Fikes Truck Line Hosts Annual Fall Festival:

Gives Away New Flatbed Trailer

(Hope, Ark.) - The annual Fikes Fall Festival held Oct. 4 provided contractors and their families with great food, activities that included games for the kids, bingo, a basketball shooting contest, as well as a drawing for a brand new 2008 flatbed trailer.

"It was the first time in 17 years that we had rain," Max Campbell, Director of Recruiting and Contractor Services with Fikes Truck Line, said. "It seems like the weather enabled us to visit with each other more. Although it was fairly rainy, we had 750 people in attendance. Everyone had a great time."

Along with the festivities, a ton of prizes were given away and service awards were presented to contractors that have been with the company anywhere from five to 20 years. The grand prize giveaway for Fike's referral contest, conducted Oct. 2007 through Oct. 2008, was the finale of the day. As specified in the contest rules, for each successful referral that a driver made during the contest running time, their name was entered into a drawing for a new flatbed trailer!

The winner of this year's event, David Ponce, of Breckenridge, Texas, is a contractor that has been with the company for the past 19 years. Dave Nemo, radio personality on XM's 171 Open Road Channel and a friend of the Fikes family, was on hand to announce the winning name. "I never thought I'd win anything in my life," Ponce said. "All of sudden, it happened. I have waited and waited and I never have won anything before now." He continued, "I wasn't expecting to win anything. I was just down there to have a good time. That's about it."

Ponce says he tries to attend the fall festival every year that it's possible. "I enjoy it. There is a lot of stuff that they do for family. I appreciate that," he said. Thrilled to win such a tremendous prize, Ponce said it's an event he will long remember. "We were extremely excited when David won the trailer, as we would be for anybody.  No one was more deserving than him," Campbell said.

"This event brought everyone together in a way that has never happened," President and CEO Gary Salisbury, said. "We host this event each year in an effort to give back to the contractors that work out there everyday. What started out to be a very unsuccessful festival weather-wise, turned into one of the most successful and one of best fall festivals that we have ever had."

Fikes Truck Line was founded in 1941. One of the oldest trucking companies in Arkansas, Fikes enjoys a 48-state operating and brokering authority. A premier transportation company, Fikes is equipped to haul flatbed, drop deck, RGN and sidekit trailers. Headquartered in Hope, Ark., the company also has terminals in Alabama, Kentucky, and Texas and sales offices in Tennessee and Oklahoma.  For more information on Fikes Truck Line, call 1-800-TO-FIKES or visit online at www.fikes.com.