Trucker Buddy International on Thursday, June 26, announced its new executive director, Melissa Randol, at the Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas, Nev. Trucker Buddy is dedicated to helping educate schoolchildren by uniting professional drivers with individual classrooms.
“Melissa brings an impressive skill set that really enhances our mission,” says Mark Taylor, a Wal-Mart Stores driver who serves as Trucker Buddy president.
Randol comes to the job from the Missouri School Boards Association, where she served as general counsel and associate executive director of issues management, as well as chief executive officer of Future Builders, a subsidiary organization of MSBA. She has participated in events with the American Trucking Associations, the Truckload Carriers Association and the Missouri Motor Carrier Association.
“There’re so many ways this program can enhance educational opportunities for kids,” Randol says. In typical matches, drivers share news about their travels with their class. Once a month, students write letters to their drivers.
Taylor says Trucker Buddy has about 3,000 matches between drivers and classrooms. For the first time in the history of the program, which was founded in 1992, “We now have more drivers than matches,” he says.
