One Wyoming funeral home, seven drivers: Dispatch from a Truckers Final Mile benefit at MATS

"One funeral home in Cheyenne, Wyoming, alone has sent us seven drivers" –Robert Palm, founder of Truckers Final Mile

I was in the main lobby of the South Wing of the Mid-America Trucking Show when someone grabbed my arm. 

I turned around to see a gaunt man. He appeared like what he was, someone who had endured a medical procedure -- somehow, though, he was still smiling. 

It was Robert Palm, CEO of TruckersFinalMile.org. 

Turns out we were both going to the same place, “West Hall One,” so we walked together. Our destination: a fund-raiser for Robert's charity cosponsored by TFC Global and TNCRadio.live.

Truckers Final Mile founder Robert PalmAll photos by Paul MarhoeferAs we took the shortcut outdoors, Robert told me of his recent surgery, a story not atypical of the underserved population to which he has devoted the latter part of his life. Palm walked into an immediate-care clinic somewhere in Texas. "They said, 'First thing we're going to do is get you an ambulance,'" as he told it. A long-needed surgery was performed. He wound up flat on his back, his truck broke down and in the shop for weeks. 

A gentleman who goes by the moniker “Slowstepping” on TikTok organized a fund drive for him – several thousand dollars were raised on Palm’s behalf.