That Time Mack Trucks Threw Me a Birthday Party

One Spring day this year, an email from Kim Pupillo, public relations director at Mack Trucks hit my inbox. It was an invitation to attend the company’s media drive of the new Mack Pioneer and Anthem in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Reading the email, I glanced at the date and immediately frowned.

The event was on my birthday. And not just any old birthday. My 60th birthday.

And my first thought was probably the same one you’d have: I really don’t want to spend my birthday working.

But this was an invitation from Kim. We both entered the trucking industry back in 1995, and over the past three decades she’s become one of the most respected media professionals in North American trucking.

It wouldn’t do to let her down.

So, there was that.

Then I realized I’d probably be working either way.

If I stayed home, I’d be holding down the fort while HDT Editor Deborah Lockridge attended the event. Besides, my birthday fell on a Tuesday — not exactly prime time for a big celebration.

Not that it matters much anymore. My birthdays these days generally consist of a nice dinner, maybe a piece of cake, and calling it a day.

Then another thought crossed my mind.

Many of my closest friends in the trucking industry would be there.

Hell, many of my closest friends, period, would be there.

If you’re in the trucking industry, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve observed this more times than I can count at TMC and other industry events: Genuine, long-term, close friendships among fleet operators who are competitors.

And the editors in this industry are the same way.

I first noticed this among the older editors when I was rookie scribe. They were competitors – but also genuine friends. Guys like Rolf Lockwood, Steve Sturgess,Jim Mele, Tom Berg and Jim Park traveled the world together and helped one another out. They enjoyed a camaraderie that was truly remarkable.

But most importantly, they were welcoming and generous to us younger editors coming into the industry with their friendship and sharing their knowledge and perspectives with us new kids: Invaluable knowledge that helped me to grow and become a much better journalist as years went by.

And that pattern of respect and friendship still lives on. Today I count men and women with whom I am technically a competitor as some of my closest friends.

And those friendships, and the bonds that form between the older generations and the new editors coming into the industry are unique to this industry. And an incredible gift all of their own – birthday notwithstanding.

That’s one of the things that has always made trucking different: Friendships that span companies, publications, and even countries. The veterans take the newcomers under their wing, and before long the newcomers become the veterans themselves. That’s a tradition worth protecting. And one that I’m both proud and honored to be a part of.

So when I learned that James Menzies and Steve Bouchard with Truck News, Jason Cannon with CCJ, FleetOwner’s Josh Fisher and Michael Freeze with Transport Topics were all attending, my mind was pretty much made up on the spot. And the fact that two of the industry’s Grand Old Men, Tom Berg and Jim Park, would be attending, was simply icing on the cake.

There would be some other friends missing, of course. We don’t all always get assigned to take the same trips. That’s just how it goes. But that was a solid a bunch as I could wish for to help me celebrate 60 years on the planet.

More Than a Press Trip

The next step was telling Kim the event happened to fall on my birthday.

Between my friends and social media, there was no way she wasn’t eventually going to find out anyway. And if she somehow discovered it that morning instead?

Well… let’s just say I’d have been in trouble.

After that, I immediately started second-guessing myself. Because that’s what I do.

Did I really want to spend my birthday working…?

Then it hit me.

How many people get to have an American icon throw them a birthday party?

Mack Trucks isn’t just another truck manufacturer. For 125 years, it has helped shape the American trucking industry. Long before aerodynamic sleepers, digital dashboards, and over-the-air software updates, Mack was building trucks that helped define what a heavy-duty truck would become. Its history is woven into the history of trucking itself.

This is a company that is literally known in every country around the world. This is a company that has developed products and a reputation of such magnitude that it has entered into the English vernacular. If you say, “That thing’s built like a Mack Truck,” or, “He hit me like a Mack Truck” anywhere in the world, people know exactly what company you’re talking about.

I mean… Come on. Having a legendary company like Mack host your birthday is something that doesn’t happen every day.

When the appointed day arrived, things couldn’t have gone better.

We spent the morning putting the new Mack Pioneer through its paces on Pennsylvania roads. That was followed by track time behind the wheel of the new Mack Anthem. And the day finished with a tour of the Mack Trucks Historical Museum.

I mean – It wasn’t quite as good a birthday as the one in 1971 when I got the G.I. Joe Desert Patrol Adventure playset. But for someone who’s spent most of his professional life writing about trucks, it was a pretty fantastic birthday.

But the evening is what I’ll remember most.

Kim and her team, of course, made sure every detail was taken care of. There was a wonderful dinner, plenty of laughter, more than a few surprises, and enough birthday wishes to make turning 60 seem a little less intimidating.

What struck me most, though, wasn’t the cake or the gifts.

It was looking around the room.

Editors from competing publications. OEM representatives. Communications professionals. Longtime friends.

On paper, many of us are competitors.

In reality, we’ve spent decades traveling together, covering truck launches together, arguing over technology, sharing ideas, swapping stories, and ending the day around the same dinner table.

That’s something I’ve always loved about this industry.

The generation before us showed us that fierce competition and genuine friendship aren’t mutually exclusive.

Somewhere along the way, our generation inherited that tradition.

And somewhere along the way, my friends and I became the veterans.