Arkansas Trucking Association

Up Front- A little birdie told me

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Birds are supposed to be skilled at predicting the weather and enduring the elements.

Science says it’s something about barometric pressure and how the winged creatures have a sense for that sort of thing. Some birds binge eat to fatten up before a storm. Some build better nests to shelter them through it. And some bypass the ordeal entirely and fly south for the season. What birds have yet to master or learn through evolution… is the concept of glass. 

On Feb. 16, the ground was covered with half a foot of snow, and another round was in the forecast. On my way out of Target, I noticed a baby bird trapped in purgatory between the two sets of automatic doors. My arms were draped with shopping bags carrying the essential supplies (puzzles and candy) for surviving the coming snow days. I was bundled up in my parka and mask, kicking my legs to trigger the exterior doors to open and flapping my arms to shoo the bird outside. 

The poor thing was clearly traumatized and exhausted from flapping and flinging itself into what looked like blue skies on the other side of the glass. I scared it from one side to another and then back before it just gave up.

Finally, the bird was left with no other option than to give in to whatever came next. I was afraid it might flutter or bite me out of fear, but the bird was forced to trust me to pick it up and carry it outside to freezing freedom.

If it’s hard to picture me as the eccentric lady attempting to save baby animals in the Target vestibule, thank goodness. But unusual circumstances can push us to take on unfamiliar roles.

Local meteorologist Todd Yakobian said this is a rare weather event, the kind you tell your grandkids about; five years’ worth of snow in three days. We are all navigating unfamiliar territory: Snowmageddon 2021, a global pandemic, a volatile market, K-shaped recoveries, and social challenges we may have never confronted before. 

In life, in business, how many times do we pursue what we think are blue skies, using the same tactics that have always worked to no avail?  How hard must we try to do it our way? How scared of failure or demise must we be before we allow an unfamiliar influence to show us a different way? To deliver us to a place where we can be successful?

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if your pipes are frozen, your business is stalling or your political strategy is deadlocked, recognize who’s around to support you. Someone is likely willing to show you a different way.

I’ve got much respect for the confused fowl that clutched my palm through the entry way. There’s wisdom in admitting when you’ve hit the glass too many times and accepting help to the other side.

The Last Word

Doing hard things

By Rep. David Ray

On Feb. 4th, I presented my first bill on the House floor. As a freshman legislator, and especially as one of the youngest members of the House, I was nervous. I was also nervous for another reason: I wasn’t sure my bill would actually pass.

My bill, HB 1368, would require special elections to be held on one of two standardized dates that are consistent and predictable from year to year. The reason I ran this bill is simple: it's not fair to voters to hold elections on random and unpredictable dates, especially elections that raise their taxes. It’s one of the reasons we have high taxes compared to neighboring states. But this happens all the time.

This may not sound controversial, but I assure you it is in certain quarters—there are many groups with a vested interest in preserving the status quo. The Arkansas Municipal League and many school superintendents didn’t like the bill. They argued it would restrict local control and make it difficult to pass local projects such as school improvements or funding for libraries.

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From the President

2021 Arkansas Trucking Championship Cancelled

We are disappointed to announce that the 2021 Arkansas Trucking Championship, previously scheduled for June 11-13, is cancelled. This announcement follows the cancellation of the American Trucking Associations' National Truck Driving Championship & National Step Van Driving Championships (NTDC/NSVDC).

After consulting with numerous member companies about their willingness to send competitors, volunteers and equipment, it became clear we would not have the numbers necessary to host a successful championship.

For half a century, we have recognized safety and excellence in the professional technicians and drivers from across our state by bringing them together to compete. Together with peers and families, we have celebrated their successes.

Drivers and technicians, thank you for all of the hard work you continue to deliver day in and day out. Your dedication to doing this job safely in the most complicated of situations has never been more evident than what we have witnessed over the past year. 

To the volunteers, employers, families and fans, please join us in thanking and celebrating these heroes from afar. We must continue to show our appreciation and to recognize all they put on the line so we can move our nation forward. 

We hope to see you all safe and healthy in 2022.

Up Front- Before, during, after: hope

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

2020. A number. A year. An era. A verb. A tragedy. A triumph. A numbing out. A waking up. A distancing. A coming together.

It’s been almost 20 years since Sept. 11, 2001, when hijacked planes flew into the towers and buried our sense of security beneath rubble in New York City. Still, every year, people, unprompted, tell us what they were doing when they heard the news, where they were when they watched it happen on TV. It was a moment in our nation’s history that had a before and an after.

As I’m writing this, 2020 is about to end, and I’m searching for a single moment that I might remember in 20 years. There have been many I won’t forget, but we didn’t get that demarcation between the before and the after that we all experienced together. The whole year has been “during” the pandemic. Even when we didn’t know it was here in the United States, perhaps as early as December 2019 or early January 2020, spreading slowly at first, unnoticed.  The pandemic was happening to us.

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