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Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc.
Oregon Truck Dispatch
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CHAIR’S MESSAGE
Bart Sherman
OTA Chair
Y
our association kicked off the New
Year with two grass root events. The
first was our annual Southern
Oregon mixer at the Seven Feathers Casino
Resort. For the past several years, OTA
members in the area have taken this
opportunity to catch up with colleagues, as
well as invite non-members and customers to
join them for the evening and learn more
about what OTA has to offer. Attendees
received an economic update from ATA’s
chief economist Bob Costello. I thought his
report was spot on and it will be interesting
to see what the rest of 2017 has in store for
those of us in trucking. I’d like to thank our
association’s staff and Andy Owens Jr. of
A&M Transport for planning this event and
giving our members in southern Oregon the
chance to pull together.
Our second event of the year was Trucking Day
at the Capitol. This event was the brainchild of
OTA President Jana Jarvis, and this was the first
time such an event was held. The primary
purpose of Trucking Day at the Capitol was to
inundate Salem and the Capitol mall with
trucking professionals. Those in attendance
were true ambassadors for the trucking
industry, meeting with as many of our
legislators as possible; explaining our position
on current and potential legislation and the
effect those measures would have on our
companies. We first had the opportunity to
meet as a group to receive information on the
key issues and to go over talking points that
groups used when meeting with individual
legislators. The day came to a close with a
casual reception for legislators, their staff and
all OTA attendees.
Personally, I think one of the greatest values of
Trucking Day at the Capitol was to connect
people with their legislators and make them
feel comfortable in an environment that most
of us do not encounter every day, or even every
year. While legislators are elected to serve the
people of Oregon, any sort of interaction with
them often seems unattainable. Many of us
wouldn’t know where to begin if we had an
issue we wanted our legislators to address.
Throughout the day, I heard from a number of
association members in attendance, who, while
this was their first time taking part in such an
event, by the end of the day felt comfortable
enough to do it again. They were excited to
represent our industry and would welcome the
chance to be part of an even stronger trucking
presence in the future. The overall buzz around
the Capitol was that the trucking industry was
there in full force and was firmly united behind
the issues that will impact how we do business
in Oregon.
Events like Trucking Day at the Capitol give us
the confidence to feel just as comfortable
setting a meeting with a legislator to discuss an
important industry issue as we do driving
Oregon highways and byways.
There are a number of things that you as an
OTA member can do throughout the year that
can be just as, or even more, impactful than
attending one of the events mentioned above.
Join a committee. Recruit a new member.
Sponsor an event. Sign up yourself or an
employee for our safety certification or
management training programs. OTA is your
association. Trucking is your industry. Take
advantage of the opportunities presented to get
involved, and ensure that trucking continues to
have a loud voice and a strong presence.
Events like Trucking Day at the Capitol give us the
confidence to feel just as comfortable setting a meeting
with a legislator to discuss an important industry issue
as we do driving Oregon highways and byways.