OOIDA board member to be featured at Republican National Convention

When Monte Wiederhold received an email last week from a person claiming to be with President Donald Trump’s campaign, the OOIDA board member was skeptical.

“There are so many scams out there. I didn’t know if it was real,” he said.

However, the email was no scam. Wiederhold, an OOIDA life member from Maumee, Ohio, was selected to represent truck drivers as part of a Republican National Convention television segment honoring essential workers.

On Sunday, Aug. 23, OOIDA Board Member Wiederhold joined law enforcement officers, members of the health care industry and a U.S. Postal Service worker to film the TV spot with President Trump at the White House. While Land Line has not confirmed an exact time of when the spot will be broadcast, Wiederhold said he was told the segment is expected to air on Monday, Aug. 24.

The Republican National Convention broadcast will be at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and PBS. Those stations are scheduled to broadcast the convention in its entirety each night, while Fox News, CBS, ABC and NBC will show the final hour starting at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Wiederhold said he believes he was the only truck driver represented in the segment. Each worker had an opportunity to chat with President Trump for a couple of minutes.

“It’s quite an honor to be up there representing truckers,” he said. “It’s an awesome deal. Once in a lifetime.

“I’m a fan of President Trump, but I would have gone no matter who was the president. This is something you just can’t say no to.”

Wiederhold, who started his trucking career in 1974 and joined OOIDA in 1983, traveled to the White House for the second time in the past two months. He also was part of an OOIDA contingent that took part in the Fourth of July “Salute to America” that took place on the White House lawn.

“I was just awestruck,” he said. “I had to pinch myself to see if I was really there.”