isbane truck show TRUCK FESTIVAL IN THE PARKLANDS Of all the places to hold a truck show! How could you ever hope to beat the surroundings of Brisbane’s amazing South Bank Parklands? South Bank is Brisbane’s premier dining, lifestyle and cultural destination. The tourist brochures all rave about the world-class eateries, 17 acres of lush parklands and the stunning river and city views. Check, absolutely no arguments there. And they talk about the “epic line-up of eclectic events all year round”. Eclectic, fair enough. It is hard to disagree that a truck show set amongst the restaurants, cafes, bars and bougainvillea is eclectic. It is extra special when they close the streets for you to hold a festival in your honour. That is what the South Bank Truck Festival is. The locals are rolling out the red carpet in preparation for your arrival. And it is up to all of us to show the Brisbane community how much we appreciate their hospitality. So, our truck display will honour our connection with the community and tell stories of the different roles we play. We will explain to them how proud we are of our industry’s innovation, skilful engineering and world-class local manufacturing. It has seen us develop some of the most amazing high-productivity vehicles on the planet. They will appreciate that you are hard workers; proud but humble; always ready to lend a hand. The backgrounds of our people are as diverse as the different roles we all play. That makes for some of the most satisfying lifelong career paths anyone could hope for. You can’t look at a line-up of trucks like this and not be a little proud of the fruits of your labour. Immensely proud, actually. So, we will be putting on some entertainment and we hope you will mix amongst the locals and let them experience the generous heart and soul that underpins every one of you. We will invite the locals and visitors from far and wide to come and share the experience with us. And we will leave an indelible mark on them that will further elevate their perception of us, and our role in the community. Meanwhile, the locals will be catering for you too. They are opening their doors and their arms to welcome you to their wonderful establishments. The options are seemingly endless. They’ll be rolling out the proverbial red carpet for you and your guests to create a festival atmosphere, including free live entertainment; many will be offering special deals for truck show visitors. Come and join us at the South Bank Truck Festival. It’s a major heavy vehicle display and entertainment & networking hub. Little Stanley Street and Stanley Street Plaza will be closed to traffic for a major display of trucks and trailers. The week will see 30–40,000 people enjoying this exciting initiative, a place for our industry to gather with customers, mates – both old and new – and the broader community. Come and share in the spirit of this fabulous week of events – a great reason to host your guests in the area. Strongman truck push aims for Guinness World Record Troy Conley-Magnusson is very strong. Very, very strong. A quick search of his name online and you will see video and images of Troy pulling aeroplanes, semi-trailers and even a fleet of 16 cars. There is something incredibly likeable about the guy, and you don’t have to scratch the surface far to see what it is. It is what motivates him. Over the past couple of years Troy has had a lot of attention due to his many amazing exploits. He has had more than a fair go at a number of phenomenal records. A Guinness World Record is inevitably going to feature his name very soon, and it could very well be as a result of his next challenge, during the South Bank Truck Festival. But the question is why? Always start with why. “What’s important for me is the fundraising,” Troy told us. “That’s absolutely number one. If we can drive that past $30,000, that would be incredible. “The record is then a nice bonus.” That is pretty awesome, isn’t it? Troy says that while the challenges are great fun(?), they are for a very sombre reason. “It’s all about helping kids that have been seriously injured or diagnosed with critical illnesses like cancer and leukaemia,” he said. “Unfortunately, that is what happened with young Ava. At just two-years-old, she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia and subsequently lost over 98 per cent of her bone marrow. “Thankfully, now five years on, she’s ok and in remission, largely thanks to the support Little Wings, Ronald McDonald House and Sydney Children’s Hospital offer.” Last November, Troy was attempting to break the Guinness World Record for Most Cars pulled by an Individual with 16 Hyundais, weighing over 25 tonnes. Unfortunately, he came up short of the record by five metres due to a misplaced foot on one of the car’s brakes! To keep momentum going and keep driving the fundraising, Troy was looking for another challenge. “I’ll be looking to set a new Guinness World Record for the heaviest truck pushed by an individual for 100ft (30m). Currently this is 11 tonnes.” Well, thanks to Daimler Truck and Bus Australia, we have the vehicle: a 12 tonne Freightliner Cascadia. To be eligible for a Guinness World Record the area used has to be surveyed by a qualified surveyor and certified to be within 1 per cent of 100 per cent flat. We have found that surface on Little Stanley Street in South Bank. “After the failed world record attempt last year I received a message from Ava’s mum,” Troy added. “For all the things I’ve done in my life, nothing has moved me in the way that did. “So, now I’m a man possessed, and a man on a mission, to ensure we reach our $30,000 target.” It doesn’t do it justice not to include the whole note. However, here is a small excerpt from Ava’s mum Kathy: “Ava and I were chatting about you and she realised you lived at Ronald McDonald house as well for a long time when you were little, then the penny dropped. “You could see her eyes begin to sparkle. She asked ‘so I could do that?’ “I think it would be amazing if you could go and tell all the kids who stay at Ronald McDonald house your story. “You understand gratitude like we do; it is this level of gratitude we have for you today for unlocking our little girl’s potential.” He is truly an inspiring bloke – passionate, relentless in pursuing excellence, and most of all – genuinely caring. “Going the extra mile like I am at the moment to help the community, to allow kids like Ava to be able to follow their dreams, and support families like hers when they need it the most; that’s all I need,” Troy says. Make sure you are there to support Troy on Friday morning, May 14. You can make a pledge or a donation to help Troy reach that target on the South Bank Truck Festival website. Go to www.truckfestival.com.au 72 APRIL 2021 ownerdriver.com.au
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