This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
CHAIRMAN’S LETTER


Nebraska Trucker is owned by Truck Services, Inc., and is published bimonthly by Matthews Publishing Group. For additional copies, to order reprints of individual articles or to become a subscriber, contact Cyndi Buhr at 402.476.8504.


Matthews Publishing Group, LLC jennifer@matthewspublishing.com


executive editor Larry Johnson art director


freelanceco@comcast.net illustrator


brentdraw@cox.net photographers


John David Pittman


Jennifer Barnett Reed Todd Traub


contributing writers Steve Brawner Sam Eifling Eric Francis J.K. Jones


Randy Hampton Roger Holsinger Jon D. Kennedy Zach Mayhew Bob Ocken


Brent Bennett The Freelance Co., LLC Jon D. Kennedy Jennifer Matthews Kidd publisher FROM GOOD TO GREAT!


Happy New Year from Scottsbluff, Nebraska! I am very pleased and excited to have the opportunity to serve you in my second term as your Chairman. I enjoyed the challenges and successes that occurred during my first term so much, when presented with the opportunity to do it again, I just couldn’t turn it down. I’d like to thank our current Executive Committee, the NTA/TSI staff, my employer, Shane Aulick, my fellow employees at Aulick Leasing and you, our members at large for having the confidence in me for another year.


www.nebtrucking.com president


ljohnson@nebtrucking.com pwood@nebtrucking.com


special projects coordinator Nance Harris


nharris@nebtrucking.com controller


knesja@nebtrucking.com cbuhr@nebtrucking.com


office manager Cyndi Buhr


Keith Nesja


vice president Patty Wood


Larry Johnson


association governed by a board of directors elected annually. Nebraska Trucking is an affiliate of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). ATA serves and represents the trucking industry on a national level, influencing federal and state government actions, advancing a positive trucking industry image, providing education programs and industry research, and promoting highway safety and security.


For more information, contact Nebraska Trucking: 1701 K Street P.O. Box 81010 Lincoln, NE 68501 Phone 402.476.8504 Fax: 402.476.8570


Nebraska Trucking Association is a statewide trade association for commercial truck and bus operators and affiliated businesses. It is a not-for-profit


Without a doubt, the 2012/2013 program year has had it’s challenges and opportunities. We’ve seen some changes in our publication, the Nebraska Trucker over the past year and a half, as well as some changes in our long time, loyal staff. I appreciate everyone that has come to me with their comments, concerns, suggestions and they have not fallen on deaf ears. I am working with our Executive Committee and Larry Johnson, our President to look at these changes as opportunities for positive growth to meet the ever-changing demands of our members in our constantly changing industry. I’m a firm believer that challenges create opportunities, which then leads to progress and continued successes. Te Nebraska Trucking Association and Truck Services have a long and successful history of being leaders in change and progress. We live in a very trucker friendly state that has occurred by creating positive, non-adversarial working relationships with our partners in safety, enforcement and taxation in State Government. Lately, as our concern for finding a competent, well trained workforce for our immediate needs and for our long term success, we’ve seen tremendous support from our Departments of Labor, Education and Economic Development. Working together, our industry leaders and NTA staff are helping to create national models for attracting a workforce at a much younger age that are starting to recognize that we offer one of the top career pathways for high wage, high demand jobs in our state. We’re beginning to see a new generation of youthful workers getting into trucking as their first choice, not last and not by chance. It’s particularly exciting to see this interest exploding when we see our CDL and diesel tech programs at the private and community college level full, waitlisted and expanding to meet OUR industry’s future needs. As interest grows in these areas, we’re starting to see additional degree programs pop up in Supply Chain Management and Logistics that have never been offered before at our community college and universities in Nebraska. It is hopeful that the models being tested in some of our middle and high school programs can expand on a statewide basis. I’m also hoping that for all you company owners with children or grand children, you’ll help them take a look at these new programs so that when the day comes when YOU want to slow down, you’ll have a likely successor(s) to carry on the family tradition.


I’ll close with a promise that I’ll do my level best over the next program year to help lead and prepare our Executive Committee and Association to ever greater levels of change and progress. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year.


Daniel Tompkins Aulick Leasing Corp.


Nebraska Trucking Chairman of the Board dtompkins@aulickleasing.com


NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 1, 2014 — www.nebtrucking.com 5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28