OTA Dispatch Issue 3

Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch O TA’s core mission involves delivering services to members that provide value to our businesses; opportunities to learn about topics that are important to us and sponsor events that allow us to promote our businesses and the association in a way that results in our having a little fun in the process. OTA has a long and effective history surrounding advocacy efforts. For many years, Bob Russell, OTA’s recently retired vice- president of government affairs, made sure that our association’s views on issues that impact our daily operations were heard and considered by our legislators in Salem and at the local level. Currently Jana Jarvis, OTA’s President & CEO spends the majority of her time advocating on our behalf by participating in hearings and workgroups at both the state and local levels and by representing us at the federal level through our association’s affiliation with the American Trucking Association. Each year OTA staff and members journey to Washington DC to visit our elected officials so they have an in-person reminder of a sector of their home constituency. This annual visit also gives voice to the association’s position on past, present and future legislation that has or will affect our industry and our businesses. If you have not joined us for OTA’s Call on Washington in the past, there is still time to register. The Oregon delegation is heading to DC October 2–4 and I encourage you to experience a Call on Washington firsthand. Last year’s hugely popular OTA Trucking Day at the Capitol saw a record number of OTA members join with OTA staff and management to visit our elected officials in Salem and have the opportunity to introduce ourselves and express our views to a large number of our State Senators and Representatives. Attendees were also able to listen in on presenting legislators and sit in on hearings. For some, this was their first visit to the state’s Capitol building. Join us again on January 29, 2019 for our next Trucking Day at the Capitol. Add the date to your calendar and help OTA showcase our industry in Salem. The OTA Board of Directors views the advocacy of our industry at all levels of government as a top priority. The commitment of the OTA staff and Board is solid, and through programs like our Call on Washington, OTA in Action, and Truck PAC activities all members have the ability to assist in this vitally important effort. We are already predicting a tough legislative session, and we will need all the support we can get from all members of our industry. In this issue’s feature story, you’ll learn about how some members have taken the first step to get involved in OTA’s grassroots efforts. If you are interested in building our network of both industry partners and policy makers, we urge you to connect with members like Mark Gibson with Siskiyou Transportation. (See pg. 18) Our Annual Convention is also right around the corner. Will you be there? With plenty of networking opportunities and a chance to learn about the latest trucking trends, you’ll want to send your whole management team. Whether you can make it to the Convention and/or another OTA event or not—my question to you is how are you positively influencing our industry and what else can you commit to?  2 2 Diane DeAutremont OTA Chair Welcome New Members of Q2—2018! Brian Azich Motorfreight, LLC C. G. Gredvig, Inc. Columbia Distributing King Hay, LLC Northwest Earthmovers, Inc. Pacific Fence and Wire Plateau Travel Plaza Port of Morrow Warehousing Precision Relocation Services, LLC Shamrock Foods Company Tewalt & Sons, Inc. The Moving Pros, LLC