Rasmussen in 2009 conference panel discussion


hits” during her leadership of ATA. They also were quick to pinpoint the abilities she possesses that made such achievements possible. Cravens said that among the most


important of Rasmussen’s skills is her ability to relate to, basically, everyone: The public, drivers, executives, regulators, and legislators from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. And, added Cravens, Rasmussen has this amazing knack when it comes to finding volunteers. “She has the unique capability of


“SHE HAS THE UNIQUE CAPABILITY OF


RECRUITING WHOEVER SHE NEEDS TO, TO DO SOMETHING THAT THEY PROBABLY NORMALLY WOULDN’T DO.”


—GEORGE CRAVENS, ATA BOARD CHAIRMAN The ATA had piloted a third-party


licensing program for trucks in 1995; today, she said, there are many third-party licensers. And the ATA’s program has turned into more than just a way to get the tags on your truck more quickly. “We were able to eliminate a lot of the


wait times the truckers used to have with the state,” said Rasmussen. “We’re also able to assist them with their fleet planning. We can look at their registration last year and say, ‘You realized you operated X miles in this state last year, maybe you want to apportion.’ More than that, we know their fleets so when they come in, we can expedite their licensing. “It’s a tremendous service,” she said.


“They pay a convenience fee for that, but it’s been a very, very popular service.” Perhaps Rasmussen’s biggest


accomplishment, and certainly among her biggest challenges, was helping establish legislative relief from the practice of major shippers requiring total indemnification from trucking companies for any loads they hauled. Placing the legal burden for anything that happened to a shipment – even if it was the fault of the shippers, themselves – was


28


simply unacceptable and the ATA took that fight to lawmakers in Phoenix. “We became very interested in doing


something about that, starting in 2009,” she said. “Of course, it’s not something you go and do the first year. It took us a couple of years, [and] it would not have occurred without a grant from the American Trucking Associations. That didn’t pay all the freight to get it done, but it certainly helped us.” Rasmussen called it “an intense effort”


in the face of stiff opposition from the shippers. But the difference was made, she said, by the participation of ATA members. “Our members went to the Capitol,


they testified in front of committees, they were just awesome,” she said. “I don’t think it would’ve happened without them. You can say all you want about political fundraising, lobbying, and so on, but I gotta tell you – at the end of the day, legislators want to hear from truckers and how they’re affected by this. I think that’s what made the difference. Our members were phenomenal.” Those same issues – membership


growth, third-party licensing, the anti- indemnification bill – were all cited by colleagues of Rasmussen as her “greatest


recruiting whoever she needs to, to do something that they probably normally wouldn’t do, but because of her influence she convinces them to help her with whatever that project or item is she’s trying to accomplish,” he said. David Sly, president and COO of


Hurley Transportation Companies, noticed the same thing. “I saw her the other night at the annual


ATA Christmas function,” said Sly. “I told her I had heard the news, and said I’m going to tell them your biggest asset is, somehow, you get people to do things they otherwise didn’t know they wanted to do. “And it’s true,” he said. “That has been


a tremendous asset.” Sly spent about 20 years on the ATA


board before stepping down last year, so he’s worked closely with Rasmussen since she joined the association as Ryder’s representative in the 1990s. When he stepped down after his two-year term as board chairman, they even gave each other nicknames. “I said I wanted to be known as the


Old Chairman, because an old chair is comfortable to be in,” said Sly. “So she said I was O.C., and I said from now on you’re Prez.”


Both men said it would be difficult to


make a comprehensive list of everything Rasmussen had done to benefit the trucking industry in Arizona, as her achievements were legion. For starters, Sly said, when she became president the association didn’t really have a budgeting process to speak of. “One of the things that was a big


challenge was we really didn’t have any historical data to work from,” he said. “Because we didn’t really have a budget, we couldn’t benchmark. Right off the bat, she spent multiple hours with Larry [Woolson] and myself and together we were able, with


Arizona Trucking Association 2012 Post-Conference Report


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