MONCTON, N.B. – More than 12,000 visitors enjoyed a piece of East Coast hospitality at the Atlantic Truck Show in June. The bi-annual event, owned by the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA) and managed by Master Promotions, was held at the Moncton Coliseum June 8-9.

APTA executive director Peter Nelson says the show is a major event for the association and a great opportunity to introduce 2008 model trucks to Atlantic Canada on a wide scale. He also said that the show was able to generate a lot of interest in the APTA, noting that several exhibitors joined the association at the show.

The show kicked off with an APTA-sponsored breakfast Friday morning, when more than 100 people gathered to hear a presentation by Barb Fry, a business owner and adult educator. Fry’s presentation, entitled ‘Shifting Gears,’ focused on major generational challenges in the workplace as well as ways to recruit and retain both present and future generations. In addition to her steady presentation tour, Fry also writes a column on workplace issues for The Globe and Mail.

Saturday was a day for the public, when drivers and owner/operators came out to see the more than 400 vendors exhibiting at the show.

“Even though the weather wasn’t quite hot and sunny that day, there were still a lot of people that came out to see the show,” said Nelson, who noted that attendance numbers were well up from two years ago.

Nelson said that both he and APTA chairperson Vaughn Sturgeon received very positive feedback about the show, which he says is fast becoming one of the best-attended truck shows in Canada.

“It was a pretty spectacular show,” Nelson said. “People were pretty excited and happy about the response they got.”

“Once again, the exhibitors did a phenomenal job with their exhibits,” said a release on the Master Promotions Web site. “The success of this show is due in large part to their commitment and the effort that they put into their displays to make this the first class event that it has become.”

The Atlantic Truck Show will return to the Moncton Coliseum in June 2009. For more information visit www.atlantictruckshow.com.