As I boarded the plane back to Toronto recently I couldn’t help but reflect on the past few days I had just spent at the 2001 Canadian Truck Show in Winnipeg.

This show offered the latest new truck models, a show and shine competition, accessories, parts, new tire technology, tracking systems and career opportunities for drivers.

This was a family event and the kids were out in force on Saturday sporting painted faces with their balloons in tow.

It was a pleasure meeting the many local truckers who dropped by our booth and it was nice to get a chance to thank them for their comments and suggestions.

After all, the success of this publication has always hinged on listening and addressing your concerns.

This was actually my first trip to Winnipeg. I had heard that Manitoba is known as the “friendly province” and I was looking forward to meeting some of the locals.

The first person I had the pleasure of saying hello to was indeed friendly.

He took down the description of my lost luggage with a most pleasant attitude.

In fact, he was so pleasant it was hard to get upset.

Besides, he wasn’t the guy who lost it. Why should I take out my frustrations on him?

He was quick to point out that nine times out of 10, the luggage shows up on the next flight in. Sure enough it did.

With the peace of mind that my toothbrush was safe and I had a change of clothes for the next day, we set off to the show.

Kathy, our operations manager, had left a day earlier to set up the booth.

As fate would have it, upon arrival we discovered that half of her hard work was lying on the ground.

A windstorm that morning had swept through the Red River Exposition Park and blew our signs down.

With the help of two very kind fellow exhibitors we were able to pull things together by the time the doors opened.

Indeed, those three days proved to me that the Manitoba licence plate promo is bang on.

It really is the friendly province.

People took the time to ask how I was enjoying the show, city, food and weather with a genuine interest.

In a lot of places when someone asks these types of questions and you say lousy, they respond, “that’s good” and continue on oblivious to the actual response.

I watched, listened and learned. Maybe we could all use a few days in Manitoba, it’s good for the soul. n

– Rob Wilkins is the publisher of Truck News and he can be reached at 416-442-2097.