good fun permeated the entire event which is the largest of the year in Joplin.

4 State Trucks Co-Owner, Bryan Martin exclaimed, “It’s mind-boggling to think that this all started nine years ago, as a one-day customer appreciation party hosting 38 trucks—and now it has grown to this. It’s so flattering and humbling to know so many truckers and fans of trucking take their vacations and time off work to travel to Joplin and enjoy the weekend with us. Brice and I have strived to keep the event fun, spontaneous, and family-friendly. We couldn’t be more pleased with the turnout!”

Owner Operators Independent Drivers’ Association (OOIDA) of Grain Valley, Missouri, celebrating 45 years of business this year, was the premier sponsor of this year’s GBATS event. They not only helped support and promote the event thru their many media outlets, but also provided many volunteers on site to assist with the activities.

“It takes our whole crew at 4 State Trucks, plus a bunch of great sponsors and volunteers to make the show the success it is,” explained Co-Owner, Brice Martin. “Many sponsors from the first GBATS event back in 2009 are still here supporting the event today. We’ve been blessed to have thousands of loyal customers, friends, and local residents look forward to the family-friendly show, and enjoy a fun-filled, low cost, exciting event. Clearly, Joplin is a trucking friendly town,” he exclaimed proudly.

Looking forward, the GBATS event format will change from an annual to a bi-annual basis. The next show is scheduled for September 2020 to allow time to plan for an even bigger and better show, with additional accommodation for both big rig and auto parking. Learn more at www.chromeshopmafia.com.

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