Now that we've all had a chance to finally sleep since the weekend, let me tell you a little bit about my first experience with the Great American Truck Show.  Yes my first. Even though my involvement was fairly high, though not as much as others, like Tom Kyrk... Tom are you even alive out there?  For my first time around with this truck show there was a lot going on.



Thanks to Tom and his blog, Road Tested Living, I recived my first ever Press Pass which allowed me to see a little of the behind the scenes of the show.  The all- powerful press pass enabled entrance into the super secretive club room known as the "Press Room".  It even granted me early entrance to the showroom floor, and pretty much no questions asked access to almost anywhere I wanted to go, within reason, during the entire truck show.  I'm not one of those take advantage of a situation kind of person, so I didn't test the boundaries.  The media access and catered goodies in the press room were a special treat to escape to throughout the busy day, especially for someone with tired little toesies and blood sugar that was practically flopping on the floor.

Press room goodies.

GATS was smaller than MATS in over all square footage, but to me it felt like there was more power for the punch.  The space didn't feel crowded, but rather proper use of the space for the displays.  There were a few dead zones; perhaps there weren't enough signed up to fill the space this year. It was nice, however, not to have to run from building to building.


The large hanging numbers over head were easy to see and helpful in finding key areas and displays inside the convention center. The addition of the talent search, Truck Tank, and the Health Pavilion gave GATS an air of a true "EVENT" and not just a show where you idly walk around.  There were some neat things  this time around too if you were only there for the "trucker treating" from the vendors.

Of course, from a Florida girl, the John Anderson concert completely rocked!  We all knew he was going to close with it, but when the first notes of "Seminole Wind" started I got chills.  It is an anthem for anyone born and raised in Florida that will go straight to your heart!

Backstage with John Anderson

Watching the show from backstage.

Honestly, I didn't get to see as much of the show as I would have liked.  Allen and I had our own itinerary to stick to.  More of that will show up in a day or so in another blog, as will information about the overall rundown on the Health Pavillion and mammograms.  As a general overall assessment on the Great GATS by me, Sierra Sugar, I think it went well.  Looking forward to what Randall Reilly does to improve on this success next year.

~Sierra Sugar