All good things...

TCA officials at the US Department of TransportationIn the past 12 months, TCA has made its voice at the Capital louder and now has two internal and two external lobbyists focused on telling the story of truckload and helping to shape the discussion on proposed regulations and legislation.This will be my last Perspectives piece as TCA Chairman, and I thank CCJ for having me on this platform.

My one-year term is winding down and I look forward to handing over the reins to Dave Williams, Senior Vice President at Knight-Swift Transportation in less than two weeks at our annual convention in Orlando. I have really enjoyed my chairmanship and I’m amazed at how fast this year has gone by and I'm very excited about some of our accomplishments and the future of TCA. 

One of my biggest highlights has been the successful transition to our new President, Jim Ward

TCA officers and I tasked Jim with a long list of improvements and initiatives, and he and the TCA staff continue to deliver.

Our membership and retention numbers are the highest they have been in decades. We have revamped the TCA Professional Drivers of the Year program, where there will be more winners and greater cash prizes. We continue to work on bringing our Truckload Profitably Program in-house, and that project is progressing very well. 

We are launching a revamped fleet safety program that will enhance this highly successful program and provide even more actionable safety data to our members. Our government affairs efforts continue to expand and sharpen on behalf of our membership. We now have two internal and two external lobbyists who are focused on telling the story of truckload and helping to shape the discussion on proposed regulations and legislation.

Another major initiative involves NATMI, which is owned by TCA. We haven’t leveraged this relationship in the past anywhere near its full potential, but that is changing. We also recently announced the launch of the Clean Freight Coalition, with TCA as a founding member. This coalition will spearhead industry initiatives to help push for the logical, balanced and realistic application of technology and regulations. 

I’m sure that I’ve missed some other key accomplishments under my chairmanship but the bottom line here is that TCA is making things happen and the ROI value of TCA has never been higher (in my opinion) for our engaged members. 

TCA is on an upward trajectory indeed, and I know that under incoming Chairman Dave Williams' leadership, TCA will continue on this membership-driven path. It has been a real honor and pleasure serving as TCA Chairman, and thank you to the TCA staff and the TCA membership of carriers and service providers for allowing me to serve you.