Shell Reaches Out

One of the most fun things I do each year is judge the Shell Rotella SuperRigs truck beauty contest. Last summer’s event was in Joplin, Mo., and, as always, concurrent with the contest is the selection of trucks for the annual SuperRigs calendar. That calendar, published this month, features 12 super rigs photographed at various locations around Joplin, as well as information about the owners.

Best of Show at SuperRigs was won

by Todd Raccapriore of Clean State

Environmental.

If you stop in for an oil change at a Speedco location or purchase more than 10 gallons of Rotella, you get a 2013 calendar free during November. Starting in December, you can purchase a calendar here.

Joplin was the site of choice for this, the 30^th SuperRigs event, because it was an opportunity for Shell and the SuperRigs contenders to give back to the local community, which was so devastated by the tornado that hit in 2011 – the deadliest tornado in America since 1947. By the time the show closed, the All Roads Lead to Joplin rebuilding project helped raise nearly $100,000, which was contributed by Shell and Speedco to the YMCA of Joplin’s Community Disaster Recovery efforts.

In a heartwarming close to the June SuperRigs event, Best of Show winner Todd Raccapriore donated his $10,000 winning check to the Disaster Recovery fund on behalf of driver John O’Keefe.

Roccapriore is no stranger to SuperRigs, having won Best of Show in 2010 with “Widowmaker,” another of the Connecticut-based Clean State Environmental’s trucks. All the more remarkable is the fact that these trucks are used in the company’s soil remediation business. Roccapriore’s trucks have both made the calendar.

 

In the 2013 calendar, photographer Jim Smithson captured the essence of the super rigs and the charm and diversity of the landscapes of Jasper County.

You can read about SuperRigs at the Shell site, see a slide-show of past SuperRigs Calendar trucks and click through to Shell’s loyalty site for Rotella users, “My Miles Matter.” This is a site where Rotella customers who specify Rotella T Triple Protection, Rotella T5 or T6 can accumulate reward miles that can be redeemed for Shell merchandise and special offers. There’s also valuable information to be found there to help you make lubricant choices and find out more about your industry.

Reward miles are entered on a click-through page. You'll find a 12-digit reward code under the cap of specially marked bottles of Shell Rotella. If you take your truck in for an oil change at a participating location, a reward code will be attached to your receipt. When you enter reward codes online, you earn Reward Miles that you redeem for items in Shell’s rewards catalog. Everything in there was chosen specifically for truckers: tools, hotel discounts, gift certificates for restaurants, even toys for children, all of it trucking-related.

“Your Miles Matter” is a chance for Shell Lubricants to give back, to recognize customer loyalty, and it’s a rare occurrence in an industry where rising costs everywhere lead to pinched profits. It’s a great example of Shell’s outreach, just as the selection of Joplin for the SuperRigs location last summer.

The loyalty program, the calendar and the SuperRigs contest. It all makes me proud to be a part of Shell’s Rotella SuperRigs.