SEPTEMBER 2010 TRUCKER TALK
THANK YOU JAZZY!
BY WRITER & DRIVER KIM GRIMM
If you haven’t heard about Jasmine (Jazzy) Jordan, you really need to! This incredible young woman, now 17, from Dalton, Minnesota, ran all the way from Los Angeles, CA to New York City, NY to promote awareness and raise money for the St. Christopher Fund – a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to professional truck drivers who have medical problems and cannot afford health care or medical expenses.
Jazzy was training to fulfill her dream of running in the 2012 Summer Olympics when a family friend named Sheila Kay Grothe passed away on April 4, 2009. It was on that day that Jazzy decided she wanted to do something to change the system and help people that don’t have enough (or any) insurance to get the possibly life-saving treatments that they need. When she learned of the St. Christopher Fund and the work that they do, she decided that this is where she would make a difference – and make a difference, she did.
Once Jazzy decided to run across America, I don’t think she would have accepted a “no” from her parents, Lee & Paulette Jordan, so they not only made her run possible, but also helped make her dream come true. Her parents own a small trucking company and pilot car business called Jordan Enterprises. Using one of their escort vehicles to “escort” Jazzy on her run, her dad Lee went with Jazzy the entire way, pulling a 5th wheel camper, so they could park and camp each night during the long journey.
Jazzy’s goal when she first started was to simply raise some awareness to the growing problem of people who are underinsured or have no coverage at all. It is a problem that affects all of us in some way. With all of the new health care regulations, higher premiums and a lot of uncertainty in the industry these days, it is easy to see why many people do not have the coverage they need. And let’s face it, as truck drivers we are not the healthiest group of people in the country – there is a price we seem to pay for the job we do when it comes to our health – and with soaring costs, there are now many drivers without insurance.
So, last September (2009), at only 16 years of age, Jazzy started her run across America. Over the next nine months, she ran through twelve states, covering 3,161 miles, and then ended in New York City’s Times Square on June 15, 2010. Along the way she turned 17, met a lot of great people and touched thousands of lives, including her own! You can hear the sincerity in her voice when she says how much she appreciates the job that we (truckers) do, and how she wants to continue to make a difference and raise money for the St. Christopher Fund.
In many of the towns and cities Jazzy ran through, people would come out and run with her for awhile. When I asked her if she was happy to be home, she replied, “I miss the road. Its boring running at home because only one or two cars pass you.” I think she got bit by the “open road” bug – the same “bug” that makes all of us drivers continue to stay involved in this craziness that we call trucking. Jazzy told me about a group of 13 and 14 year old kids she met from Birmingham, AL that were on a mission trip. The kids were singing and dancing, and they were so happy that Jazzy was there. She told me that she was in awe of these kids, and that listening to them brought tears to her eyes.
Before all of this cross-country running, Jazzy wanted to go to college to study accounting, but the run changed all of that. She’s not exactly sure what she will do now, but one thing the run didn’t give her was a free pass from studying or doing homework. While on the run, Jazzy continued her studies and did homework, working hard to maintain her 4.0 grade point average! To see a complete archive of pictures taken during Jazzy’s run or to learn more about her and her supporters, visit www.runwithjazzy.com – you can also purchase t-shirts on the website.
When I asked her about how her friends felt about what she did and if they were supportive, she told me that her “friends” were supportive but the rest of her classmates weren’t so much. I’m guessing that they just could not understand how someone her age could do something so big and selfless. My personal opinion – if the world were full of kids like Jazzy Jordan, we wouldn’t have a thing to worry about. Her friend Mitchell Sterns told her that he would be in New York City when she got there, and, as promised, he was!
Truck drivers Jim & Jan McCarter live in their truck and met up with Jazzy several times on her run. Jan wrote and recorded a song called “Thank You Jazzy” – all of the proceeds from the sales of the song go directly to the St. Christopher Fund. A “Thank You Jazzy Campaign” started on July 1, 2010. The St. Christopher Fund is looking for 3,161 contributors, one for each mile Jazzy ran, to donate $10 or more in honor of Jazzy’s courageous and heroic achievement on behalf of professional truck drivers with medical needs. To make your donation, go to www.truckersfund.com and click on the “donate” button, or you can call (877) 332-GIVE. You can also send a check to St. Christopher Fund, P.O. Box 30763, Knoxville, TN 37930.
The St. Christopher Fund was the idea of radio talk show host Dave Nemo on XM and Sirius Road Dog Network. Together with Dr. John McElligott, the Chairman and Founder of Professional Drivers Medical Depots, they launched the organization to come to the aid of professional truck drivers in need. They incorporated as a non-profit in 2007. Since then, the organization has helped over 200 families. They are proud of the fact that only pennies of each donated dollar go to administration costs – which means that most of the money goes where it is actually needed the most.
Another service the St. Christopher Fund provides truckers is something called the MeRV – which stands for Medical Response Vehicle. Funded by Safety First Sleep Solutions, the MeRV program is a “mobile campaign” to help truck drivers discern if they suffer from sleep apnea or not. As captain of the MeRV, which is a specially-built 37’ camper with a liftgate, retired paramedic and former long-haul trucker Jon Osborn will be spending 300 days a year out on the road providing medical education and treatment to drivers.
So, what’s next for Jazzy? Well, she will be a senior this year at Ashby School in Ashby, MN so that should keep her pretty busy. She hopes to take the time and enjoy this year, as it will be so very different from her almost ten months on the road running. Hey, you are only a senior once, and you have really earned the chance to enjoy it.
As for me, I sincerely hope that Jazzy makes that original dream to go to the Summer Olympics come true. But, if that doesn’t happen, I think it is fair to say that Jazzy has already earned a gold medal for the sacrifices that she has made (and continues to make) for us drivers. Jazzy, you are truly amazing. And for someone so young and who has already accomplished so much, you couldn’t be any more humble. You are wise beyond your years, and I wish you all the best in running and/or whatever it is you decide to do with the rest of your life.