August 11, 2005, Akron, Pennsylvania -- For the third year in a row, a group of truckers' wives met in person to match long-distance friends with their chat names. They are part of a 300-plus member online support group called the Layover.com Family Center E-list.
The E-list is comprised mostly of truckers' wives who share the hardships of having their husbands, and fathers of their children, gone for extended periods of time. Every day the members talk online and find camaraderie unique to trucking families. One member said, "I have made friends on this list that I know I will carry with me the rest of my life. These are the people that I talk to everyday and I know are there for me. They understand me and my life like no others in my world--not my kids, not my husband."
Three years ago, member Carol Kiley took the initiative to organize the first reunion to bring members together. Eleven women gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, finally meeting some of the online friends they had been conversing with for years. At the second reunion in St. Louis, Missouri, 13 women attended.
This year's reunion was held June 9-12 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Louis with 14 women meeting for four days. The time was spent chatting, sightseeing, swimming or visiting local casinos, and spending a late night celebrating friendships with a pizza/pajama party. For all the women, it was a special chance to catch up face to face with old and new friends.
Layover.com is a trucking industry website that helps truck drivers find jobs as well as providing information and services to drivers, owner-operators, fleet owners and trucking families. For more information on the Layover.com visit http://www.layover.com/.
