legislative session, several legislators commented on this quality event and apparently took to heart the message of our industry’s essentiality, because we were largely successful during the 2012 session! Thank you to all those member companies that made this a day to remember!
The 2012 session was 16 days longer than the 100-day goal and 1,395 bills were introduced—the fourth highest bill total in the past 52 years! Yet only 362 bills were signed into law. If you think about fans at a football game holding up a big “D” and a white picket fence, “defense” was pretty much our posture for the 2012 session. Toll road legislation was our focus and protecting our industry from impactful changes to the existing public-private partnership tolling authority was quite a battle. We were also successful in passing a bill that streamlines the permitting process for our heavy haul truckers and houseboat haulers. I appreciate the countless hours Karen spent at the legislature and to all those who testified and contacted their legislators throughout the session to advance our efforts.
As spring arrived, even though it felt like summer, so did our Truck Driving Championship event at Tempe Diablo Stadium. We had 146 drivers participate in this year’s event. Thanks to Chair Becky Thiessen of DLD Truck Straps, Co-Chair Martin Vega of Walmart Transportation and the TDC committee for the most organized TDC that I can remember. ATA also sponsored its first- ever SuperTech Competition in 2012, sending the winner, Paul Titus of Jonesco Trucking, to the national SuperTech competition in Pittsburgh in September. Congratulations to all the winners and our Grand Champion, Eric Ramsdell ofWalmart Transportation.
I hope you were at ATA to participate in our Bobtails, Brews and BBQ 75th Anniversary celebration in May. The BBQ competition was fierce and the truck displays impressive. The classic DPS cruiser was my favorite non-truck exhibit at the event. Mike Kunde (Doudell Trucking) and his 75th Anniversary committee did an excellent job putting on this event. If you didn’t get a commemorative glass or shirt, you can still get one today at ATA.
In June, we made our annual trek to Flagstaff for the 2012 version of Road Check. We had a record number of member companies with staff on hand, observing side by side with DPS and DOT officers as they performed hundreds of commercial vehicle inspections. In my opinion, this is the best exposure if you want to learn the focus areas of inspections performed by commercial inspectors out in the field.
Arizona Trucking Association 2012 Yearbook
Many of our members did ride-alongs with DPS officers who were monitoring I-40. Thanks to the hospitality of Jonesco Trucking under the direction of Mike Nesbitt, we had great BBQ lunches in the comfortable confines of the terminal and garage at Jonesco.
Our Arizona Transportation Education Foundation continues to grow and lead in the area of truck and highway safety. The vision of the ATEF board and the leadership provided by Karen Rasmussen has resulted in national recognition of the education curriculum in the areas of “Teens and Trucks” and “Defeating Distracted Driving”. Karen has been working hard with DPS and the film crews to roll out a new program aimed at teens and the dangers of texting while driving. The new curriculum and DVD should be ready for release in October. Remember, if you want to support this safety mission and need a tax-deductible donation for 2012, please contribute to this important part of our quest to educate the public and save lives. Donations may also be designated for ATEF’s scholarship program and all donations are tax-deductible.
We flopped into August with our Texas Hold’em poker tournament to raise funds for TALE-PAC. Thanks to Vice Chairman Bart Wilson for garnering support for this event, to Mike Most (Michael Most Trucking) for being the emcee and “raising the ante” and to our sponsors for providing raffle prizes. We had more than 60 poker players and raised several thousand dollars for our PAC. We need to support the candidates that support our industry. The elections in November will have significant consequences both on a local and national level. There are so many important issues that are on the horizon that will be directly and indirectly impacted by the results of this election. I would encourage you to get involved in the process!
As I look forward starting the 2nd year of my term as chairman, the phrase, “The only constant is change” comes to mind. The good news is that even though the pace of change is increasing and each day brings a new challenge, the Arizona Trucking Association is 75 years strong and has a bright future! With your involvement, our continued success should propel us for at least another 75 years!
George Cravens ATA Chairman
Utility Trailer Sales Company of Arizona
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