was assigned to Stuttgart, Germany, as a case officer on the Soviet intelligence desk. It was his job to keep spies out of the U.S. military. He actually found one KGB colonel who was collecting information from American civilian personnel working for the Army. He also helped commanders keep their own information confidential. His work schedule involved a lot of time on duty followed by lots of free time. He and Phyllis had brought their car from the United States, and they took full
advantage of the chance to see all of Western Europe. “For a couple of kids that had never been out of the United States, it was really an opportunity,” he said. When he returned to the States, Acklie
applied to serve as Madison County Attorney, which he planned to do while farming. Te one Republican on the Commission voted for him, while the two Democrats voted for the other candidate – a situation that led to Acklie becoming a lifelong Republican. Looking for
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work, he came to Lincoln and spent 10 years at a law firm specializing in transportation where he later became a partner, Nelson, Harding, Acklie, Leonard & Tate. Ten he left that to start Acklie and Peterson, another transportation law firm where he was practicing when he met Ken Norton and started representing Crete Carrier. In addition to building Crete Carrier into
a national operation, Acklie has worked hard to serve the industry as a whole. He served 27 years on the Nebraska State Highway Commission, to which he was originally appointed by Gov. Charles Tone. He was chairman of what is now the Nebraska Trucking Association and the Truckload Carriers Association. He was chairman of the American Trucking Associations from 2000-01, where his experiences included hiring the organization’s current CEO. When the previous leader quit, Acklie chaired the search committee for his replacement. After interviewing about 15 uninspiring candidates recommended by a head hunting firm, the committee members decided to begin searching on their own. Acklie contacted Kansas Gov. Bill Graves, whose family owned Graves Truck Line, and asked if he would be interested. Graves told him he couldn’t leave his seat, so Acklie asked if he would come to the next board meeting if it were held in Kansas City. “He came and talked to us,” Acklie said.
“We liked him. He got on the phone to his wife and agreed that he would accept the chairmanship of ATA if we waited until he finished his term as Governor.” Larry Johnson, president of the Nebraska
Trucking Association for 11 years, said Acklie has been a positive representative of the trucking industry. He credited Acklie for encouraging the association this past legislative session to support a fuel tax increase that will reach six cents over four years and raise an additional $75 million per year for Nebraska’s roads by 2019. Acklie knew the tax would increase the $900,000 his company paid in fuel taxes to the state of Nebraska. But as a carrier executive and highway commissioner, he also understood the need to improve Nebraska’s roads. Johnson said Acklie “had a very strong sense of timing” about the issue. He also has
20 NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 4, 2015 —
www.nebtrucking.com
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