Women in Trucking Australia’s National Female Truckie’s Day and TOOTS Awards celebrations are set down for Saturday July 6 in Adelaide’s beautiful Victoria Park.
The day will dawn early as WiTA joins Camp Quality to host the organisation’s first ever Adelaide Convoy raising funds to support children and families living with a cancer diagnosis.
In a history making moment, the largest ever group of female drivers in an Aussie convoy will join their male colleagues to the delight of thousands of south Aussie kids along the 36km route around Adelaide and Port Adelaide, starting and finishing at Victoria Park.
According to every single big-hearted truckie who’s ever joined a convoy – the looks on the kids’ faces as they watch polished truck after polished truck (air horns blasting) rumble by – is an experience that softens even the toughest hearts.
Not forgetting the Camp Quality children, a mini-bus will also join the convoy for little ones not well enough to ride shotgun in the trucks.
A free family festival with food vans, kids’ rides, face painting, roving entertainment and live music will commence at 10am with female truckies available to chat to women interested in discussing trucking careers.
A spectacular show and shine will then be followed by Camp Quality’s fundraising awards ceremony.
At 12.30pm guests will join WiTA for the annual TOOTS Awards lunch in the warmth of the gorgeous heritage listed Victoria Park Social Club to celebrate and showcase the diversity and tenacity of the nation’s female heavy vehicle drivers.
Here – in a facilitated panel discussion – guests will have the opportunity to meet, hear and enjoy a selection of stories from four inspirational female drivers – each working in specialised fields including heavy haulage, dangerous goods, livestock and remote area water drilling.
Danyelle, Natalie, Kattie and Chloe will share the ups and downs of life as female truckies, strategies for taking care of female health and wellbeing on the road, as well as sharing tips and advice for women considering trucking careers and employers interested in learning about the considerable benefits women bring to the workplace.
Toots Holzheimer’s daughter – author Donna Vawdrey – will pay homage to her legendary mum who drove her truck across FNQ from Cape York to Cairns and Weipa on dirt tracks through mosquito infested, humid rainforests at a time when most freight came via plane or barge.
Over lunch, Donna (who penned ‘Toots – Woman in a Man’s World’) will share incredible stories from her mum’s trucking career that spanned four decades from the 1960s – stories from a time when power steering, air-con, tarred roads and forklifts were the stuff of dreams.
Three prestigious and highly anticipated TOOTS Award winners will then be announced before guests are invited to network over coffee or a few drinks.
Event sponsorship and product display opportunities are available with details soon to be announced via the Women in Trucking website, wita.com.au.
Convoy truck registrations can be organised through the Camp Quality Adelaide Convoy fundraiser website, convoy.org.au.
Places are limited so get in early to join in the celebrations.
- Lyndal Denny is the CEO of Women in Transport Australia.