Registration is now open for the fourth annual GM Truck Fair in Greeneville. The event, slated for August 14-15 raises funds to provide scholarships for students looking to attend programs involving street rods or other types of automotive work
The GM Truck Fair is a family-friendly automotive event founded by Bryan and Beckah Harrison of Harrison’s Rod & Custom in Greeneville, Tennessee, created to celebrate classic GM trucks while giving back to the next generation of automotive builders. Hosted at the Greene County Fairgrounds, the event brings together Squarebody, OBS, and vintage GM truck enthusiasts from across the region for a well-run weekend focused on quality builds, community, and shared passion.
With support from partners like Auto Metal Direct and United by Trucks, GM Truck Fair showcases the charm of Greeneville while raising funds to help youth pursue careers in automotive restoration and customization.
The event drew over 250 registrants in 2025.
Bryan Harrison says that it is the mission of supporting the next generation of automotive technicians and craftsmen that makes the GM Truck Fair special.
Through registration fees, sponsorships, raffles, and event fundraising, GM Truck Fair supports scholarships awarded to students who demonstrate passion, dedication, and potential in the automotive industry. Every truck registered and every attendee who walks through the gates plays a direct role in helping someone take the next step toward a hands-on automotive career.
The scholarship fund is geared toward helping students pursue careers in street rods, automotive restoration, automotive fabrication, auto paint, and related skilled trades.
“Anything that relates back to the street rod or automotive industry,” Harrison said in a recent interview about the truck fair’s mission. “We want to put people back in the workforce, ideally in Greeneville and Greene County. It would be great to see them go into the job force around Greeneville.”
Harrison said that automotive and customs shops are not seeing new employees taking on the trade like they need to be.
“Times are changing and we just aren’t getting the backfill into these careers that we need to see happening. If we don’t get busy getting some younger people in these fields, none of us are going to be working,” Harrison said. “The body shop industry is bleeding. They don’t have people in their technician jobs. The automotive industry doesn’t have anybody in their technician jobs. It’s all related.”
Harrison has been involved in the customs and automotive business for years, and said that he has seen several younger people not be able to attend the programs they need due to barriers with funding.
“I know people who had a good plan and ambition, but they just couldn’t get the help they needed. I know people that were looking for funding so they could go to these programs,” Harrison said. “We want them to have those opportunities and that is what this scholarship and truck fair is about.”
Harrison said he and those involved in the GM Truck Fair want to do things the right way and for the right reasons.
“If we are giving young people a skill they can use in the industry, and they can go out and support themselves and their family working in the automotive industry, then we will be happy and fulfilling our mission,” Harrison said.
Registration for the event that supports the scholarship fund is now open at gmtruckfair.com .
Registration options start at $45.
Those entering the truck fair can also register for a Friday night VIP Reception 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the rooftop terrace of The General Morgan Inn sponsored by Diamondback Classic Tires on Aug. 14. The reception will include food, drinks, live music, and an auction of donated items.
The truck show will be held at the fairgrounds on Aug. 15, with an after-party following on Depot Street that evening.
On the evening of Saturday Aug. 15, the GM Truck Fair After-Party will be held on Depot Street from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The event, which is open to the public, will include a live band, show winning trucks on display, food trucks, an auction of donated items. Local businesses, such as The Gentry, will be open during the event.
The truck fair benefits The Harrison’s Rod and Custom Scholarship Fund that supports youth seeking training in hot rod and restoration related fields.
The event is sponsored by Auto Metal Direct, Harrison’s Rod and Custom, United By Trucks, and Classic Truck Performance Magazine.
