Chicagoland Emergency Vehicle Show 2005

Attending the Chicagoland Emergency Vehicle Show was simply an amazing experience. I had sort of gotten to know the guy who was responsible for putting these shows together. I had been in touch for a few years as I was building the truck and he was looking forward to seeing Responder showing up. In 2005, Project Responder did just that. But the dive to Chicago was anything but enjoyable. What I didn’t know then was that the Q-siren on the front bumper was deflecting the air around the front of the truck once Responder reached about 40 mph. This led to the truck overheating a few times on the way there. It didn’t help that it was late in August and the temps were in the 90’s. We eventually got there, albeit hot, tired and just plain worn out from the drama.

I drove up a day early because I was asked if I would bring Responder to the WGN studio to be in a promo for the show. I was more than happy to oblige. They did several live shots during the morning broadcast. Honestly, it was a lot of fun. It was pretty cool to be there after five years of building this truck.

The show was preceded by a lights and sirens parade through North Arora, Friday evening. Seeing all of the antique fire trucks, police cars and other emergency vehicles lined up with their lights flashing and sirens wailing was a great thrill. The kids along the parade route absolutely loved it. So did most of the adults.

Responder ended up in the “Fire Truck Demonstrator” group, which made the most sense. We were next to a gentleman who had restored an old ALF pumper and it was absolutely gorgeous. Responder drew a lot of attention. More so than I had imagined as Responder was annouuced as the winner  in the demonstrator category. The winners were determined by the event goers who voted for their favorites in each category. I was thrilled to be heading home with a trophy, let alone a first place trophy. The demonstrator category was near the end of those being announced, so I walked back to the truck to pack up for the drive home. Much to my surprise, when the final award was announced for Best In Show, I was absolutely surprised when they called it Project Responder. I ran back to the booth to accept the trophy. I really could not believe Responder had won considering all of the amazing vehicles that participated. I was also shocked to see that the trophy was nearly as tall as me. 

Even with the long, hot drive back with the windows down and the heater on full blast to help keep her cool, having those two trophies in the back seat made it all worthwhile.