Wow, check it out. The issue you hold in your hands is the first magazine of the 2004 calendar year of Truckin' magazine's 30th Anniversary kick-off celebration. As you will read further on inside this issue, we have some pretty big things planned that will play to our illustrious past, as well as propel us another 30 years into the future. Just like any anniversary, be it a wedding, engagement, birthday, and so on, there is always a tendency to look back at the past. And trust us, as we developed our 30th Anniversary plan, each and every current staff member looked through 30 years of back issues to see what made Truckin' magazine what it is.
Some of our junior staff members weren't even born when the very first issue of Truckin' was published, and then again, most of our seasoned staff were just mere youngsters. It is our senior staff members who have been rewarded with the task of telling our readers their experiences from the '70s, when the rest of us were still just being toted by our parents.
For those of you who are uninformed or new readers who we have added by the thousands since our 25th Anniversary celebration, Truckin' magazine originally began as TRM Publishing by our late founder, Tom McMullen, with the notion that the general buying public would welcome a custom, all-encompassing publication that would focus on the light truck market, but whose focus at the time was clearly aimed at the growing and emerging van craze. In fact, Truckin' magazine was Tom McMullen's second magazine venture, his first being a popular little title called Street Chopper, which originally began as a parts-buying book for his motorcycle business. Just like everything, each magazine evolved. Truckin' magazine eventually became what it is today, and Street Chopper was folded into what would eventually become Hot Bike magazine, but then with another recent emerging craze - chopper motorcycles over the last four years - Street Chopper magazine was reborn.
Tom McMullen was a guy who embraced everything to its fullest and was a very hands-on individual, who certainly didn't mix words and couldn't care less about telling you exactly what he thought of the state of the industry and about you yourself. His attitude is still legendary to those who knew him.
Truckin' magazine has evolved over the years, and with that, it is this regime, including myself, which has taken on the unenviable task of representing Truckin' in helping to celebrate its heritage. We all have a task and a love affair with trucks and SUVs as whole, and clearly understand that while Truckin' magazine is bigger than each and everyone of us, without us, the magazine has no personality and no life. It is this personality of 30 years worth of editorials, by numerous editors and staff members, that we aim to capture. Plus, we also aim to recapture some of its past glory with a quarterly retrospect, as well as some amazing commemorative items that every newsstand buyer and subscriber will receive.
Stay tuned, as the ride has only just begun. Tom McMullen created a magazine for enthusiasts and that is exactly what Truckin' has remained to be. So enjoy the special new section we dedicated to our older readers, which we see as an emerging old/new trend, and Happy Anniversary to ourselves for what promises to be an exciting year ahead.