Most Successful Cram The Cruiser Ever, Kicks Off D93's Stuff The Bus In EC

Darren Doyle, Edmonson Voice
Friday, July 17th was a busy day in Brownsville for the Kentucky State Police, but instead of rounding up bad guys, they were gathering school supplies with the Edmonson County Youth Service Center, D93's Tony Rose, and a team of local volunteers and emergency personnel at the 8th annual "Cram The Cruiser" school supply drive for Stuff The Bus 10.

"Edmonson County always comes out to help and it's no different today," said Lisa Whobery with EC YSC. "Our first couple years were slow, but with Tony Rose, D93, and Stuff the Bus matching it, it makes a huge difference," she added. "If you give a $5 donation, they take that and turn it into $10 or possibly $15 that goes directly to Edmonson County Schools. It doesn't stay in Warren County, it comes right back here."

Trooper B.J. Eaton, Public Relations Officer with KSP said the donations were steady all day. "We've always had a good relationship with everyone involved in this event," he said. "Any time the State Police can help the schools, where we can reach out and give back to our kids, that's what we want to do."

Sheriff Shane Doyle drove one of his department's Humvees to the event. "Hopefully, after we fill up a couple of these cruisers, we'll fill the Humvee up, too," he said. "It's an honor to help with this event and it really makes a difference in our schools."

Today's event was the largest ever in EC, filling multiple vehicles with supplies and bringing in hundreds of dollars in donations. "This is huge for Edmonson County," Doyle said. "This has been a fantastic event."

D93 morning radio show host Tony Rose, said he was humbled that Edmonson County has helped with his now hugely popular event, Stuff The Bus, which is entering it's 10th year. "When you do a morning show like I do, part of the gig is to do something wacky, something crazy," Rose said. "I said Why don't we live on a bus until people fill it up with school supplies? Looking back on it, we collected two tons of supplies and we thought we changed the game. When we distributed those supplies to local schools, we learned that the amount would only last a month or so!"

It was then he said that he truly realized how great the need was for Stuff The Bus, and that he wanted to make it bigger and better, not just a radio stunt. 

"We've brought in over 65 tons of supplies over the past decade," he said. "Our 10-county community has stepped up and they know that kids and families in need are now able to play on a more level playing field as far as their school supplies go, as 100% is donated to local schools. Everyone at Stuff the Bus is a volunteer, no one makes a dime at it, and everything it takes to make it go is donated in every sense."

(L-R:) Brownsville Firefighter Justin Meredith, Officer Garth Avery, Deputy Jordan Jones, Lt. Jeff Jewell, Travis Norton, Lynette Saling, Lisa Whobery, Sheriff Shane Doyle, Lisa Sanders, Tony Rose, Elise Ianuzzi, Trooper B.J. Eaton

So, what if you missed "Cram the Cruiser?" What can you do for Edmonson County schools? Fortunately, you have another chance as today's event helps kickoff STB 10, which will be at Bluegrass Cellular parking lot on Campbell Lane in Bowling Green beginning Thursday, July 23 and lasts until Monday morning, July 27th. Simply stop by with your donation and tell the folks you're from Edmonson County. Your gift will be ear-marked for Edmonson County only, and one that will be doubled when it returns to EC.

In a world where so many charitable events are questioned, and many radio stations and media outlets are run by greedy corporate executives looking to make a dollar any way they can, this event, led by Rose, is certainly an exception. Edmonson County salutes Tony Rose, D93, and all the volunteers that are part of Stuff The Bus 10 for being a true community friend, and a friend to Edmonson County.