The Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show is an annual celebration of the trucking industry held each September in St. Ignace, MI. This year marked the 30th year of honoring Richard “Dick” Crane, a passionate trucking industry advocate and pioneer in professional driver education, the event brings together professional drivers, trucking companies, families, and enthusiasts from across North America. This year, from Sept. 17-19 approximately 200 working trucks, customized show trucks, and classic big rigs lined the streets of downtown St. Ignace to showcase the pride and professionalism of the trucking community. The weekend featured truck displays, competitions, live entertainment, vendors, and opportunities for drivers to connect with the public.
The WITney® Educational Trailer was part of this event. Desiree “Desi” Robbins, a Professional Driver with Walmart and member of the WIT Image Team Class of 2026, along with Jenny Fall, WIT’s Director of Driver Engagement, were responsible to get WITney® to the venue and engage with the public attending. This is their story.
Desi Robbins and Jenny Fall deliver the WITney® Educational Trailer to the Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show to educate the public about career opportunities for women in trucking.
We were in Perrysburg to attend a Driver Appreciation event at the Petro Shopping Center®, where we enjoyed some great food prepared by TravelCenters of America head chef and opened WITney® for people to walk through. After the event, I went to start my clock and do my pre‑trip — only to find a flat tire on my drives. The shop told us it would be about 20 minutes. Instead, we waited three hours just to get pulled in, then another hour and a half before they told us they didn’t have the right tire size. Eventually, they located a steer tire at a sister shop three miles away. By the time we finally rolled out, six hours had passed.
It was Jenny’s first breakdown experience, and she struggled with the waiting — that helpless feeling of sitting around with nothing to do. It’s a part of trucking on the road you don’t really understand until you’ve lived it.
“It was definitely eye opening to understand that the waiting around is not abnormal, kudos to Desi for her patience and kindness to the techs and the shop,” Jenny shared.
We finally hit the road toward St. Ignace, MI. Jenny tried to stay awake, but once we were moving, she hit the wall – I pulled over to the side so she could climb into the bunk and slept the rest of the way. We reached the hotel just after 4 o’clock in the morning, grateful to find one open spot at the tiny truck stop next door. Because of the breakdown delay, I couldn’t start my clock until 2 o’clock the following day, even though the staging was supposed to begin at noon. Thankfully, the truck show organizers were incredibly flexible and helpful, and were able to work with us.
After navigating road closures and detouring through town, we staged near the airport with the other trucks. Once we were guided to our parking spot, everything fell into place. We were parked dead center between the rows, right beside the doors to the main craft fair arena. The Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show had 226 trucks, and the whole town was alive with energy. Jenny and I walked everywhere — including a 1.8‑mile trek back to the hotel where I ordered shrimp the size of my hand.
It required a lot of work to set up 200-plus trucks to fill downtown St. Ignace — along with food trucks, vendors, and live music stages.
The next morning, we walked nearly two miles back to the show and opened WITney®. At least 150 people came through, and it was amazing to see men encouraging their wives, daughters, and friends to check out the trailer and learn about opportunities for women in trucking. You can’t go to a show like that and not get some fair food – so at one point, I ordered cheese fries and they handed me an actual bucket of them.
That night, we joined the Parade of Lights across the Mackinac Bridge with roughly 250 trucks. Air horns echoed for miles; people lined up on the roads, the highway on and off ramps - and the joy was contagious. Trucks “talked” to each other with nothing but horns, and I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time.
A highlight of the event was the spectacular Parade of Lights, involving illuminated trucks crossing the iconic Mackinac Bridge, to create a memorable tribute people in the trucking industry.
The next morning, we headed back toward Ohio so I could drop Jenny off on my way home. Thankfully, no more flat tires — just smooth driving and time to reflect. It was an amazing trip, full of people we met, memories we made, and moments that reminded me why I love what I do — the community, the pride, the stories, and the miles that turn into memories. Even with the breakdowns, the waiting, and the exhaustion, it was absolutely something I’d do again.
Companies interested in hosting the WITney® Education Trailer can contact Jenny Fall.
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