TWNA NEWS

Board Election Results
The election process for TWNA’s Associate Directors was recently conducted. Even with multiple calls for nominations, none of the seats were contested, so a balloting process was unnecessary. Two of the Associate Directors, Jeff Parrietti of Kenworth, representing the OEM membership segment, and David Kolman of Ol’ Blue, USA, representing the Org/Other membership segment, have both decided not to run for an additional term. Katy Troester of Peterbilt and Ellen Voie of Women in Trucking were nominated to run for Jeff’s and David’s board positions, respectively.

As none of the open positions were contested, there was no need for a balloting process, so Katy and Ellen will automatically join their Associate Director colleagues — Barbara Gould of Bendix, representing the Supplier membership segment, and Susan Fall of LaunchIt PR representing the Agency membership segment — on the board as of January 1, 2012.

Newest Membership Directory Out Soon
We’re currently in the process of catching up with the last few advertisers on our list, so we hope to have the new membership directory ready to go to press in the next few weeks, and have it mailed out before the end-of-year holidays. If you’d like to get your display ad into the directory, please contact TWNA HQ ASAP.

Technical Achievement Award: Judging Begins
The members of TWNA’s Technical Achievement Award Committee will soon be studying the new products nominated by members to be named “Best of 2011”. A short list is in preparation and it’s time to nominate any deserving product.

The Technical Achievement Award will be presented in early 2012. Last year, the big winner was the Bose Ride System from Bose.

While complete vehicles are not eligible, components are. To be eligible, a product or service has to clearly exhibit technical innovation, have a wide applicability in the trucking industry, offer significant benefits and be widely available (for the first time during the award year).

For more information, or to nominate a product, contact James Menzies via email.

You won’t win if you don’t enter…
The TWNA Communication Awards are open to entries from both the press and marketing/PR sides of the trucking industry. There are categories for writing, graphics, broadcast, websites, and internal communications, just to name a few. Virtually everything from feature articles, to press kits, to marketing brochures, to magazine redesigns, are all included in the scope of the program. Nearly everything except advertising is eligible for entry.

TWNA has extended the entry deadline until 11/30/11.

Publishers are encouraged to submit entries on behalf of their staff and freelance writers, photographers, and graphic artists. Freelancers can submit their own work if not submitted by the publisher. The award program is being administered by Elaine Haessner, co-founder of the International Automotive Media Awards.

The entries will be peer-judged against a thoroughly refined and tested standard scale. There is a small fee for each entry to cover the cost of administering the program. TWNA membership, although encouraged, is not required to submit entries.

The only way to guarantee that you will NOT win, is to NOT enter.

If I were in the editor’s chair …
By  Bob Martin

I’m one of those guys who picks up most of the free pubs in the truck stops, and at home I enjoy an assortment of trucking magazines. I have some advice for the people that write some of the articles, from the trucker point of view.

It seems that sometimes when they do stories or profiles on drivers they just print whatever the driver says without thinking if it could be anywhere in the realm of possibility. I’ve often thought they needed me as the editor.

Here’s a couple of classics that I would have sent back to the writer. I once read about this lady trucker who lived and worked out of Omaha on a reefer gig. She must have been one of those super truckers because she hauled meat from Omaha to New York City. Of course it was a drop and hook in Omaha, which made it easier, but I doubt she dropped and hooked at meat docks in NYC.

From my limited reefer experience and what I’ve heard, it’s get unloaded, get reefer rinsed out and find a return load, right? Here’s the punch line: According to this article, she made three round trips a week and like a lot of these type stories she also had a hobby – raising and showing horses, I think.

Just think about it. A 2,500-mile round trip, three times a week. Gimme a break.

Another one – sorry, gals, if it seems I am picking on you – this long-haul lady trucker stayed out for a month then took three days off to spend QUALITY time with her four kids. If that reporter was trying to make this sound like a swell thing, it didn’t work.

And then you read about the hubby/wife teams that run 300,000 miles a year. It seems they always have a working ranch and race motorcycles in their spare time. How do they do that? If I was the editor, I’d be asking.

Sometimes advertising gets in the game. A popular but now out-of-business trucking magazine ran an ad for a trucking company promoting their lease purchase. This ad depicted a good-looking young driver in front of a red Peterbilt (kinda like me) and these two dudes in three-piece suits. The marketing message was “here are an entry-level lawyer and doctor and one of our happy lease purchase operators and guess what? They are all making about the same money, in the $125,000 range.”

The ad forgot to mention that this was net to the doc and lawyer plus expense accounts, bonuses, cars and other perks. But it was gross for the happy lease purchase guy. And if he managed to scrape off a living and get a little equity in his truck out of it, he was an exceptionally good operator. Bordering on magical. If I had been the editor, this stupid ad would not have been on my pages.

It’s not just the print media that sometimes insults my intelligence. The radio chips in, too. I remember listening to a country music/ talk show hosted by a DJ I’ve listened to for 40 years. One time this guy calls in and announces that he just logged 12 million miles. My old buddy never flinched; he just congratulated him on a lifetime achievement. Outstanding, my friend.

Another trucker made the news for logging 7.5 million in 45 years, mostly pulling reefers. According to my $6 calculator that figures out to 3,200 miles per week average, week in and week out, EVERY week for 45 years. Think about it.

I did 45 years out there and consider that in the early years the interstates were far from finished, and trucks were a far cry from today’s models. By today’s standards, underpowered, rough riding, etc. What about the speed limits? And don’t forget we had 15 years of 55 mph coast-to-coast. There were a lot things that made it harder to rack up the  miles than now. I figure I probably did around 4 million miles in 45 years. Maybe I should brag mine up a little.

Truck drivers are famous for tall stories. I expect them at the roundtable in the truck stops, but I hate to read them or hear them on the radio.

Editor’s note: Land Line trucker/columnist Bob “Cowpoke” Martin died of cancer Oct. 11, 2011, at his home in Lafayette, IN. At age 68, he had trucked for 45 years. After retiring in 2008, he spent more than two years telling trucking stories in his popular online blog, as well as the award-winning column “Journeys” and “Spitballin’ with Cowpoke” in Land Line Magazine. Bob crafted his own farewell column in his last month. You can read that here.

Kolman’s Korner
Wireless devices – Seems it is now Okay to do it out in the Open

I’ve been attending a lot of meetings and conventions of late. One of the things I couldn’t help but notice is a growing lack of attention by those attending these events.

And it’s not because of the subject matter.

It’s because of all those wireless devices that distract attendee attention – from those using these devices and those around them.

I’m certain you’d agree that wireless devices have become a common fixture in meetings of all kinds.

Attention is a scarce resource. I would suggest that it is the scarcest resource in many organizations.

Despite what many people believe, the fact is, splitting attention between two tasks is something people simply don’t do well.

“A core limitation [of the brain] is an inability to concentrate on two things at once,” according to René Marois, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University and head of the school’s the Human Information Processing Laboratory.

Time was, lack-of-attention meeting and convention goers hide newspapers and quietly read them during meetings. Then, newspapers were replaced by wireless devices hidden in laps or under tables so as not to be conspicuous.

Nowadays, apparently, it is acceptable to use any wireless devices out in the open.

For those who feel they must remained “connected” during meetings, I ask you to show some courtesy. Mute your wireless devices or put it on vibrate? There are those of us who want to pay attention and not be distracted by rings, bings, beeps, gongs and songs.

How much material are lack-of-attention meeting and convention goers missing or failing to comprehend by not being “in” the meeting? For them, there is surely a loss of ROI from an event.

I have another question: How is it that in the days before wireless devices, company officials could be gone from the office for days to attend meetings and conventions, make sales calls, visit customers, etc., and their companies somehow survived?

NTSB Chairman Addresses TWNA Banquet – Arrives By Truck
By Ellen Voie, Women In Trucking
After traveling over 630 miles in two days with five different drivers, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman, Deborah A. P. Hersman arrived in Louisville just in time to attend the TWNA Awards Banquet at the Mid-America Trucking Show. Dressed in casual clothes with NTSB in big letters across her back, the Chairman described her trip from Washington DC to Louisville and what she learned from riding with professional drivers. “It is hard to know from a federal office building in Washington, DC what it is like for you in a commercial vehicle,” Hersman remarked, “That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to spend time with WIT, here in Louisville and on the road.”

The Chairman, who was appointed to the role by President Obama in 2009, came to the show to address more than 200 female professional drivers at the Women In Trucking (WIT) Association’s second annual “Salute to Women Behind the Wheel.”  During her two day trip she visited the Hurricane TA and toured the facility and was able to watch a level-one DOT inspection at the Midlothian, MD scale. Chairman Hersman was given a glimpse into the life of a professional driver, we’re confident that she will carry her experience back to Washington DC and will remember this industry’s passion for safety in her goal for safer highways.

Why Attend TWNA’s Industry Awards Banquet?
By Susan Fall, LaunchIt Public Relations
Why attend TWNA’s annual Industry Awards Banquet at the Mid-America Trucking Show? If you’re in public relations (or sales, marketing or business development, for that matter), I’ll give you one very simple yet oh so important reason to be there: NETWORKING. Period.

Where else can you enjoy food and drinks with several industry editors, the FMCSA and NTSB brass, top technology vendors (the TWNA Technical Achievement Award was presented at this year’s event), best in class drivers, and your colleagues in trucking public relations who actually understand what you’re talking about?

The TWNA Banquet is perhaps the only event, certainly the only one I can think of, that provides such a rare opportunity.

The evening begins with cocktails (no surprise there). But it’s not the 500 people crammed in a banquet hall juggling a drink and a mini plate of food while attempting to search out a familiar face kind of cocktail hour. It’s roughly 100-150 of the aforementioned individuals sipping drinks, shaking hands, exchanging cards and just catching up.

Following drinks is dinner. Like any10-top table meal, who is at your table determines your path of conversation. I happened to sit with another industry PR agency – a rare and nice opportunity, but I’d have to say the table where FMCSA Deputy Adminstrator, Bill Bronrott sat was perhaps the “liveliest” of tables.

Apparently, Bronrott asked his table to voice their opinions about the FMCSA and the regulatory issues within trucking. One vocal, yet very industry-involved driver replied (and I have this straight from the horse’s mouth so I’m confident I’m not spreading rumors here), “well, unless you want brown lettuce and green meat, I suggest you take another look at your hours of service proposal.” What kind of cool opportunity is that?!

Dinner was followed by a very interesting presentation given by NTSB Chairman, Debra Hersman.  She shared tales of her journey from DC to Louisville….in a truck! Chairman Hersman got to experience trucking and a day-in-the-life of a truck driver first hand thanks to a) her willingness to do so, and b) the organizational efforts of Ellen Voie and the Women in Trucking organization.

Next came the awards ceremony.  Some of you may have attended the banquet in its infancy years and are probably thinking, . . . too many awards, too many speeches, too much applause too late of an evening, . . . well, those days are done!

The awards ceremony is now a well-oiled machine of comedic relief and industry recognition for everything from the best marketing campaign to the best print article. In addition, Grote recognizes the Technical Achievement Award winner, TWNA presents its Lifetime Achievement Award, and topping the evening off,  Goodyear presents the heroic tales of the truckers honored as Highway Heroes.

Bottom line.  Best $50 I’ve spent in a long time!

TWNA & WIT Partner To Bring Speakers To Future MATS Banquets
After much positive feedback regarding the presentation of remarks by the FMCSA’s Anne Ferro during the 2010 TWNA Industry Awards Banquet, and by the NTSB’s Deborah Hersman at this year’s event, the TWNA Board has decided to make the VIP speaker segment a permanent part of the banquet schedule.

Because Ellen Voie of Women In Trucking (WIT) was instrumental in bringing Chairman Hersman to the 2011 banquet, the TWNA Board has asked her and the WIT organization to take the lead in soliciting prospective speakers, and the selection process.

Just in case we haven’t said it enough, many thanks are due to Ellen for her efforts to bring Chairman Hersman and future speakers to the banquet events.

To help highlight the important role of women in our predominantly-male industry, and to help improve communications between our industry and the regulatory community, TWNA and WIT have agreed to initially focus the search for prospective speakers on women from the regulatory community, in front-line management roles similar to those of Ferro and Hersman.

Rather than seeking top-level Cabinet appointees, both organizations feel that bringing the “unsung heroes” from the regulatory world together with the banquet attendees will prove to be educational, and will promote better relations between regulators and the industry.

TWNA asks that any member who may be aware of potential speakers please pass along suggestions to Ellen Voie at WIT HQ.

Internship Update
By Jami Jones, Land Line Magazine
After a lengthy development period, the TWNA Board implemented an internship for journalism students interested in the specialty niche of trucking journalism. The program will fund a 10-12 week internship – depending on the college’s or university’s requirements and summer schedule.

Applicants must submit an essay on a trucking related subject. The applications and essays will be reviewed by the host company and the TWNA Board. Once the applicant is selected, he or she will be announced in a future issue of The Dispatch. During the internship, the board would encourage all TWNA members to reach out to the intern, welcome them to our industry, and offer any assistance the intern may need through the course of the summer.

The Board is looking to partner closely with host companies and schools located in the immediate area of hosts to generate a better relationship, resulting in a robust response in applications.

Disappointingly, the 2011 internship position remained unfilled because of a lack of applications. The TWNA Board has reviewed the procedures in place, and is developing guidelines that will require more active participation in the applicant solicitation process by prospective host companies for the 2012 internship session.

Additional modifications are being made to the jobs.TWNA.org micro-site, including better display of the TWNA Internship recruitment video, which Bendix sponsored with gratis production by their video vendor, Cinecraft Productions. Kudos to Barbara Gould of Bendix for all of her effort and support on the internship micro-site project.

TWNA member companies interested in possibly hosting an intern, and/or helping to further develop the program should contact TWNA HQ.

Membership Renewals
By now, every member should have received an e-mail regarding renewal for the membership year that began on June 1st. If you have not received a renewal e-mail, either it has been caught in your spam filter, or the e-mail address we have on file for you is out of date. In either case, if you did not receive the e-mail, please contact TWNA HQ immediately.

The deadline for on-time renewals is June 10th. A surcharge of $15.00 will be added to renewals after that date.

If your company’s accounting policies require a formal invoice to be submitted, you must make that request to TWNA HQ prior to the deadline for your renewal to be considered on-time.

If your dues have already been paid, your renewal e-mail will indicate that information right above the listing of your member data. Those members who joined after January 1, 2011 are paid up for the membership year that began on June 1st.

Please remember that there are two parts to the renewal process, paying the appropriate dues amount, AND verifying that your member data is current. Even if your dues have already been paid, we must receive a response regarding your member data, even if all the data is current.

Given the scarcity of fully-completed renewals, this bears repeating: WE MUST RECEIVE A RESPONSE REGARDING YOUR MEMBER DATA, EVEN IF ALL THE DATA IS CURRENT.

As an added incentive for timely completion of this process, all those whose membership renewal is fully completed by the June 10th deadline will be entered in a drawing to win one of four special prizes.

Member Ambassador Program
Speaking of memberships, the TWNA Board has agreed to develop a membership ambassador program that would recognize the current members most successful at recruiting new members. While the details for this program have yet to be determined, similar programs typically recognize the top recruiters with  a modest monetary reward, a plaque/certificate, and the ever-popular bragging rights. We plan to have the details in place by late summer, so please stay tuned for updates.

Website Upgrade
While it seems like it was just yesterday that the TWNA.org website received its most recent major overhaul, that project is now two years in the past, an eternity in the online world. Sure there have been plenty of touch-ups here and there, as well as the routine updates, and we launched the jobs.TWNA.org micro-site in late 2010, but there is currently a wishlist of structural changes substantial enough to merit at least an “in-frame” overhaul.

To continue the regular upkeep of the site, and to fund the time needed for this next overhaul, we rely on some of the industry’s top companies to support the work with annual sponsorships. Most of the existing sponsors, including Bendix and Roadranger have already confirmed the renewal of their sponsorships, and Michelin recently joined this auspicious group of supporters. However, due to the amount of time and effort required for ongoing maintenance and regular upgrades, we still need additional sponsors. To find out more about sponsoring TWNA’s online resources, please contact Tom Kelley at TWNA HQ.

Also, if you have any suggestions for changes or upgrades to the website, please pass them along. We can’t guarantee we’ll be able to incorporate every idea, we’ll endeavor to do as much as possible.

# # #

Reserve your seats now

Even though the Mid-America Trucking Show is later than usual this year, time is running out to reserve your seats for the 2011 Truck Writers of North America Industry Awards Banquet. The banquet takes place on Thursday evening, March 31st, at 6:00 PM, in room C-203 of the Kentucky Fair & Expo Center. Tickets for the banquet are USD$50.00 each, or USD$350 for a table of eight.

This year’s banquet will feature a brief address from Debra Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, courtesy of Women in Trucking. Also in attendance will be Bill Bronrott , Deputy Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

In addition to presenting the Communication Awards and this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the winner of the 20th Annual TWNA Technical Achievement Award will be announced at the banquet, to help commemorate the 20th anniversary of Grote’s sponsorship of the award trophy.

(See more information on the Technical Achievement Award below.)

Don’t miss out on a chance to kick back and have fun with your colleagues while celebrating the best of our industry.

Tickets can be purchased at TWNA’s online store, or by contacting TWNA HQ.

TWNA Announces 2010 Technical Achievement Award Finalists

The Truck Writers of North America (TWNA) announced the finalists for the top technical achievement of 2010 during the annual Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) meeting.

The review process began with candidates nominated by the press members of TWNA. Using a point system based on each committee member’s ranking of the candidates, the four highest scoring products were selected as finalists for the 2010 Technical Achievement Award.

The “Top Four” finalists are

• HMP Thermal De-Icer from Heat Matt
• Wheel Torque Solutions from Alcoa & Partners
• 14X Tandem Drive Axle from Meritor, and
• Bose Ride System from Bose.

To read more about the TWNA Technical Award, click here.

TWNA Internship Update

TWNA needs your help. The TWNA Internship program is in the process of accepting applications for the summer 2011 internship session.

Interns will receive a stipend of $2,500 from TWNA for completing an internship at one of the two participating member organizations. Application packets have been sent and area schools have been contacted.

The program has been faced with a pair of challenges. One is finding future journalists and public relations professionals with an interest in the trucking industry. In an effort to communicate to them the industry dynamics, Bendix coordinated the production of an internship promotional video, which was produced gratis by Bendix’s video house Cinecraft Productions.

The second challenge is the approach toward internships. Generally speaking, internship coordinators at colleges and universities contacted by TWNA representatives say that students do not seek out internships as early, or with the same enthusiasm, as in the past.

That’s where you can help. Read more about the internship program here. If you have contact with students in the areas of the internships or know anyone at area colleges and universities that TWNA should contact, let us know.

We would also ask that each of you please mention the program in print, online or on air as the case may be. Parents who read these announcements may very well be the key to filling these internships this summer.

This year’s internship application deadline is May 1. Any help getting interested students in these open slots would be greatly appreciated.

Let Me Check The Calendar

The new year kicked off in full steam with numerous trucking events vying for press coverage. TWNA makes your event planning easier with the Clearinghouse and Industry Events Calendar.

James Menzies, Canada/Europe Press Director, coordinates a calendar listing all upcoming events in the trucking industry, which is distributed monthly. He also assists groups and businesses in checking for “open” dates when in the planning stages of future events to avoid conflicts.

The Industry Calendar, distributed to TWNA membership, takes into account that some events are invitation only. Those events are noted, with the hosting organization’s permission, by date and location, specifying that they are invitation only.

Please contact James with the dates of your events, both to communicate to TWNA members and to “hold the date” for your event.

Ode to the copy editor (or why we shouldn’t hate them)

By Jami Jones, TWNA West Director

Q: Does anal retentive have a hyphen?

A: If you know the answer, then you may be a good copy editor. If you’ve heard this joke before, undoubtedly you are a copy editor.

Every time we start collecting contest entries, I can’t help but think of the unsung heroes who make those award-winning pieces happen.

It’s always a delight to see a colleague craft an amazing piece of journalism. You can’t help but grin at the creative copy contained in promotional materials. It’s the art of the written word.

Problem is, not all writers are fundamentally sound writers.

Take, for example, the iconic and revered Bob Woodward. While considered one of the best journalists of all time, it’s not exactly a big secret (especially since the rumor was acknowledged in All the President’s Men) that he wasn’t the sharpest writer. In fact, as put in the book, “Office rumor had it that English was not Woodward’s native language.”

So how does he, like so many other sloppy writers, wind up looking so good in the final product?

The copy desk.

Copy editors are the safety net for anyone who boldly pounds away at a keyboard, crafting his or her masterpiece.

They keep us from the little things like dangling modifiers (sorry, copy editors, but to a lot of writers those are LITTLE things) to the bigger deals of getting sued. They toil over every sentence, catching those embarrassing gaffes because you wrote it the way you would say it. They make your piece the real masterpiece that it is.

So this year, when we celebrate the best of 2010 at the TWNA Communications Awards, let’s remember those “grammar punks” in the corner with all their research and style books worn to a frazzle who helped make those awards possible.

And, for the record, the answer to the riddle is: Only when used in an adjectival form.

(My thanks to Copy Editor Elizabeth Andersen for not letting me make a fool out of myself with this piece and throughout the year on everything else I write.)

# # #

TWNA Continuing Education Programs
As part of a series of educational events planned to take place at upcoming truck shows, TWNA has organized a seminar covering “Social Media for Journalists, Communicators & Marketers” scheduled for the afternoon of  Thursday, August 26th, at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, TX (3:00-5:00 PM, Room D225, Dallas Convention Center). The program will include a series of presentations (see below) covering social media, as well as plenty of Q&A time with our expert presenters.

Many of our members on both the press and associate side of the organization have expressed great interest in learning more about this topic area that is changing the face of journalism and communications.

Social Media For Journalists, Communicators & Marketers

Approaching The Cliff – Why Social Media Matters . . . NOW!
Tom Kelley – Executive Director, TWNA
With the trucking industry rapidly approaching a demographic cliff, many journalists, publishers and marketers are still firmly entrenched in a “Web 1.0″ mind set. Meanwhile, the drivers, mechanics, managers, readers and customers in the coming generation are thinking in 4G. Will you be ready?

Social Media: An Editor’s Perspective
James Menzies – Executive Editor, Truck News
A case study on how Truck News has used social media to better interact with its readers as well as a look at some of the challenges social media has presented.

Integrating Social Media into Your Marketing Plan
Kim Pupillo & Maureen Nagg -  Marcus Thomas LLC
The Marcus Thomas team will provide an overview of social media tools being successfully utilized by business-to-business companies and how these tools can fit into your current marketing communications strategy.

Facebook Strategy
Blair Hefty & Jeremy Gulish – Coyne Public Relations
How companies can evaluate social media options. Provide a practical “how to” for setting up and managing and successful Facebook page and bring this to life via a current client case study.

2010 Communication Awards Program – Entry Forms Available Online
Entry forms for the 2010 Comm Awards are now available for download from http://www.twna.org/entryforms2010.pdf on the web. Work created for use/distribution between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010 is eligible for entry. Press entries for print, radio, web, online, design entries, public relations and marketing entries are all eligible for entry. Full details are available on the entry forms.

Please note that there were a few minor changes made to the entry process last year. Entries are to be shipped to TWNA HQ, rather than ISVP in Tucson, although checks for entry fee should still be made payable to ISVP. Duplicate physical hard-copies of the entry are no longer required, but a single tear copy and a digital file copy of the entry are required. Again, full details are included on the entry form.

The Bright Side
From Marco Beghetto’s Right Turn Blog

Over the years, the media has been particularly hostile to the trucking industry (although, not always without reason). We here at Today’s Trucking (and in fairness, our competitors as well) have traditionally done a pretty good job of spotting and exposing anti-truck bias in the media.

Along with efforts by the associations, rail lobby-driven, anti-truck rhetoric isn’t as common in newspapers and news broadcasts as it once was. We’d like to think that CRASH has been removed from most reporters’ rolodexes (metaphorically, I mean, who still uses rolodexes??)

And every once in while, you’ll see stories that treat trucking and truckers pretty respectfully. I highlighted one last month by a former MPP.  This week, I noticed several in succession.

This one, by a police constable writing in the Vancouver Sun, encourages safe driving practices by four wheelers when driving around trucks. On the other side of the country, here’s another reporter along for a ride ‘n drive who conveys a pretty positive ‘trucking 101′ account of the industry.

Jim Kenzie, the esteemed automotive writer for the Wheels section in The Toronto Star, recently had a personal account of the Ontario Truck Driving Championships. The headline — The Fine Art of Heavy Haulin’ — sets the tone. It’s clear, as a passionate fan of driving and automotive, Kenzie developed a deep respect for the skillful pilots he witnessed at the competition last weekend.

While this is inside baseball for us in the industry, it’s nice to see facts like these in a newspaper article. Nonetheless, the trucking industry – and particularly its drivers – often take a lot of heat, because whenever a big truck hits a car, the car loses. Never mind that in the majority of cases, the truck driver is not at fault.

You don’t read stuff like that too often in the mainstream media. When you do, I suggest sending the reporter or the editor a short message thanking him or her for not taking the easier, cliched, sensationalist view of trucking we see so often.

Kolman’s Korner
Ruminations by David A. Kolman, TWNA Associate Director

I Didn’t Know That. Did You?

Some fun facts from mental floss magazine’s July-Aug 2010 issue:

- At the Wife Carrying World Championships in Sonkajärvi, Finland, first prize is the wife’s weight in beer.

- Alaska is the only state that can be typed on one row of keys.

- In 1943, Philip Morris ran an ad acknowledging “smokers’ cough.” They claimed it was caused by smoking brands other than Philip Morris.

- Only female mosquitoes will bite you.

- There was a long-lost fourth member of the Snap/Crackle/Pop gang. “Pow” represented Rice Krispies’ explosive nutritional value.

- The only number whose letters are in alphabetical order is 40 (f-o-r-t-y).

- In the 1970s, Mattel sold a doll called “Growing Up Skipper.” Her breasts grew when her arm was turned.

- Kool-Aid was originally marketed as “Fruit Smack.”

- The 3 Musketeers candy bar was originally split into three pieces with three different flavors: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. When the other flavors became harder to come by during WWII, manufacturer Mars decided to go all chocolate.

- Bear Bryant was once asked to contribute $10 to help pay for a sportswriter’s funeral. According to legend, he said: “Here’s a twenty, bury two.”

- Green bean casserole dates back to 1955, when a chef named Dorcas Reilly created it for a cookbook designed to promote Campbell’s products.

- M&M’s actually stands for “Mars & Murrie’s,” the last names of the candy’s founders.

- Why did the FBI call Ted Kaczynski “The Unabomber?” Because his early mail bombs were sent to universities (UN) and airlines (A).

- Utah’s State Bird is the California Seagull.

- The sum of all the numbers on a roulette wheel is 666.

# # #

A Thank You from Cabover Kolman
I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks for being honored with TWNA’s 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award. I was totally shocked and surprised. Surprised at how well the secret was kept, and shocked that my peers would think so highly of me.

It is hard for me to believe that I’ve been involved with the trucking industry – as both a journalist and a trucker – for more than 30 years now. It certainly doesn’t seem that long.

I have been very fortunate to be able to earn a living doing two things I enjoy greatly: writing about trucking and trucking. And these passions have allowed me to become actively involved, and contribute to, both industries.

I have had many great and memorable experiences, and I have made many wonderful friends, and I plan to continue doing both.

I am honored to join the ranks of the TWNA Lifetime Achievement Award that have come before me: Bob Deierlein, Paul Abelson, Tom Berg, RJ Taylor, Jim Winsor and Mike Pennington.

This recognition is very special to me, and it is one I shall always cherish.

Again, thank you,
David A. Kolman, TWNA Associate Director

Media Tech Blog
During TWNA’s annual member meeting at the Mid America Trucking Show, Barbara Gould of Bendix arranged to have Kim Pupillo and Maureen Nagg of Marcus Thomas PR deliver a “social media” overview presentation. Several of those attending the meeting expressed a desire to obtain a copy of the presentation, so the Marcus Thomas agency has graciously permitted TWNA to post the presentation slides on our website. The presentation can be viewed by visiting  http://www.twna.org/TWNASocialMediaPresentation.pdf on the web. Kudos to Barbara, Kim and Maureen for a great presentation on a topic that is becoming increasingly important to all of us in the communications business.

At the end of the meeting, we asked for a show of hands to indicate how many attendees were interested in learning more about social media through online resources and/or future meetings. The response was nearly unanimous.

With that in mind, we’re currently working with the GATS management team to arrange a half-day of media seminars on the front end of that show’s press schedule. Additionally, we’ve committed to adding another blog page to the TWNA website to serve as a repository for links to some of the great social media, new media, and media technology content available out there on the web.

Subsequent to the MATS meeting, your humble Dispatch e-publisher has been sending resource links out to the meeting attendees via old-fashioned e-mail, but is sincerely hoping to find that some combination of the available social media tools will streamline the process of getting the information posted to the web, and distributed to interested parties. As there may be a brief delay in getting the page configured and deployed, anybody interested in joining the interim mailing list should drop an e-mail note to TWNA HQ requesting to be added.

New Media Guidelines & Video Standards
A short while back, the TWNA Board determined that the “Recommended Practices For Digital File Formats” in the resource section of the TWNA.org website were due, if not overdue, for an update. Considering that film was still widely used as the original source for most images back when the recommended practices were originally posted, “overdue” for an update seems to be quite the understatement.

To address the need for updating the original resource, and to add guidelines for the newer media technologies, TWNA is seeking volunteers to participate in gathering the information, discussing the various distribution options/alternatives, and developing the new recommended practices.

Given the variety of topics involved, we’ll need to break the project into multiple concurrent working groups. An “Imaging” group would deal with still image technology, a “Video” group would deal with motion image and audio technology, a “Web” group would deal with social media, blogs and general web/e-mail practices, and a “General Practices” group would cover issues not addressed by the other three groups, including an update of TWNA’s press event guide.

As with the original digital file project, it’s necessary to include participants from both the press and PR side in each working group, and it’s equally important to include interested, but inexperienced participants to ensure that the eventual recommendations don’t end up going way over the head of our average member.

If you are interested in participating in one or more of these working groups, please let us know by contacting TWNA HQ. Members should also encourage their production staff to participate in this process, as they are usually on the receiving end of the various digital files.

Calling All Award-Winning Communicators!
In our quest to attract a younger audience (in particular, getting college students interested in our internship program) we need to portray the hip, youthful side of trucking. We may know that trucking is no longer Smokey and the Bandit, but the kids of today don’t know that. Trucking is an industry that serves as an economic barometer, a testing ground for technology, and a great source for unique and interesting character stories. We need your help to portray that.

If you have any images, audio/video clips, or other resources that communicate such an image, please send them to Tim Brady at t.d.brady@writeuptheroad.com via e-mail. We will be using these as part of our college/university internship presentation to appeal to young writers and public relations hopefuls!

Journalists’ Most Hated Words
Longtime TWNA member Mike Pennington, keeper of the Journalists’ Most Hated Words list passes along this recent addition. Regarding a new product or component, the company says “it has convenient serviceability thanks to thoughtful design.” Now that’s a jewel….

Extra (3,000) Mile Award
The TWNA Board of Directors voted to award Jasmine Jordan, the 17-year-old daughter of Lee and Paulette Jordan, the “Extra Mile Award.”

Jasmine, who goes by “Jazzy” has been running across the U.S. to raise awareness for truckers and others without medical coverage, and to raise money for the St. Christopher Fund charity, which provides medical care for truckers who wouldn’t otherwise receive treatment.

Her decision to run across the country followed the death of a family friend.

Driver Sheila Grothe died in April after being forced from her job by cancer and a battle that brought astronomical health care bills. Grothe’s struggle with medical expenses touched Jazzy.

That’s when she decided to run from Los Angeles to New York, beginning her trek on Sept. 1, 2009, and finishing within the next couple of months “On that day I made a decision that I will do something to change the system, so people who don’t have medical coverage to pay for treatments like Sheila needed will have options,” Jazzy wrote on her Web site.

She is currently in North Carolina heading north toward New York, having covered nearly 2,500 miles. You can follow Jazzy’s progress at www.runwithjazzy.com.

Write It Right
Let’s Not Forget the Little Comma, Folks
By Tom Berg

Do you get irked when you see things written and spoken incorrectly? Do you therefore edit what people write and say, silently or otherwise? Then you know how I feel. So does Tom Kelley, TWNA’s executive director, who’s asked me to write a Dispatch column dealing with such things. Writing is what we do, so let’s write it right.

The point of this diatribe is the little comma as it’s supposed to be used in direct address. Know what I mean, folks?

Last week, my wife and I walked into the county Meals On Wheels headquarters, and I spied a note on a white board. It read, “Welcome Stephanie, our newest volunteer intern.” I grimaced because it was missing the comma behind “welcome,” required for direct address, so I picked up the marker and added it. It then read, “Welcome, Stephanie… .” Now, one could argue that the message was not directed at Stephanie at all, but was urging us MOW drivers to welcome Stephanie to the organization. If so, I was wrong, and should’ve butted out. (I didn’t point out my little editing to my wife, who’s tired of me editing her, but that’s another story.)

One of the more serious violations I’ve ever seen in print was in an enthusiasts’ magazine that announced the death of its former copy editor. The story reverently recounted how careful Andy (whose last name I can’t remember) was on all matters of spelling, grammar and punctuation, yet its head read, “So Long Andy.” I imagined Andy’s grave, with his arm thrusting out of the ground, Carrie style, its hand grasping a copy pencil and making a little curving motion, attempting to add that comma.

Here’s the rule, according to studyzone.org: “Whenever you speak directly to a person and use his/her name, the name must be set apart from the rest of the sentence with commas. This is called direct address.”

There are many other uses of the comma, and maybe I got some of them wrong in this column. Did I? Please let me know. And by all means, share your thoughts on these and other matters of right writing.

Ed. Note – I get worried when I see things spoken incorrectly. 

TWNA Event Calendar & Clearinghouse
As promised, the TWNA event calendar has recently gone through a major overhaul. At the suggestion of ArvinMeritor’s Mike Pennington, we are now distributing the calendar to every member via e-mail at the beginning of each month. In addition to keeping everybody up to date on the latest events, we believe that the calendar mailing will also serve as a regular reminder for event hosts to keep the calendar editor and event clearinghouse coordinator, James Menzies, updated regarding proposed event dates.

By providing the clearinghouse with proposed event dates, an event host can ensure that their event does not conflict with other industry events and programs, maximizing attendance by the desired audience. Event hosts can choose to keep their identity and topic details confidential if desired, such that only the date and location appear on the published calendar.

The format of both the online and e-mailed calendar is still a work in progress, so if you have any comments or suggestions, please pass them along to TWNA HQ.

TWNA Internship Program
Just before the holiday season, the TWNA Internship Program information package was distributed to several schools in the vicinity of the two potential host locations. Some inquiries have already come in and we will be following up with all of the schools to ensure the material is posted for viewing by the prospective internship applicants. Stay tuned to these pages for updates. For detailed information on the internship program, visit the internship page.

Mid America Trucking Show
The TWNA staff and board of directors are currently working on plans for both the Industry Awards Banquet and the annual business meeting to be held during the Mid America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky. As usual, the banquet is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening, March 25th, at the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center(KFEC). The business meeting will be scheduled as the last press event on Friday, March 26, also at the KFEC. Room numbers and times will be posted as soon as the details are finalized. We still have numerous openings for banquet sponsors, so please contact TWNA HQ if your company/organization is able to help with this important event.

Kolman’s Korner
How Are Your Spelling Skills?

By David A. Kolman, TWNA Associate Director

I find the start of each New Year an opportune time to brush-up on my spelling. It seems that more and more, I, like so many others, come to rely on a spell check program.

While such programs are helpful, I find they tend to make me lazy and diminish my spelling skills. Why bother to spell something correctly when the computer will alert me to an error?

You don’t agree? See how you do with the following test.

Which is the correct spelling for the following words? Do not use spell check or a dictionary.

1. Acommodate or Accommodate

2. Innoculate or Inoculate

3. Sacrilegious or Sacreligious

4. Revelant, Relevant or Revelent

5. Farhenheit or Fahrenheit

6. Changeable or Changable

7. Perseverance or Perseverence

8. Incredable or Incredible

9. Preferrable or Preferable

10. Separate or Seperate

Answers: 1. Accommodate; 2 Inoculate; 3. Sacrilegious; 4. Relevant; 5. Fahrenheit; 6. Changeable; 6. Perseverance; 8. Incredible; 9. Preferable; 10. Separate.

# # #

Membership Deadline Looms
TWNA memberships for 2010 are due now. In order to be included in the TWNA directory for next year, your information and membership fees are due now.

If you know of someone in your organization who still has not joined or renew, please encourage them to do so. It’s certainly been a trying year in journalism and the networking possibilities through TWNA alone could be incentive enough to join.

Meet The Press
As long as we’re talking about networking, the TWNA Board of Directors has voted to add “meet the press” events at some of the larger trade shows coming up. It will be a chance for public relations professionals to meet press members of TWNA at low-key, meet-and-greet styled events.

The hope is to provide the opportunity for public relations professionals who may not be as familiar with publications in the industry to ask questions in a more casual environment. It’s a win-win for all involved, expanding the news offerings by member publications and exposure for OEM, after-market and industry service providers. Watch for upcoming events in future issues of the Dispatch.

Hold The Date
Logistically covering the trucking industry can be tough. Events are held all over the country throughout the year. Scheduling a big event at just the right time to ensure the biggest bang for your PR-buck can also be very tough.

TWNA will begin distributing an industry calendar that includes the dates and locations of public events and dates and regional indications of invitation only events scheduled in the industry. The calendar will help press members schedule their time accordingly to attend events and assist associate members in planning events free from conflict with another event.

The calendars will be distributed to TWNA members via e-mail and posted on the TWNA Web site. To have an event included on the calendar, contact James Menzies.

2009 Technical Achievement Award: Call For Nominations
The members of TWNA’s Technical Achievement Award Committee are putting out a call for nominations for the 2009 Technical Achievement Award.

The Technical Achievement Award will be presented to the recipient at the Spring TMC Meeting, and during the Industry Awards Banquet at the Mid-America Trucking Show. Last year, the big winner was Detroit Diesel for its use of turbo compounding in its DD15 engine.

While complete vehicles are not eligible, components are. To be eligible, a product or service has to clearly exhibit technical innovation, have a wide applicability in the trucking industry, offer significant benefits and be widely available for the first time during the award year.

If you would like to nominate a product for consideration, please contact TWNA HQ before Dec. 1, 2009.

TWNA Internship Program
The scholarship committee of the Truck Writers of North America (TWNA) is pleased to announce an editorial internship program for undergraduate communications students whose course of study has placed emphasis on journalism and/or public relations. One selected intern will be placed with a TWNA member company for 9-12 weeks during the summer session of each year.

2010 Summer Session Hosts
For the 2010 summer session, the TWNA internship will be hosted by the one of the following member companies, located closest to the selected intern’s summer residence location:

Land Line Now – Grain Valley, Missouri
Land Line Now is the first daily news and information radio program designed specifically for America’s truck drivers. The program follows a basic NPR-style format – a daily newscast opening the show; several longer stories that can cover anything from serious regulatory issues to stories about truckers’ lives; and each show ends with an update on legislation affecting the industry. Land Line Now is not a live show – the entire daily presentation is pre-recorded, and in some ways, operates more like a recording studio than a live radio operation.

The ideal intern for Land Line Now should be a journalism major with an emphasis in broadcast, with strong news writing and interviewing skills, voice experience, an interest in the technical end of radio production – and perhaps most of all, a willingness and ability to learn quickly. The intern will work with sound engineers, and reporters, as well as learning about the more mundane activities that have to be accomplished in order to keep a daily program on the air.

Successful Dealer/Truck Parts & Service – Des Plaines, Illinois
Successful Dealer magazine is written exclusively for truck and trailer dealers, leasing companies and truck body and equipment dealers. Covering all aspects of dealership operations, Successful Dealer is aimed at the dealership’s management team and focuses on helping them run their businesses more efficiently. Successful Dealer also publishes a weekly e-newsletter.

Truck Parts & Service magazine is written for independent truck service and repair operations, independent truck parts distributors, truck stops and the parts and service departments at new truck and trailer dealerships. Truck Parts & Service covers big picture industry issue subjects as well as how to repair and maintenance procedures. Truck Parts & Service also publishes a weekly e-newsletter.

The ideal intern for Successful Dealer/Truck Parts & Service should be a journalism major with a strong emphasis on writing. He or she should have strong interviewing and editing skills. A mechanical/technical background is helpful, but not required. The intern will work with the editors of Successful Dealer and Truck Parts & Service to edit press release and research and write feature-length articles for the publications. The intern will also help with the weekly e-newsletters and with monthly Webinars.

Internship Requirements
The internship program requirements include:

* – Completion of at least two years of post-secondary education, entering junior or senior year at college, pursuing studies in journalism and/or public relations.

* – Availability to work four, eight-hour days per week (32 hours) for no less than 9 nor more than 12 weeks.

* – Submission of a completed application packet by no later than March 1, 2010, containing the following:

* – Completed internship application form and agreement, W-9 form, resumé, and college transcript.

* – Two letters of recommendation (on letterhead) from business owners/managers.

* – Letter of recommendation (on college letterhead) from the student’s academic advisor, and a statement from the college verifying that the internship is appropriate to the student’s course of study, and that the student will be receiving course credit for the internship.

* – An essay of approximately 600 words about improving trucking’s public image, edited into three versions, one for print, one for the internet, and one for broadcast.

* – At least three (non-returnable) samples of bylined work.

Internship Stipend
The intern’s duties at the host company are provided on a volunteer basis with no compensation provided. To offset the intern’s cost of living during the summer session, and to encourage further study in the field of trucking industry related journalism, TWNA will provide the intern with a stipend, half of which will be paid upon successful completion of the first six weeks of the internship, and the remainder to be paid upon successful completion of the full internship.

Internship Application Form & Agreement – PDF File

# # #

Associate Director Elections Coming Soon
The elections for the 2010-2011 Associate Director term will be coming up later this month. Director candidates for the Agency PR, OEM-PR, Supplier PR, and Organization/Other PR segments are being sought. So far, only the Agency PR seat is being challenged, so if you have an interest in serving on the board, now is the time to speak up.

The primary duties for the Associate Directors include participating in a monthly tele-meeting, and maintaining contact with constituent members. Those interested in serving may self-nominate. If you wish to nominate somebody else, please confirm the candidate’s willingness to serve before making the nomination. Candidates must submit a short biography and campaign statement by no later than September 22nd, 2009.

TWNA Emeritus Member Classification
One of the side-effects of TWNA reaching its 20-year milestone anniversary is that some of the group’s earliest members are now fully retired. With budgets tight all around, and even more so for retirees, keeping up membership dues just to be able to keep in touch with colleagues can be a bit of a hardship.

A side-effect of current economic conditions has some of our longstanding, but not yet retired, members working in fields outside the trucking industry on what they hope will be a temporary basis. Similar to the retirees, some of these temporarily sidelined members find it tough to justify keeping up their dues while working outside the industry.

To address these situations, a proposal was made to the board to institute an “emeritus” member classification for those members no longer working inside the trucking industry. There would be no dues or voting status for this class of member, and their member data listing would be limited to basic contact information. The membership directory would be available to emeritus members at cost. An emeritus member would need to have been a full member in good standing for at least three years prior to qualifying for emeritus status.

Semi-retired members still “dabbling” in the industry would not qualify as emeritus, they would still qualify as Press or Associate Individual members.

The main goal of this change would be to keep track of former members to pass along member news, and to fulfill the frequent “What ever happened to . . .” requests from current members. At any given time, the group of emeritus members isn’t likely to exceed a few dozen, so the cost of keeping track of these members should be offset by the time saved hunting for contact information on request.

The board is tentatively scheduled to vote on this proposal at their next tele-meeting in early October, so if you have any thoughts or suggestions on this matter, please contact your board representative ASAP.

TWNA’s Truck Writer Internship Program
The scholarship committee of the Truck Writers of North America (TWNA) is pleased to announce an editorial internship program for undergraduate communications students whose course of study has placed emphasis on journalism and/or public relations. One selected intern will be placed with a TWNA member company for 9-12 weeks during the summer session of each year.

For the 2010 summer session, the TWNA internship will be hosted by the one of the following member companies, located closest to the selected intern’s summer residence location:

Land Line Now – Grain Valley, Missouri
Land Line Now is the first daily news and information radio program designed specifically for America’s truck drivers. The program follows a basic NPR-style format – a daily newscast opening the show; several longer stories that can cover anything from serious regulatory issues to stories about truckers’ lives; and each show ends with an update on legislation affecting the industry. Land Line Now is not a live show – the entire daily presentation is pre-recorded, and in some ways, operates more like a recording studio than a live radio operation.

The ideal intern for Land Line Now should be a journalism major with an emphasis in broadcast, with strong news writing and interviewing skills, voice experience, an interest in the technical end of radio production – and perhaps most of all, a willingness and ability to learn quickly. The intern will work with sound engineers, and reporters, as well as learning about the more mundane activities that have to be accomplished in order to keep a daily program on the air.

Successful Dealer/Truck Parts & Service – Des Plaines, Illinois
Information Coming Soon

TWNA member companies wishing to participate in the internship program need to submit an application including a description of their company, the intern’s duties, and contact information for the internship offices at the colleges/universities nearest the prospective host company, by no later than October 1, 2009.

Help For A Hero
By Jami Jones
Jorge Orozco-Sanchez from Firestone, CO. You may recognize that name from the 2009 TWNA Industry Awards Banquet. Jorge was named the 2008 Goodyear Highway Hero.

Last fall, he was involved in a wreck in which an SUV veered into the path of his truck. The horrific head-on crash took the life of a 27-year-old mother, but Jorge was able to rescue the two children strapped in the car seats in back. Fire engulfed the SUV, and the flames destroyed Jorge’s truck and trailer, too. His heroic effort earned Jorge esteem from not only Goodyear, but the entire trucking industry.

Jorge Orozco-Sanchez (L) recieves the 2008 Highway Hero award from Goodyear’s Donn Kramer.

The wreck happened in October 2008. Battling a series of unfortunate circumstances kept him off the road for five long months. After meeting Jorge in Louisville, Land Line Now’s Reed Black said, “We have leads on good used trucks and a financing department; can we lend a hand to this guy?”

Such things are not always easy, but OOIDA was able to help Jorge find a good deal on a 2005 Freightliner Columbia (with APU) and a trailer. OOIDA’s Margo Fries and Joe Greer helped put together a plan that financed the equipment. Margo helped him get a grant for the APU from SmartWay.

On Friday, May 29, Jorge picked up the truck here at OOIDA HQ. Reed and I greeted him at the door. It was great to see Jorge again. He drove down from Colorado with his friend Manuel Sierra, another trucker (and new OOIDA member) from Scoular, the company that Jorge worked for prior to the accident and that is glad to have him back.

But, Jorge hadn’t cleared all of the hurdles to get back on the road. His down payment for truck and trailer insurance, taxes, title and licensing fees quickly mounted.

TWNA member businesses played a vital role in giving Jorge the hand-up that he needed in clearing those final hurdles. The TWNA Board voted to pay half of the insurance down payment, $700.00 and would solicit donations from its member businesses for the remaining $700.00.

In short time, TWNA’s member companies donated $2,300.00 to supplement the $700.00 grant from the treasury, for a total of $3,000.00, which more than covered the initial insurance payments – giving Jorge perhaps his first bit of sunlight and putting him back on the road.

The humble Goodyear Highway Hero has repeatedly expressed his gratitude to TWNA and its members for helping him get back on the road.

The TWNA member companies who contributed to Jorge’s return to work were: Shell Lubricants, ArvinMeritor, Bendix, Truck-Lite, Nancy Bingham & Caterpillar, SKF Group, SAF-Holland, and Eaton/RoadRanger. Thanks to these great TWNA member companies for supporting this worthy effort.

Member News – Paul Hartley
Those who have visited Paul Hartley’s hometown of Northfield, Minnesota are likely surprised to learn that Northfield not only has an “art community,” but also a site dedicated to the community’s visual arts at NorthfieldArtTown.com on the web. Paul was equally surprised to find out that his growing repertoire of truck photos were considered as “art” by the local community.

The NorthfieldArtTown.com website recently featured several of Paul’s striking images, along with a Q&A about how he came to be a photographer specializing in trucks.

One needn’t look far to see examples of Paul’s truck photography. The header on all of this site’s pages is one of Paul’s shots, and more of his photos can be found on key pages throughout the site. Additionally, Paul has served as the portrait and candid photographer at TWNA’s annual Industry Awards Banquet each year at Mid-America. Paul’s images also appear in many of the industry’s top magazines, as well as collateral materials from the top OEM’s and suppliers.

2009 Technical Achievement Award: Call For Nominations & Judges
The members of TWNA’s Technical Achievement Award Committee are putting out a call for nominations for the 2009 Technical Achievement Award.

The Technical Achievement Award will be presented to the recipient at the Spring TMC Meeting, and during the Industry Awards Banquet at the Mid-America Trucking Show. Last year, the big winner was Detroit Diesel for its use of turbo compounding in its DD15 engine.

While complete vehicles are not eligible, components are. To be eligible, a product or service has to clearly exhibit technical innovation, have a wide applicability in the trucking industry, offer significant benefits and be widely available for the first time during the award year.

If you would like to nominate a product for consideration, please contact TWNA HQ before December 1st, 2009. Also, if you are interested in joining the selection committee, please notify TWNA HQ as soon as possible.

Berg’s Blitherings – Real Estaters Get No Prestige, But Journalists Ain’t Far Above
By Tom Berg
The job with the least amount of prestige is a real estate sales person or broker, but journalists don’t score much higher on a recent Harris poll. Only 5% of those surveyed thought real estaters had a prestigious job, while journalists tie with entertainers and labor union leaders, all of whom are mentioned as prestige professions by 17% of the public. We’ve been rated that way since the poll was first taken in 1977.

Who gets the most respect? Fire fighters, teachers and farmers, among others. Check out the rankings below, courtesy of AOL-CompuServe.

Top 10 Professions – Highest Perceived Prestige
1. Firefighters: 62 percent
2. Scientists: 57 percent
3. Doctors: 56 percent
4. Nurses: 54 percent
5. Teachers and military officers (tie): 51 percent
7. Police officers: 44 percent
8. Priests/ministers/clergy: 41 percent
9. Engineers: 39 percent
10. Farmers: 36 percent

Bottom 10 Professions – Lowest Perceived Prestige
1. Real estate agents/brokers: 5 percent
2. Accountants: 11 percent
3. Stock brokers: 13 percent
4. Actors: 15 percent
5. Bankers: 16 percent
6. Entertainers, union leaders and journalists (tie): 17 percent
9. Athletes: 21 percent
10. Business executives: 23 percent

# # #

Associate Director Elections Coming Soon
The elections for the 2010-2011 Associate Director term will be coming up in just a few months. Director candidates for the Agency PR, OEM-PR, Supplier PR, and Organization/Other PR segments are being sought.

The primary duties for the Associate Directors include participating in a monthly tele-meeting, and maintaining contact with constituent members. Those interested in serving may self-nominate. If you wish to nominate somebody else, please confirm the candidate’s willingness to serve before making the nomination. Candidates must submit a short biography and campaign statement by no later than September 1st, 2009.

TWNA Members Help A Hero Return To The Road
Last year, Jorge Orozco-Sanchez’s truck was destroyed by fire when an SUV crossed over the median and caused a head-on collision. Risking his own personal safety, Jorge rescued two small children from the back seat of the SUV, before it and his truck were consumed by the fire. For his selfless act of heroism, Jorge was recognized as Goodyear’s 2008 Highway Hero Award recipient.

Unfortunately, the insurer of the SUV has been slow in settling Jorge’s claim, so he had been off the road and out of work since last October.

Recently, OOIDA went to work finding a used 2005 Freightliner Columbia tractor and Timpte trailer to help get Jorge back on the road. Goodyear provided 18 new tires and some reconditioned wheels to get the truck ready for the road. All that remained was finding $1,400.00 for Jorge’s insurance down-payment before he could get back to work.

TWNA’s board was approached to assist with a grant to help with the insurance down-payment. The board agreed to fund half of the amount, and to put its directors to work contacting member companies to raise the remaining half.

TWNA member companies ArvinMeritor, Bendix, Caterpillar, Eaton, SAF-Holland, SKF, and Truck-Lite quickly stepped up to match the donation from the TWNA treasury, followed shortly by the team at Shell Commercial Lubricants making a donation matching the entire grant. Thanks to the generous response of our members, the down-payment was sent to the insurance carrier within hours of the original request.

Any members wishing to make a donation of $100.00 or more toward increasing the grant can do so through TWNA. If there’s a desire to do more than helping with the grant, we’re suggesting product donations, fuel/gift cards, logowear, or similar in-kind donations.

The cash donations are to be made through TWNA, and can be paid by check or by Visa/Mastercard at http://store.twna.org/ in the “General Sponsorships” section. Product donations should be shipped to the attention of Jami Jones at Land Line Magazine. The product donations and additional funds will be presented to Jorge after the 4th of July holiday, so if you’d like to participate, please join this important effort as soon as possible.

TWNA Internship Program Reset For 2010
Despite efforts by the TWNA board to get the long-awaited internship program launched in time for the 2009 summer session, the program’s deployment proved to be too late to garner any applicants for this session. Although this represents a setback from reaching our goal, it does provide us with the opportunity to get more member companies involved as potential intern hosts.

Member companies wishing to participate in the internship program need to submit an application including a description of their company, the intern’s duties, and contact information for the internship offices at the colleges/universities nearest the prospective host company, by no later than October 1, 2009. Prospective interns will need to complete their applications by no later than March 1, 2010. After reviewing the applications at the 2010 Mid America Trucking Show, the board will select the winner of a paid internship for the summer 2010 term. Forms and program details will be posted to http://twna.org/scholar.htm shortly.

2009 Communication Awards Program – Entry Forms Available Online
Entry forms for the 2009 Comm Awards are now available for download from http://www.twna.org/entryforms2009.pdf on the web. Work created for use/distribution between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009 is eligible for entry. Press entries for print, radio, web, online, design entries, public relations and marketing entries are all eligible for entry. Full details are available on the entry forms.

Please note that there are a few minor changes in the entry process this year. Entries are to be shipped to TWNA HQ, rather than ISVP in Tucson, although checks for entry fee should still be made payable to ISVP. Duplicate physical hard-copies of the entry are no longer required, but a single tear copy and a digital file copy of the entry are required. Again, full details are included on the entry form.

TWNA Board Sets Goals For Growth In Membership & Resources
As part of the annual executive/finance committee meeting in late May and the subsequent June meeting of the full board, a list of goals to guide TWNA’s efforts for the coming year was developed and reviewed by the board.

Key among the goals was the desire to address our mission of improving relations between the truck trade press and the industry’s suppliers by continuing efforts to grow our associate membership. The discussion resulted in a plan to conduct a series of informal “meet the press” mixer events at upcoming industry shows. Agency PR Director Susan Fall agreed to lead a committee to develop and organize these events.

Another goal discussed was the need to strengthen TWNA’s connection with existing B2B press members, and make efforts to attract additional B2B press members. The board’s press directors will be conducting outreach efforts with existing and prospective members.

To keep TWNA’s resources up to date, the board agreed that it was time once again to update our Press Event Guide. After the summer holidays, we will conduct an online survey to identify current preferences and best practices for press events. In addition to posting the completed guide on the website, we will consider producing printed copies to use in our associate member outreach efforts.

To expand TWNA’s information resources, the board decided to create a new guide specific to preferences and best practices for writing and using press releases. In addition to posting this guide on the website, we may also consider offering the information through a webinar series.

Social Networking and the Trucking Press
By Tim Brady, Northeast Press Director
Do you Tweet? How about blogging? Do you post in forums? Or do you just read to see what’s being posted by Tweeters, Bloggers, or social networkers?  We are becoming a social networking society, and the trucking industry, er… I should say, community, is not immune from this newest online activity.  In fact, a MinOnline.com article by Courtney Barnes posted on May 19, 2009 says, “If you are still looking for a reason to join Twitter, then you’ve already missed the boat.”

But why would a journalist want to be a part of Twitter or a forum discussion? The answer lies in information, and that’s what we’re all about, digging in and getting the information on a specific topic of concern to our readers or listeners. Our job is to get the whole story, whether it’s about a new product or service, the latest regulation coming down from the FMCSA, or why fuel has suddenly skyrocketed to unthought-of heights. It’s getting the facts and the reactions from those implementing or impacted by the facts. The more sources for the information, the better the story, right? Well, not exactly. As we check out the forums and the tweets on a particular topic, the information is all over the map.

Just like the old CB, with the online forums and tweets it’s easy for a situation like this to develop: “I read on the truckerbob forum that sammydispatcher said he read a post by CountryGirl that Pete the VP left XYZ company because he knew the CEO’s cousin was driving without a valid CDL.”  Then it turns into “The CEO of XYZ Company was driving company trucks without a CDL.” This necessarily takes lot of fact checking to track down the truth, but without any names of the posting individuals, it’s not a very reliable source. But if the information is about the difficulty truckers are having with a new HOS rule, higher fuel prices, or what they think of the newest truck to hit the market, these opinions can be useful in assembling a story.

Tweeting, posting, and reading these social networks can be an excellent source of valuable information. Only reading is termed ‘lurking’ online, and someone who lurks is a member of a forum, but doesn’t post or participate in any online discussions. Lurking is not a bad thing, and it is a great way to see the pulse of the industry. It lets us know what certain groups in the industry are thinking on specific topics. It’s not the individual post, but the entire thread of comments that seems to provide the greatest information.

However, a word of caution is needed with regard to posting or commenting. Social networks can be filled with career-ending landmines. It all depends on how you approach your participation in these communities. Since most of us are public figures with recognizable names or writing styles, we should practice vigilance as we enter any forum.

Even though you post with a “Screen Name” which is not remotely close to your legal name, the forum’s owner still knows your IP address (that series of numbers unique to the computer from which you login to the site). This means you’re just one step away from being revealed to others on the forum. (Personally, I use my real name in any forum I’m involved with, because it will make me think twice before posting any comments on the site.)

There are a lot of what we call ‘CB Rambos’ (individuals who anonymously stir up trouble over the CB radio) on these forums who would like nothing better than to get you so riled you post something really stupid, or worse, damaging your reputation. You may be able to delete your comment, but the person who hit ‘Reply’ just put your comment in his post, which can’t be deleted. This means your comment can come back and haunt you over and over again. And since the internet is viral, your comments can show up in places on the net or in print where they can cause far more damage than in the original forum on which they were posted.

I think this is best summed up by the online rules recently posted by the Wall Street Journal for their journalists, columnists and editors. Excerpted from an Editor & Publisher article by Joe Strupp, those rules are posted below.

The use of social and business networking sites by reporters and editors of the Journal, Newswires and MarketWatch is becoming more commonplace. These ground rules should guide all news employees’ actions online, whether on Dow Jones sites or in social-networking, e-mail, personal blogs, or other sites outside Dow Jones.

* Never misrepresent yourself using a false name when you’re acting on behalf of your Dow Jones publication or service. When soliciting information from readers and interview subjects you must identify yourself as a reporter for the Journal, Newswires or MarketWatch and be tonally neutral in your questions.

* Base all comments posted in your role as a Dow Jones employee in the facts, drawing from and citing your reporting when appropriate. Sharing your personal opinions, as well as expressing partisan political views, whether on Dow Jones sites or on the larger Web, could open us to criticism that we have biases and could make a reporter ineligible to cover topics in the future for Dow Jones.

* Don’t recruit friends or family to promote or defend your work.

* Consult your editor before “connecting” to or “friending” any reporting contacts who may need to be treated as confidential sources. Openly “friending” sources is akin to publicly publishing your Rolodex.

* Let our coverage speak for itself, and don’t detail how an article was reported, written or edited.

* Don’t discuss articles that haven’t been published, meetings you’ve attended or plan to attend with staff or sources, or interviews that you’ve conducted.

* Don’t disparage the work of colleagues or competitors or aggressively promote your coverage.

* Don’t engage in any impolite dialogue with those who may challenge your work — no matter how rude or provocative they may seem.

* Avoid giving highly-tailored, specific advice to any individual on Dow Jones sites. Phrases such as “Travel agents are saying the best deals are X and Y…” are acceptable while counseling a reader “You should choose X…” is not. Giving generalized advice is the best approach.

* All postings on Dow Jones sites that may be controversial or that deal with sensitive subjects need to be cleared with your editor before posting.

* Business and pleasure should not be mixed on services like Twitter. Common sense should prevail, but if you are in doubt about the appropriateness of a Tweet or posting, discuss it with your editor before sending.

I’m sure there will be some interesting discussions within our trucking journalism community about these rules, but I think it behooves us to consider them as we enter into this new media age. Editors, publishers, and journalists are faced with instant publishing by just a click of a mouse without the concurrent ability of instant delete. Once posted, it’s forever. It reminds me of a rule I was once taught in carpentry, “Measure twice, cut once.” In this new media of Twitter, forums and social networking where one click, and it’s out there for the world to see, make that, “Read twice, click once.”

TWNA.ORG Member Area Grand Opening
At long last, and just in time for annual membership renewals, the member area on the TWNA website is now up and running. To use the member area, you must first fill in and submit the online registration form. After your member area account has been approved, a password will be e-mailed to you. Once you are logged in, you may change your password to one of your own choice, and update your member data as needed. Going forward, we will use the database provided by this system to update the printed directory each year, so please make sure to update your profile any time your contact information changes.

In addition to basic contact information, each member may upload as many as three photos (500 KB, 300 x 300 pixels max – each photo) to include on their profile page. If your photo is too large and you don’t have access to somebody with photo editing software, e-mail your photo to TWNA HQ and we will reformat one mugshot per member at no cost.

Between the online member area for your contact/listing information, and the TWNA Store pages to pay your dues, the entire renewal (and joining) process can now be completed online. As a reminder, the billing address used in the TWNA Store must, repeat MUST, match the statement address of the credit card being used. Of the few difficulties members have encountered thus far in the TWNA Store, virtually all are attributable to this simple error. To ensure security, the TWNA Store checkout process is a 128-bit encrypted secure system, entirely separate from the member area, so any information entered in the store’s forms will not be accessible through the member area.

In the next week, each member will receive a renewal reminder e-mail, which will contain all the links listed here. The new membership year begins June 1st, 2009, so please complete the renewal process as soon as possible. If you must pay by check, or if you need an invoice, please notify us of that via e-mail.

Again, kudos are due to our website sponsors: ArvinMeritor, Bendix, Roadranger, Peterbilt, and The Deadline Factory, for making these services possible.

Awards Banquet
In spite of the tremendous impact of the currently faltering economy, a tremendous group of sponsors came though for us once again, to make the 2009 TWNA Industry Awards Banquet a great success. In addition to the presentation of the 2008 Communication Awards, the banquet served as the official commemoration of TWNA’s 20th Anniversary.

One of TWNA’s founding members, Tom Berg, was honored with the TWNA Lifetime Achievement Award (see item below). The banquet also hosted the presentation of Goodyear’s annual Highway Hero Award.

Thanks to our Gold Sponsors, ArvinMeritor, Goodyear, Shell Rotella, and Truck-Lite, and our Silver Sponsors, Daimler Trucks North America, Bendix, Great Dane, and HDMA, for making the banquet possible.

Internship Update
Land Line Now will host the first Truck Writers of North America intern this summer. The TWNA Board, along with the Legal and HR departments at OOIDA, are in the process of finalizing the paperwork to submit to colleges and universities in the Kansas City metro area.

The board voted some time ago to fund an internship for journalism students interested in the specialty niche of trucking journalism. The program will fund a 10-12 week internship – depending on the college’s or university’s requirements and summer schedule.

Applicants must submit an essay on a trucking related subject. The applications and essays will be reviewed by the host company and the TWNA Board.

Once the applicant is selected, he or she will be announced in a future issue of The Dispatch. The Board would like to encourage TWNA members to reach out to the intern to welcome them and offer any assistance the intern may need through the course of the summer.

Watch upcoming issues for the announcement of the internship recipient.

Calling All Contributions
In planning TWNA’s 20th Anniversary celebration, it became increasingly apparent that having some sort of formal archive system is necessary.

Many of you have photos and memorabilia from previous meetings and events that would be useful in planning future anniversary celebrations, recruiting new members and for the occasional roasts of long-time members. However, rounding them up “on-demand” proved to be a daunting task.

Now, thanks to the generous contribution of time and expertise by Shirley Sponholtz with Old Time Trucks, TWNA will maintain a central archive of various photos and other memorabilia. One of the key benefits of maintaining an ongoing repository is that members will be able to submit materials as they are “found” in the course of cleaning out or relocating files, rather than keeping track and waiting till the next event.

If you have anything you would like to contribute to the archive, please contact Shirley Sponholtz. If you have photos that are not in digital format and do not have access to scanning capability, Shirley has offered to scan in the prints/slides (and return them if requested). As soon as we have a chance to formalize the submission process, we’ll post an update in the Dispatch, and post details on the website. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact TWNA HQ.

Berg’s Blitherings: More Thanks Are Due
There are many things I failed to say in my bumbling remarks as I accepted TWNA’s Lifetime Achievement Award during our annual meeting at the Louisville truck show. Like a stereotypical Oscar winner, I should’ve started by thanking my parents, because I inherited my writing abilities from them (my dad was a journalist and my mom often said that lack of educational opportunities for women in the early 1920s kept her from being a journalist, so she married one). They also taught me basic values and love of family, and they managed to feed and clothe me and my six brothers and sisters.

My parents sent us all to Catholic schools, and I must thank the nuns because most of them were dedicated to teaching and to God. I could’ve thanked many of my professors at Marquette University, where I got some good journalistic instruction (but could’ve done without all the philosophy and theology). And I should’ve thanked most of my bosses over the years, in the U.S. Army and civilian life, because they put up with my big mouth, endured my habit of pushing a deadline and taught me to attend to details and write concisely.

Like some of you, I have survived as a freelancer, and being able to report and write is what kept my wife and me fed and housed for a dozen years. I still appreciate the clients who sent business my way in those years, just as I am now grateful to have a good job with Newport Communications. When I was young I didn’t always feel that way. For brevity’s sake I’m leaving out names, but most of them they know who they are because as I got older and wiser I thanked them.

TWNA’s directors might or might not have been correct in choosing me for the award, but I thank them for their kindness. As is the custom with this award, they tried to keep it a secret. I got a few unintended hints that made me suspect it was coming, but never assumed anything because that would’ve been vain.

By the time Mike Pennington began the award presentation, and Steve Sturgess joined him on the podium, I knew something was up. Yet I am embarrassed when praised publicly, so in my head I began actively denying it. I thought maybe Steve was getting the award (“Oh, that’s good – he deserves it”), and then when Mike turned things over to Steve and he said, “My good friend Tom Berg…” I got frantic. (“No, no, not me. Pick somebody else!” )

In spite of my red face and verbal stumbling during the presentation, I was deeply pleased to be named. The crystal tractor-trailer that comes with the award is now on the mantel in our house, and I enjoy looking at it and reflecting on what led to it. Like many of you, I’ve gotten other writing awards over the years, but the commemorative plaques are packed away somewhere. However, that trophy will be in plain view for many years. Thanks, also, to you, for it’s TWNA members who support this award, and many of you have been generous with your congratulations.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m behind with some articles and I gotta get crankin’. – Tom Berg