We have been working on our “Road Runner” truck since it was given to us by our brothers and sisters of the Santee Circle Fire Department in February. We have been quiet about what we hope to accomplish with this truck until we could make the necessary changes to place it in service.
About a year ago, Dawson Reindollar, the fifteen-year-old son of our Team Leader, John David Reindollar, drew a sketch of a fire truck with an Autism Awareness theme in support of autistic children both in our fire and EMS families as well as others in our community. His plan was well thought out and the quality of his drawings gave us a great blueprint with which to work. We continued to work towards the goal of having an Autism Awareness truck when the Santee Circle folks gave us what we needed to complete our plan.
Thanks to Laura Meehan of Signs ASAP in Summerville for her creativity and wonderful support in creating the graphics and banners for the truck and to Dawson, and all the others who made this dream come true. Special thanks to the Charis Academy in Summerville for being our partners in the development of this truck. The Charis Academy specializes in providing a learning environment for children with high functioning autism and other similar challenges.
The true measure of our success was realized on Saturday where we debuted the truck at the Autism Awareness Walk in Hampton Park. Without question, it was a big hit with all in attendance as dozens climbed over it, took pictures, and otherwise enjoyed the day. Let us know if you would like for it to make an appearance at your event. We have plans in the works for making the “Road Runner” a multi-purpose truck so stay tuned for updates as we progress.
