Special Coverage
NADA Convention & Exposition
ORLANDO, FL – U.S. auto dealers are providing trucks to relief workers in Haiti, so they can deliver needed supplies to earthquake victims.
Credit for the initiative goes to Alan Starling, owner of Starling Chevrolet in St. Cloud, FL.
Starling saw former President Bill Clinton on TV speaking about a lack of trucks to distribute donated supplies in the capital of Port-au-Prince and around the devastated country. Clinton said 100 trucks were needed immediately.
Starling, a former chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Assn., urged the trade group to help out.
As a result, dealers, including Starling, have donated 100 trucks, with 100 more expected soon, 2009 NADA Chairman John McEleney says at the association’s annual convention here.
The vehicles mainly are small trucks, pickups and cargo carriers. New and used, they are capable of traversing the rough terrain in many areas of Haiti.
“The road to recovery in Haiti is long, but America’s new car and truck dealers can make a difference,” McEleney says.
It shows the generosity of dealers, who have faced economic troubles lately because of poor auto sales, he says. “Despite their own problems, dealers are willing to help others.”
