Landon Killian is a 5 year-old-boy from Tennessee. He has a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis (NF1) which predisposes him to cancer, specifically a type of cancer that develops tumors along his optic nerves, skin, and stomach. Some of the tumors are operable and some are not and will have to be monitored all his life. Landon has already endured 18+ months of chemo and will likely have to be on chemo for the rest of his life in some form to keep the tumors at bay. Landon is raised by his grandparents Jody and Tammy Killian.
Recently, through the Lana’s Love Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing fun experiences to children with cancer throughout Tennessee, Landon was able to visit Miller Industries. Landon loves big trucks so having the opportunity to tour the facility, sit in and play with the controls of many trucks made for a memorable day. On his tour, he picked his favorite truck and it happened to be Big Wheel Towing & Recovery’s newest yellow 50-ton rotator. Landon even got to operate the controls and swing the boom!
Big Wheel heard of this story from Miller Industries’ Facebook page with a picture of Landon and his family in front of the truck and knew we wanted to do something special for him and his family. Our thought was that since our truck left a mark with Landon, we wanted Landon to leave a mark on our truck. I reached out to the Lana’s Love Foundation where I then got in touch with his family and asked their permission to start a movement to raise money and awareness for their family.
I came up with the logo and concept of Landon Strong to showcase his strength to overcome his daily health challenges and the perseverance to keep pushing through every appointment, treatment, and difficult day. As a company, it was decided to put the Landon Strong logo and his handprint as part of the wrap of the new truck. Additionally, I wanted to start a Facebook challenge asking other tow companies to
1) Take a quick video of their trucks with a message to Landon
2) Post the video to “Landon Strong. Lights on for Landon” on Facebook
3) Donate to the gofundme if you can
“We are blessed to have Big Wheel put Landon Strong and his hand print on their truck and support Landon. We’re so blessed to be able to have Jade set up a go fund me for Landon to be able to help with expenses. It’s a big help and a blessing to know it’s there to help Landon. Jade has been a blessing to our family and we hope to continue the friendship as time goes on.” said Tammy Killian.
The challenge is ongoing, please participate if you can by scanning the QR code part of this article.
I recently was in Chattanooga and asked the family if they wanted to bring Landon to see more trucks and to finally meet in person after conversing for months via phone. The family happily took me up on that offer. I had to find us a tow company willing to assist in this and Doug Yates Towing & Recovery answered the call to action. On March 18, 2024, Landon and his family, Holly from Lana’s Love Foundation, my husband, Josh and I met at Doug Yates and got the VIP tour lead by Rick Mincy. Landon had a great time and was surprised with some gifts after the tour.
“It was an awesome experience. Landon loves big tow trucks. He was excited to be able to get into one of them. Just to see a smile on his face, makes my day!” said Tammy Killian.
I know wholeheartedly that this industry is composed of some of the nicest people with the biggest hearts. I thank everyone who worked together to make this happen for Landon. Let’s not stop here. Let’s keep raising his spirits and raising funds.
I challenge all tow companies to participate in the Landon Strong Challenge and to follow “Landon Strong. Lights on for Landon” on Facebook to follow along his journey. I can tell you from meeting this family that they truly appreciate every opportunity to share Landon’s story and give him an experience that he wont forget.
