15 www.ortrucking.org Issue 4 | 2022 OTA Member Michael Card & Retiring Rep. Peter DeFazio Receive Awards at ATA MCE22 DURING ITS MANAGEMENT Conference & Exhibition that took place in October in San Diego, American Trucking Associations highlighted the important work individuals are doing for the trucking industry. Among these was Combined Transport Inc. President Michael Card, who received the 2022 Cathy Evans Highway to Victory Award. The award recognizes an individual who’s led the fight for trucking by helping to score victories in Congress, courtrooms, and federal agencies. “Cathy Evans has spent an amazing career fighting on behalf of ATA members, representing a dynamic industry with remarkable enthusiasm for a decade,” Bill Sullivan, executive vice president of advocacy at ATA, said. “Like Cathy this year’s honoree is someone who always leads the charge and answers the call for trucking on key issues.” Card is a former ATA chairman, past OTA board chair and is currently chairing OTA’s Image Committee. Issues he’s tackled include existential challenges to the industry from lawsuit abuse, discriminatory tolling, hours of service, ELD implementation, drug screening mandates and workforce development issues. “This is a great honor and Cathy Evans is one of my truly great friends,” Card said. “I just want to thank ATA for all the support that they’ve given me and my family.” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the outgoing leader of the U.S. House Transportation Committee, was honored with the ATA Highway Diamond Award in recognition of his role securing national infrastructure improvement funds and for his overall work on behalf the transportation sector. During his speech, DeFazio praised the trucking industry for its perseverance during the pandemic, and for supporting communities and their own people as regions locked down and businesses shuttered. “All of you and all your employees—without you the country would grind to a halt,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said during an Oct. 24 luncheon address at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition. “I’ve been with you every step of the way to move America forward for 36 years working on the committee,” he said. “We didn’t agree every time, but we worked a lot of stuff out over those years.” DeFazio also pointed to the early relief packages passed at the start of the pandemic to save industries that were hanging in the balance, saying he supported a number of applications from trucking companies for the lending programs. He acknowledged that supply chains were tested as freight patterns and the economy felt the lingering effects of shutdowns, while also creating record demand for consumer goods. Something the trucking industry quickly and efficiently responded to. “My grocery store shelves were never empty,” DeFazio said. “Your drivers were subjected to very difficult conditions, but they kept the freight moving. I know it was an incredible challenge, and you met that challenge and you kept the country going.” DeFazio noted that the trucking industry faces challenges such as traffic bottlenecks, congestion, rising fuel prices, delays at shipper and receiver facilities, deteriorating infrastructure, and driver turnover. While touting the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, he also warned that new challenges are looming, pointing to the need for a national infrastructure grid for charging electric trucks and cars, as well as the need to find new funding mechanisms for vehicles that do not burn fuel.
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