Commercial Chaos for a Cure set for July 22-23

Always glad to be part of a worthy cause, Marty Ellis plans to have the OOIDA tour trailer at the Commercial Chaos for a Cure event in Sanborn, Iowa, next weekend, on Friday and Saturday, July 22-23.

The event is a fundraiser for the June E. Nylen Cancer Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

The event takes place on Profit Street on the edge of Sanborn, right behind the Yesterday’s Memories & Truck Museum. The museum houses the Vander Haag family collection of trucks, cars and memorabilia. The museum will be open during the event, and meals will be served in the museum building.

John C. Vander Haag Sr. started Vander Haag Inc. in 1939 in Sanborn. Vander Haag Inc. offers used parts, service and repair, equipment sales and installation, truck and trailer sales, and new and rebuilt parts. There are eight locations. Vander Haag’s is a platinum sponsor of Commercial Chaos for a Cure.

The Tri-State Chapter of the American Truck Historical Society takes part in the event. The chapter president is Denny Postma, and he is a caretaker at Yesterday’s Memories & Truck Museum. He said the Tri-State Chapter will probably bring 20 or so vintage trucks and the museum has 300 vehicles, most of which are trucks.

The Commerical Chaos for a Cure runs in conjunction with Sanborn’s community festival, Railroad Days, which celebrates the town’s history with a parade, all-school reunion and other activities. Postma said a few years ago Schelling and the other organizers of Commercial Chaos were pushed to find a new venue, and the idea of a combined event came about. It has given a boost to the community event for a town of 1,300, he said.

“It’s been very beneficial to everyone involved,” Postma said.

Grateful patient

Commercial Chaos for a Cure was founded in 2013 by Paul Schelling, a Sioux Center native and a trucker who was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer in his 20s, according to a feature article published by the O’Brien County Bell-Times Courier.

Schelling started out as a hot-shotter with a pickup truck and trailer. When he turned 21, he started hauling interstate. With a daughter on the way, he went to work for Moret Trucking in Sioux Center. A few months after hiring on with Moret Trucking, he experienced his first cancer symptoms.

He became a patient at the Nylen Cancer Center. Grateful for the care he received, he put together a big rig poker run in 2013 as a fundraiser. He told the Bellville-Courier that 23 trucks showed up to go on a 180-mile run and eat a meal served out of a Crock-Pot.

The first event Schelling described as “complete chaos,” and he and his supporters all drive commercially for a living, so that was how they came up with the event’s name.

He said they discussed calling it quits once they understood the effort and expense, but they stuck to it, and the event has grown every year.

“It’s a lot of work to put it all together, but once the day arrives, it’s all worth it.” Schelling said told Land Line.

While he and his friends who helped organize the first event initially intended to donate the proceeds to one of the larger, national cancer nonprofit organizations, it turned out their donation made a bigger impact at the smaller June E. Nylen Cancer Center. The money helps the Nylen Cancer Center purchase equipment. Last year, the cancer center got a check for about $35,000.

This year’s event

The 2023 event includes a Friday night truck light show followed by fireworks, truck and tractor pulls on Saturday afternoon and evening, an engine-brake contest, and raffle drawings.

The Tri-State Chapter of the ATHS will have a show and shine truck exhibit at the event.

The event also includes the signature Commercial Chaos for a Cure Poker Run that starts and ends in Sanborn and tours the cities of Sheldon, Sioux Center, Hull and Sibley. Drivers collect playing cards at truck stops on the route, and the one with the best poker hand wins a cash prize.

The Iowa Department of Transportation and Iowa Highway Patrol assist the truck convoy/poker run by escorting the trucks and blocking intersections to keep the tires rolling. The state authorities are not there to bust truckers but just to help a good cause and have a good time, Schelling said. The cities also help smooth the route for the trucks.

“They help us every way they can,” Schilling said.

This year the schedule for Commercial Chaos for a Cure is a little tighter than in previous years, he said.

“It’ll be a pretty jam-packed day,” he said.

With diesel costing so much, it is tough to guess how many trucks will be on hand, he said. They have had up to 110 trucks, he said. There will be hundreds of people there, and the Saturday night truck and tractor pulls will likely draw a crowd of 500 or 600 people, he said.

Next stops for The Spirit

This weekend, Ellis and the OOIDA tour trailer are at the Walcott Truckers Jamboree in Walcott, Iowa. Trevor Williams, OOIDA fuel card coordinator, plans to attend the Walcott celebration.

After the Commercial Chaos for a Cure, Ellis plans to take the OOIDA tour trailer to the Petro in Monee, Ill., on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 26-27. The weekend after that, he plans to be at the TopGun LargeCar Shootout in Rantoul, Ill. LL

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL

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