Go Griz
Palmer trucks UM's
mascot across nation
A massive University of Montana Grizzly has been set free to roam the
nation's highways and interstates. Jim Palmer Trucking this month unveiled a new UM
recruiting and marketing tool -- a 53-foot semi-tractor trailer bearing the Grizzly logo
-- in an effort to raise awareness of the University and its Grizzly mascot among
prospective students and parents along the routes traveled by the nationwide carrier.
Last fall, lifelong Grizzly fans Jim Palmer and his son, Scott, offered one of the rigs
in their firm's 350-truck fleet to help promote UM. The Palmers paid to have giant maroon,
white and silver UM logos painted on the sides and back of the truck's shiny, black,
18-wheel trailer with" Go Grizzlies" in bright yellow.
The graphics also include a Web address -- montanagrizzlies.com -- for passersby who want to contact UM for more
information.
The truck made its inaugural journey from the Midwest to Missoula in early February
with a load of Coca-Cola products. It will be dispatched from the company's Missoula home
office to haul food and beverages from coast to coast.
The Palmers have said they will route the truck to areas of the country that UM targets
for recruitment. In addition the truck will be available for use by UM for special events
such as Homecoming and the Great Griz Encounter.
The moving billboard is the first of its kind among the 200 colleges and universities
represented by the Atlanta-based Collegiate Licensing Co., which represents UM in
overseeing commercial logo use. UM is among only a few universities nationwide to have
this unique, eye-catching form of advertising.
"We think this truck will give a new meaning to the phrase 'Go Griz,'" UM
President George Dennison quipped during an unveiling ceremony on campus Feb. 9.
"I want to thank Jim and Scott Palmer and all the employees of Palmer Trucking for
their long-standing support of the University and for this very creative idea that will
help UM prosper in the future.
"I want to ask Scott if he will route the truck through downtown Bozeman every
time its travel route takes it past that town, just to remind its residents that we're
still here."
The truck is one of the most unique items ever donated to the University to help in its
outreach mission, said Bob Frazier, University executive vice president and coordinator of
UM's marketing efforts. "It's one that will have long-lasting effects far beyond
today," he said.
Palmer Trucking employees estimate that the traveling Griz will be seen by more than
one million people a year across the nation.
Jim Palmer started his trucking firm with one truck that he drove himself. The
Missoula-based Jim Palmer Trucking was incorporated in 1966 and has grown into a
nationwide carrier with facilities in Sioux Falls, S.D.; Salina, Kan.; and Tampa, Fla. The
carrier hauls foods and beverages ranging from frozen pizza to ice cream.
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