Arkansas Trucking Association

News Release: ATA Elects New Chairman, Directors at 2022 Annual Conference

ATA Elects New Chairman, Directors at 2022 Conference

Representatives from J.B. Hunt, Wayne Smith Trucking, MHC Kenworth join ranks

The Arkansas Trucking Association held Board of Directors elections at its annual conference in Hot Springs, Ark., May 11-13. Outgoing Chairman Mark Morris, president and CEO of Hamburg-based Morris Transportation Services, announced Jeff Loggins, president of Jonesboro-based Loggins Logistics, was selected to succeed him to the crowd of nearly 300 trucking professionals.

“Mark served as a chairman during a critical time for our industry,” said Shannon Newton, president, Arkansas Trucking Association. “We thank him for his leadership when the pandemic, supply chain issues and ongoing workforce shortages put a spotlight on how essential trucking is. We look forward to working with our new chairman, Jeff Loggins, to continue to address these and other issues that matter most to our more than 330 member companies.”

Additionally, three transportation leaders were elected to join the Arkansas Trucking Association Board of Directors:

• Neil Corder, President – Wayne Smith Trucking, Inc. of Morrilton, Ark.;
• Brad Hicks, President of Highway Services and EVP – J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. of Lowell, Ark.; and
• Todd Venable, Branch Manager – MHC Kenworth of Little Rock, Ark.

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Up Front- Famous Redhead

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

In early April, I traveled with a group of Arkansas trucking executives to Washington D.C. to meet with our delegation and share our experiences and asks on important policy issues, as part of our annual Call on Washington.

The trip can feel like a whirlwind.

In two days, our attendees had a briefing with the American Trucking Associations representatives on current initiatives and proposed legislation that affect trucking, followed by face-to-face meetings with all six members of the Arkansas delegation. We had claimed time and attention between committee meetings and intelligence briefings to talk about infrastructure, the supply chain struggles, workforce barriers and lawsuit reform. It was a lot of ground to cover—both policy and literally as we hustled from office to office by trolley, foot and with an escort. 

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The Last Word

Mr. Morris Goes to Washington

By Mark Morris

In April, I joined Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton and other trucking executives for my first Call on Washington. Over two days, we walked miles back and forth over Capitol Hill for meetings with our delegation to talk trucking. After more than two years of virtual this and webinar that, I welcomed the opportunity to come face-to-face with my elected officials in the nation’s capital.

I was elected to be chairman of the Arkansas Trucking Association Board of Directors August 2020 at the annual conference that had been delayed three months because of the pandemic. At that time, board members were taking conference calls with state and federal leadership to get updates on the virus situation and share what challenges we were facing to keep the supply chain moving. Since then, my whole tenure as chair has been in the middle of the pandemic; the vaccine rollout; the inflating economy; and the shortage of workers, toilet paper and microchips. The COVID chair, that’s who I’ve had to be.

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Up Front- In the Queue

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Whether you’re eager for your first set of keys and real freedom or seeking a professional license to earn a living, getting a driving license is a process.  Some take drivers’ education courses to prepare, and others flip through the little study guides provided by the state police. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a highlighted version to expedite my studies. After filling in the bubbles and answering dozens of questions to prove we could decode traffic signs and understood right-of-way at various stops, we were only halfway to our license.

The last step is getting behind the wheel with a test examiner. It’s the same for commercial drivers; before someone can earn their CDL, they have to pass a skills test. Unlike the multiple-choice knowledge test which can be conducted with one proctor and several testers at a time, a skills test is one-on-one and therefore takes more human resources and time. While there are more exam locations than counties for individuals looking to get their Arkansas driver’s license, for a CDL skills test, there are only six places in the state to go: Little Rock, Newport, Russellville, Hope, Harrison or Lowell.

In December, I serendipitously learned that some individuals were in a weeks-long queue to take the CDL skills test.

As an industry, we are constantly feeling the pressure of demand exceeding the number of available drivers. In my position as industry advocate, it is my job to enhance and expedite the workforce pipeline that we rely on to provide the flow of qualified workers. The dearth of CDL examiners presented a blocked pipe.

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