Some came to compete, some to admire, but everyone who came to the Ford F-100 Supernationals and Family Reunion held at the Grand Hotel and Convention Center in Pigeon Forge May 15-17, was part of an historic occasion.
2003 marks three related anniversaries. The Ford Motor Company turns 100; the famous Ford F-100 truck is 50 years old and this is the 25th Ford F-100 Supernationals.
Dale Holland, spokesperson for show creators Pat Ford Promotions and the “Voice of the Supernationals,” described the show as “three roots all at the same intersection at the same time.”
“None of us will be here to see that again, except maybe me,” Holland joked.
The first Supernationals, held in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, only drew 38 trucks.
The most recent show in Pigeon Forge was a sprawling affair with over 1,500 registered participants and vendors selling everything from wheel polish to fenders to cab mounts.
Up and down the strip, there’s “about three trucks in every parking lot,” Holland said.
Those trucks may have come from further away than most people realized. Truckers showed up from Australia, Ecuador, South Africa, and Sweden. “One guy had his truck shipped over from Japan,” Holland said.
The show is a great place to make and build relationships, and that leads Holland to think of the Supernationals as a family reunion. “This is a people show,” Holland said, “Not necessarily a truck show.”
People ranging in age from 15 days to 82 years attended the recent show. The sense of community is what makes the Ford F-100 Supernationals one of the most enjoyable vehicle shows that visit Pigeon Forge.
“There’s a story in every truck,” Holland said.

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