Arkansas Trucking Association

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 until Nov. 30, and as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted, this year's season produced an above average number of storms. The devastation in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina resulted in washed away highways, disrupted businesses and halted supply chains of critical products the entire nation depends on.

Before the clouds had cleared, volunteers were loading trailers to haul hope back to communities where everything was lost. Arkansas-based companies joined the efforts.

Stallion Transportation delivered a truckload of 28 pallets of meals-ready-to-eat or MREs into Georgia, while PAM Transport collected and transported employee and community donations including water, food, clothing, pet supplies, toiletries, paper products and cleaning supplies into North Carolina.

And now as hurricane season ends, winter is coming.

Nuclear verdicts and legal reform - why should you care?

By Nathan Meisgeier

Raise your hand if your trucking liability insurance premiums have been plummeting to record lows over the last few years? Looks around for any raised hands

OK. Raise your hand if it’s easy for you to find liability insurers beating down your door and competing for the opportunity to insure your trucks and drivers? Still looking for a single hand

One more try. Raise your hand if you believe that any accident claim or lawsuit against your company would be resolved quickly, reasonably and at a fair settlement? OK, fine. On that one, I’m not even going to look around the room

As all truckers know, skyrocketing insurance premiums, a lack of insurers willing to write for our industry and climbing claim costs are adding financial stress to an already elongated freight recession.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

I'm sure you’ve noticed, it’s election season again.

Even if you don’t own a calendar, incessant commercials signal it. Candidates smile up at us from postcards in mailboxes or stand with their families in front of flags on television screens to make the case for how they will bring us progress or retrieve something lost. Do we like them, trust them, align with their ideals?

In addition to names, titles and political parties on the ballot, there are also issues. They’re numbered and nameless, making them harder to connect the choice we make to the future consequences. It’s not always apparent from ballot title language how each is relevant to our lives or livelihood.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

You’re used to reading about trucks in this space, but as a nod to our cover story, George Henry and his passion for flight, I want to praise a moment in aeronautic history when sharing information allowed humanity to reach new heights.

You know the story of the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, and how two bicycle mechanics achieved groundbreaking advancements in aerodynamics that led to controlled flight and airplanes.

An early pioneer, Otto Lilienthal, was a German aviator who built a hang glider with wings that he improved through a series of experiments. He was an inspiration to the Wright brothers, and they used data he collected as they invented their own flying devices. While helpful in the beginning, Lilienthal’s data wasn’t enough for Orville and Wilbur to take flight. They built a new tool—their own wind tunnel to gather aerodynamic data for calculations—and from that information, they built their first piloted aircraft. The flight test at Kitty Hawk only lasted two minutes, but a year later, they had a new prototype and tested again. The progress made in just a few years led to the 1903 Wright Flyer, the first heavier-than-air powered aircraft.

There’s a lesson to be learned in the Wrights’ resolve to not settle for existing data and to discover new tools for more information. The result led to better, safer flight for everyone.

Grand Champions Announced for State Trucking Championship

Eleven professional truck drivers and technicians qualify to compete for national titles following Arkansas Trucking Championship

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – Arkansas Trucking Association has awarded nine professional truck drivers and two technicians with top prizes at the 2024 Arkansas Trucking Championship. The eleven professionals make up Team Arkansas and will represent the state at the national competitions.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Dominating another media cycle, Taylor Swift dropped a new album (or two if you count the 2 a.m. surprise bonus tracks). The tortuous lyrics reveal that the records she broke, the millions, even billions, of dollars earned, the tour, the movie, the costumes, the success of her sparkly summer by every metric were all in sharp contrast to the struggles of her personal life during that same time.

In similar dichotomy, the U.S. economy appears to be growing stronger; the metrics tell us that we are at full employment, steady economic growth, inflation has slowed to historical norms and the recession economists once predicted has not materialized, but the trucking industry continues to sputter.

Their Stories, Their Choice

American Trucking Associations’ Women in Motion program is compiling stories from independent contractors in all 50 states to share how they leveraged the owner-operator model to build a successful career in the industry. Each women shares why she chose the contractor route and what she’d like policymakers to know about how threats to the model will affect her life.

BAMBI BEALER
Arkansas Owner Operator
How long have you been in the trucking industry?
I began my trucking career in July 2012. 11.5 years.

How would restrictions or a ban on independent contracting impact your life?
It would be devastating. My family depends on my income and the flexibility that being an independent contractor provides. A ban or a restriction would limit both of those.

Why did you choose to become an independent contractor?
I wanted to run my own business. I felt it was time for me to grow.

What message would you like to send to policymakers?
Not all independent contractors are the same. Although our name says independent contractor, we are not just “gig” workers, we are small business owners! Our business depends on these companies we work with. We don’t need or want new legislation that will increase our costs!

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Scam narratives are in the zeitgeist. We are drawn to the stories of people who could have been us, who were ripped off and taken advantage of. They are cautionary tales that keep us safe because they remind us to stay alert.

You can’t turn on a podcast or streaming network without finding a dozen accounts of the people who’ve been bamboozled by scam artists. The victims might lose a few hundred dollars in a pyramid scheme or their life savings to an online catfish. The irreplaceable loss for all of us is in our trust.

In the trucking community, we do our best to look out for each other, and when fraudsters prey on the men and women who move America’s freight, we don’t just watch it happen.

Last month, WBTV in North Carolina began reporting on a three-part investigation, “The Wild West of Towing in Charlotte,” about tow business owners facing multiple felony charges. With red yarn, a cork board and somber tones, the reporters presented their findings which included millions of dollars in stolen goods, car chases, kidnappings, drug trafficking and an incredible criminal ring of towing businesses in the area.

Closer to home, and only slightly less sensational, another towing scam has been operating in the Memphis metro area and preying on our members.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

The first few weeks of a new year, we’re all speaking our resolutions into the universe. We name what we care about, what we’re working on, the word that summarizes our aspirations, the problems we want to solve and the kind of people we want to be.

A lot of those visions and nice ideas will be abandoned by February.  But sometimes, we keep repeating them.  Bravely shouting into the void, “This still matters,” until our voices are hoarse.

In trucking, we’ve been resolving to address the workforce shortage and lack of safe, accessible truck parking for years. We talk about it regularly at meetings and over coffee. We pull up to roundtables and panels to share our experiences in hopes of compelling action. We tell researchers who literally publish a list of our top concerns that local and national media report to our audiences. We call on legislators in Arkansas or we get on an airplane and visit those in D.C. to tell them what we need to do our jobs better and safer.

We keep vocalizing what we are striving for. We make noise, because in some spaces—the angles, the distance, the textures--that noise is reflected.

And we hear echoes.

When the sound waves reflect off surfaces, it bounces back, repeating our message. And each bounce adds to the echo, finding new surfaces.

This year, we have had the opportunity to hear our resolutions echoed back in spaces where real change happens.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – The Arkansas Trucking Association is pleased to announce that Jordan Welch has joined the organization as finance coordinator. Jordan will support the ATA Self Insurers' Fund for workers’ compensation insurance as well as support other financial aspects of organizational management.

ATA president Shannon Newton said, "We're excited to add Jordan to our team. She brings a skill set that will serve our Fund members well, while allowing our organization to improve our efforts to promote and protect the entire trucking industry in Arkansas.”

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Over the next year, we will see hundreds of elements of the 2024 election season play out in real time. We’ll watch campaign commercials until we’re seeing red (or blue). We’ll receive fundraising emails and political mailers. We’ll watch or avoid the debates. We’ll see candidates bow out and primary results posted. We’ll endure awkward holiday conversations or maybe offer heartfelt support to a candidate or cause. Then finally, we’ll conclude with the final task of making selections with a stylus on ballots next November.

All of that starts with the filing period, where candidates officially request their names to appear on the ballot.

It’s like the Rube Goldberg machines you see in cartoons or movies—the contraptions that turn some ordinary event into a series of a bunch of small steps carried out by simple machines. Pull this string that flips the cup that drops the marble down the ramp and rolls into an epic domino formation, and when the final domino falls, it lands on the button that turns all the lights on. It’s something you could do without a bunch of levers flipping, wheels turning, but the machine makes the work a performance to behold. The point of a Rube Goldberg machine is the spectacle, to make some banal task fun to watch.

Election season doesn’t always feel fun to watch, but it is a type of Rube Goldberg machine. It’s a chain reaction that we need to work even when all the little steps feel overengineered and unnecessary.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – Project Zero and Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will be partnering with trucking to deliver Christmas for children and teens in foster care across Arkansas.

Over the past few weeks, individuals and businesses adopted wish lists of children in foster care. Today, Friday, Dec. 1, at Project Zero’s “North Pole” at EngageMed in North Little Rock, community volunteers will organize, sort and load the donated gifts onto trucks to be delivered to Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, in preparation for tomorrow’s Candyland Christmas. 

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Over my 20-year career, I’ve had the honor of meeting dozens of industry titans: J.B. Hunt, Sheridan Garrison, Dan England, Jerry Moyes, Robert Low and other recognizable figures. But some of the most rewarding and impactful conversations I’ve had were with less recognizable individuals: Gary Mars, Loren Hatfield, Danny Fuller, Dave Hall, Jessie King and more.

Who are they? You’ve likely seen them within the pages of this magazine. The work they do impacts communities across our state, but they aren’t household names. If the Arkansas Trucking Association is the voice of the Arkansas trucking industry, these individuals, Arkansas Road Team Captains, are the trucking industry.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – In an executive proclamation, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders officially declared Sept. 10-16, 2023, Truck Driver Appreciation Week in Arkansas. During this week, the Arkansas Trucking Association, along with American Trucking Associations and the entire trucking industry, celebrates the 3.5 million professional truck drivers who work each day to deliver America’s freight safely as part of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

“Professional truck drivers deliver goods to every home, community, school, and business in Arkansas. In times of prosperity or times of crisis, Arkansas’ and our nation’s economy rides on the shoulders of professional drivers who bring what we need every day to thrive, and survive, build and rebuild our lives across the state,” Gov. Sanders said in the proclamation.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

On July 8, my kids and I put on our sequins and smiles, stacked beaded bracelets up our arms and joined 75,000 other Swifties in Kansas City for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. We sang along to our favorite songs, bought merch and had so much fun we forgot to act cool about any of it.

The tour, which spans Swift's career including songs from every album, is shaping up to be a cultural moment, one that I wanted to experience with my two young teens.

Long before we funneled in, windows down, music up, a convoy of trucks had descended on Arrowhead Stadium. The logistics of creating the kind of four-hour spectacle that lives up to fans’ wildest dreams is the result of hundreds of crewmembers, complex planning, back ups for the backups and, of course, trucks—about 90 of them, costing $500,000 each week in fleet expenses alone.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – Two graduating Arkansas seniors have been selected to receive scholarships from the Arkansas Trucking Association. Bass Burroughs of Mt. Vernon, Ark., and William Warren of Floral, Ark., are both planning to attend Arkansas State University – Beebe, Searcy campus this fall to pursue careers in medium/heavy duty truck technology. Each of the students will receive a $7,500 scholarship from the Carl Tapp Memorial Scholarship Fund to aid in their education and training.

Bass Burroughs of Mt. Vernon, Ark. Arkansas State University-Searcy, Beebe	William Warren of Floral, Ark. Arkansas State University-Searcy, Beebe

“Trucking is at the forefront of many evolving technologies like autonomous vehicles and collision-mitigation systems. It is critical that we continue to recruit new talent who can not only keep our trucks moving safely down the road, but also equip us for what’s next,” said Shannon Newton, president, Arkansas Trucking Association. “I am honored to welcome Bass and William to our industry and look forward to watching them lead us into the future. Our industry is over a century old, but what we do and what we deliver today is still as relevant as it was a hundred years ago.”

On Wednesday, May 17, the Arkansas Trucking Association announced the 2022 Driver of the Year, Ken Geer; 2022 Safety Professional of the Year, Brett Graves; and 2022 Maintenance Professional of the Year, Samuel Satterfield. The top honors were announced at the awards luncheon during the ATA Conference in Little Rock, Ark.

Each year, the Arkansas Trucking Association recognizes one driver for their strong and noteworthy professional qualifications, experience and performance; one safety professional for their qualifications, safety program and safety achievements; and a maintenance professional for their contributions to their company’s maintenance program, certifications and credentials.

Ken Geer, the 2022 Driver of the Year, has been a professional truck driver for Walmart Transportation since 2020. In his 34-year career, he has driven more than 4 million accident-free miles. Dedicated to safety in his professional and personal life, the former firefighter volunteers to run fireworks displays at Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion and local football games. He’s also a committed fundraiser for the Gravette Lion Band Boosters.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

What should you carry on an 18-mile trek descending 5,000 feet into the Grand Canyon? I’ve spent a lot of time researching this question over the last few weeks. The internet has innumerable lists and a few warnings. A headlamp and some SPF made my packing list. Comfortable shoes were a must. I planned to bring sunglasses, chapstick and layered clothing for protection against the elements. Water, obviously, but how much is enough for a 12-hour hike?

When it was time to step onto the trail, I wanted to be ready to enjoy the awe-inducing view of wind-sculpted rock walls and be prepared for the thirst, hunger, muscle fatigue, blistered feet or any other challenge I might encounter.

I was joining a group of friends to hike seven miles down the South Kaibob Trail to the Colorado River Basin, make a stop at Phantom Ranch, and then climb back up the 10-mile Bright Angel Trail all in one day. Expected to take from sunrise to sunset, this is a feat only 1% of Grand Canyon visitors achieve.

Today—calves sore and memories still fresh—I can say I did it, and though I overpacked, I’m really grateful for all the snacks and that extra pair of socks.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

In a regulated industry like trucking, solving industry problems often seems to require an act of Congress. I don’t mean that figuratively. The IIJA that provides federal dollars to our crumbling infrastructure was a bipartisan victory that passed only after years of lobbying and negotiation. The creation of FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse to keep drug abusers out of commercial trucks was also a literal act of Congress, thanks to Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) partnering with ATA to persuade his colleagues that carriers needed a way to flag drivers with positive drug tests when they apply for the next driving job.

In Arkansas, we often ask our Legislature to understand our business and to pass laws that help us do our jobs better with fewer complications.

But not every challenge we face requires navigating the halls of the Capitol. Over the last year, ATA has been working through a specific challenge without waiting for elected officials to take a single vote or pass any new laws. Some months ago, we learned that the path from interest to employment for a new CDL driver is especially cumbersome.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

It probably feels a little late to send season’s greetings. You’ve eaten your black-eyed peas and cornbread and probably pulled the Christmas tree to the curb or boxed it back up in the attic, but this, too, is a season I am ready to greet.

Arkansas has a new gubernatorial administration for the first time in eight years. There are new cabinet secretaries, new commissioners, new legislative liaisons and policy advisors. As the 94^th General Assembly of the Arkansas Legislature begins, there are even more new faces around the Capitol with 31 individuals serving for the very first time. (see page X for our election recap).

All that newness can be exciting, but the unknown can also be intimidating.

Our elected officials, returning or fresh-faced, are also deciding what to do with this season. As leadership changes, so do agendas and priorities.

Popularity Contest: People Like Truckers

By Trucking Moves America Forward

 In September, Trucking Moves America Forward commissioned a survey to measure the impact of awareness and image campaigns. The TMAF campaign was launched in March 2014 at the Mid-America Trucking Show to improve the image of the trucking industry and educate the public on the impact of the industry and its relevance to the American way of life.

When the survey was last conducted pre-pandemic in 2019, 67% of respondents had a favorable impression of the trucking industry.

Since then, the public’s perception of trucking has only improved. In fact, the image of trucking is stronger than ever.

The public perception of the trucking is at an all-time high with the poll finding that the majority of Americans – 87% of voters – have a favorable impression of trucking, which is the highest public opinion has been since TMAF began tracking industry views almost a decade ago. More and more Americans continue to realize the essential role that trucking plays in the nation’s economy and in all of our lives, thanks to industry-wide education efforts.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Those who know me well, know that highlighting the differences associated with being a woman in the workplace is not a subject that excites me. I long for the day when it isn’t noteworthy, and we can just accolade the individual. No need to asterisk her success: She’s smart/talented/accomplished for a woman.

But we’re not there yet, so continuing to talk about it is important. Highlighting the successes of women in our industry makes it easier for others to imagine their own. Emulating the path of others seems more achievable than blazing a new one—not only for young girls imagining what they want to be when they grow up but also for young ladies contemplating college courses and career decisions. Our industry needs both. 

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

College football is back. Woo Pig Sooie!! Bust out your team colors, criticize the pre-season rankings, make your own predictions and escape real-world realities for a few hours. Whether you’re gathered in the bleachers or in living rooms and sports bars around the state, supporting your team is just a good way to spend a Saturday. Paint your face, scream your lungs out, invest a little too much emotion in the outcome of the game; however you fan, I’m here for it.

The game day commercial breaks I’m less enthusiastic about.

This year, especially, it feels like the boundary between the challenges of the industry are seeping into the spaces between quarters, and the feeling I am left with is whiplash and even a little bit of dread.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

The heavy task of delivering 10.23 billion tons of America’s freight every year takes millions of people. Millions of people, fulfilling different roles—some put on a uniform before grabbing company keys, others invest in their own class 8 tractor, or pop the hood to maintain the machines, pick up the phones and create efficient routes, train the next generation of drivers or keep the books. Every role matters. An unreasonable burden to interstate commerce would be to dismantle one of the most critical roles—the owner-operator.

For nearly three decades, the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act has forbidden states from enacting laws relating to prices, routes and services of motor carriers to avoid an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.

However, California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), popularly known as the “gig worker bill,” essentially requires companies that hire independent contractors to reclassify them as employees. Enforcing an ABC test all but eliminates a motor carriers’ ability to contract with an owner-operator because they are both in the business of transporting goods for hire.

Truck Driving Championship Winners

FULL LIST

Technician Championship Winners

FULL LIST

ATA would like to thank all the volunteers, sponsors, vendors, drivers, technicians, and fans for their support.

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. 

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.

Wyatt Jepsen, Walmart Transportation, and Russ Curbo, Lew Thompson & Son Trucking, receive top awards at ATA Annual Conference 

On Wednesday, May 11, the Arkansas Trucking Association announced the 2021 Driver of the Year, Wyatt Jepsen, and 2021 Safety Professional of the Year, Russ Curbo. Jepsen is a professional driver for Walmart Transportation. Carson is the director of safety at Lew Thompson & Son Trucking in Huntsville, Ark. Both honors were bestowed at the Safety Awards Luncheon during the ATA Annual Business Conference & Vendor Showcase in Hot Springs, Ark.

Each year, the Arkansas Trucking Association recognizes one driver for their strong and noteworthy professional qualifications, experience and performance and one safety professional for their qualifications, safety program and safety achievements.

2021 Maintenance Professional of the Year - Ryan Womack, McKee Foods Transportation

At the Arkansas Technician Championship in Rogers last month, the Arkansas Trucking Association announced the winner of a new award: the Maintenance Professional of the Year Award. The inaugural recipient, Ryan Womack, fleet maintenance superintendent for McKee Foods Transportation, LLC, was named at the awards banquet on June 24.

“We have long recognized the top driver and safety professional at our annual conference, so we are thrilled to add this award and recognize the men and women who keep our equipment safely on the road,” said Shannon Newton, ATA president. “We could not have given this inaugural award to a more deserving candidate than Ryan. He is a dynamic leader within his company, our association and our industry.”