Taylor Swift recently gifted every truck driver a $100,000 bonus. She gave bonuses to others working on the tour too totaling over $55 million. For some of the drivers, the gift is ‘life-changing.’
One man in particular, Mike Scherkenbach, who has worked on three of the singer’s stadium tours and runs the concert transportation company Shomotion says the money is life-changing.
“She’s giving a sum of money that is life-changing for these people,” he told Rolling Stone about the employees at Shomotion. “A lot of these drivers are not homeowners, and a lump sum like this gives you the ability to put a down payment on a home. That’s what makes me really happy. That generosity is a game changer for these people.”
“Her father was the one that actually presented the checks to our drivers,” Shomotion trucking company CEO Mike Scherkenbach told TODAY. “And he presented handwritten letters from Taylor. It’s incredible that they would take that time, and what it means to our staff to be recognized.”
Scherkenbach also noted that Swift gave bonuses to her band, backup dancers, and technical crew. People magazine reports all the bonuses totaled more than $55 million.
Swift also donated money during her tour, including to the Second Harvest Food Bank last week while she was in Northern California.
Scherkenbach added, “The funny part is, they just glanced at the letter quickly and didn’t look at the amount, so one driver read it as $1,000, another driver read it as $10,000. And then another driver said, ‘Oh, this has to be a joke. $100,000?’ which then made the other ones reopen their letters,” he said.
Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer | The Eras Tour @ Seattle
Source: Today, USA, ABC, People Magazine, Rolling Stone