TravelCenters of America to Play Host to Highway Angel Truck Stop Tour

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- TravelCenters of America LLC is going country as the host of this year's Highway Angel Truck Stop tour featuring Highway Angel spokesperson and recording artist Lindsay Lawler.

The tour is designed to restore and promote a better trucking industry image -- the "knights of the highway" -- through the exposure of the Truckload Carriers Association's Highway Angel program, which will kick off in mid-August, the retailer stated.

"We are thrilled that Lindsay Lawler will be performing at our locations. Lindsay's mission to bring to light all the great things about trucking, [which] is aligned well with what our company has been doing for some time," said Thomas M. O'Brien, president and CEO of TravelCenters of America. "Trucking and truck driving are great professions with terrific, hardworking men and women. We are happy to put the spotlight on their work and entertain our guests at the same time."

The tour will include 26 stops throughout the Southeast and Midwest at TA- and Petro Stopping Centers-branded locations. Each tour stop will feature an hour-long acoustic performance by Lawler from atop a flatbed truck, as well as a live radio remote through Renegade Radio Nashville, which already features Lawler as a host of two radio shows including the trucking-centered show, "On the Road to Nashville."

"Lindsay's lyrics describe the life of the professional truck driver in terms everyone can understand, putting a recognizable face behind the wheel of every tractor trailer," said Chris Burruss, president of the Truckload Carriers Association. "She's going to have a huge impact on the families that stop by to listen, and on the people they share her music with back home. Plus, I can't imagine any truck driver getting back on the road without feeling a little prouder, thanks to Lindsay."

The primary motivation for the tour is to educate those outside the trucking industry, said Leigh Foxall, who manages the project's trucking industry relations. "This is a unique opportunity to promote a better trucking industry image and, hopefully by doing so, start chipping away at the immense driver deficit through encouragement of outside hiring."

The tour stops will also offer the opportunity for sponsorship booths, promoting an interactive, family-friendly experience for all in attendance.

"For the longest time, the trucking and music industries went hand in hand. Somewhere along the line, that relationship fizzled," said Lawler. "We're looking forward to rebuilding that relationship and expanding the reach of a positive trucking industry image to those outside the industry through music."

To learn more about the 2013 Highway Angel Truck Stop Tour, including tour dates, visit www.truckstoptour.com

Westlake, Ohio-based TravelCenters of America operates 244 TA and Petro Stopping Centers travel centers in 41 states and Canada.