In This Edition:
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For Dispatch Items
MATS 2002 Meeting Minutes
Tech Award Results
Media Tech - Press Website Tips
A Few Words About RSVPs
On The Lighter Side
Next Issue Due Out 5/24/02 - Deadline
For Materials 5/10/02!
Call
For Additional Dispatch Items
Have you changed jobs lately? Hired somebody new for your editorial
or PR staff? Found an interesting product or read a great article/book
that could improve business communications? Or just want to make
a point about something that you think is good or bad about the
industry? Well then, why don't you write it up and send it in
for the next issue of the Dispatch?
The TWNA Dispatch is
not just a space for its editors or our association officers to
share opinions, rant or rave. The Dispatch is here for ALL of
our members, so don't think there's any special qualification
for submitting something you'd like to share with the group. The
deadline for the next issue is always posted in each issue of
the Dispatch, so put your news together into a text-only file
and send it to Tom
Kelley.
MATS
Meeting Minutes
March 21, 2002
President's Report:
Rolf Lockwood announced that the annual TMC meeting, the TWNA
Technical Achievement Award was presented XM Satellite Radio.
Production of the trophy was not completed in time to present
at TMC, Rolf attempted to present the trophy at this years TWNA
meeting to Matt Dillion of XM Satellite Radio, however, the official
trophy was delayed in a truck stuck in a snowstorm. However, a
"fake trophy" was presented at this time. Bill Hudgins
also presented Matt a printed version the award announcement to
be placed in the XM Satellite Radio booth.
Treasurers Report:
Given by Avery Vise
Approx. $2000 in dues have been collected.
Disbursements
$2500 TCA scholarship
$1100 Ad for TCA directory
$72 Tom Kelley reimbursement
$250 Cancer research in honor of Ruth Jones
Bank balance as of date is $8716.27
Avery advised if your
check has not cleared the bank, please inform him as 2-year old
daughter has learned how tamper with the mail. Also the announcements
of TWNA membership cards are now available. TWNA pins are also
available for those who have not received their pins as of this
date.
Web-Site Report:
Given by Tom Kelley
The "link page" is available for members use to list
their site. Information must be sent in text-only (.txt) format
to Tom with a maximum of 5-10 lines.
A "discussion
board" is available for use on the web site. The link is
on the homepage (www.twna.org). Throughout the meeting it was
highly "suggested" that all members use the discussion
board more.
The upcoming project
will be a password protection program where you are able to update
your own information if need be. A membership listing should be
available by password protection members only in the near future.
Election of Officers:
With no additional nominee's announced, Paul Abelson moved and
seconded by Tom Kelley to accept the uncontested nominee's as
presented. Vote passed by a show of hands.
President - Rolf Lockwood (Today's Trucking)
Vice President - Bill Hudgins (Road King)
Treasurer - Avery Wise (Trucking Co. Magazine)
Secretary - Kathy Harders (LOADS / TruckNet)
Award & Scholarship Director - Tom Berg (SuberScribe, Inc.)
E-Communications Director - Tom Kelley (The Deadline Factory)
Associate Director - Mike Pennington (ArvinMeritor)
Media Watch Co-Director - Renee Tankersley (Landline)
Media Watch Co-Director - Sherri Middleton (Transportation Equipment
News)
New/Old Business
Renewal of the Ol' Blue, USA sponsorship:
RJ Taylor of Ol' Blue, USA gave a presentation of what the program
has done in the past year with school, truck stop and show visits,
displaying safety around large vehicles and inspection procedures.
A motion was made by Tom Kelley and seconded, and passed to renewal
the sponsorship for the upcoming year.
Scholarship:
Renewal of issuing the scholarship of this year was approved to
continue through TCA. Tabled until Tom Berg can be present is
the discussion on a Technical School Scholarship possibility.
Membership Involvement:
Discussion was held on how to get more Associate Members involved
within TWNA. Along with this discussion it was discussed how we
can help TWNA grow within the industry by contacting others and
spreading the word of who we are and what we can accomplish by
networking. Discussion was also held to include "Light Duty
Realm"
By Laws:
Rewriting of the By-Laws need to be updated. Several members have
offered their help in updating and rewriting the by-laws. Currently,
the by-laws are not on the web site.
Guest Speaker:
Corporal Norman Schneiderhan gave a brief presentation on the
Special Olympics of Florida and the worlds largest Truck Convoy
in hopes to raise funding on July 20, 2002. $18,000 was raised
in 2001. This year's parade will have approximately 450 semis
followed by 100 fire trucks. Last years event was listed in the
Guinness World Record books. In 2003 the even will become a National
and International Event.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy Harders
Secretary
XM
Radio Wins Tech Award
The Truck Writers of North America group has selected XM Satellite
Radio as winner of its 12th annual Technical Achievement Award.
A trophy was presented
to Neil Eastman, XM's vice president, advanced applications, by
TWNA president and award-committee chairman Rolf Lockwood during
the recent annual meeting of the Technology & Maintenance
Council in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For the benefit of TWNA members
who couldn't attend TMC, a second presentation of the award was
made during the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky.
Accepting on that occasion was Matt Dillon, director of OEM accounts
at XM.
Second place was won
by Nexiq Technologies for its revolutionary eTechnician remote
vehicle diagnostics tool, while third place was won jointly by
Truck-Lite and Intra Technologies for their headlamp-life extender.
Other finalists included Michelin's X-One tire and Hendrickson's
Airtek front suspension.
The award is intended
to celebrate technical excellence, to honor a new product or service
introduced within a given calendar year that improves business
life for the truck operators of North America. The winner must
be something with the potential to have a broad effect on the
trucking industry. XM Satellite Radio, which competed against
other entries from calendar-year 2001, fulfills those criteria
admirably.
It's the first TWNA
award winner that isn't an example of excellence in the hardware
of trucking. Previous victors have included engines, transmissions,
tires, mufflers, and lights, among others. The very first TWNA
Technical Achievement Award was won in 1990 by Grote Industries
for the industry's first LED lamp. Grote has sponsored the winner's
trophy every year since then.
TWNA is comprised of
most journalists writing about the North American trucking industry
in various media, as well as many public relations professionals
who join as associate members. Nominations for the Technical Achievement
Award can be made by any TWNA member, but the winner is ultimately
chosen by a select committee of veteran journalists. This year's
judges were Paul Abelson, John Baxter, Tom Berg, Tom Gelinas,
Bill Hudgins, Wendy Leavitt, Steve Sturgess, Tom Kelley and Rolf
Lockwood.
Media-Watch Directors Ask For Your Help
One of TWNA's missions is to ensure that mass-media coverage of
the trucking industry is presented in a balanced, accurate manner.
Not only do we try to set the record straight when a report has
been misleading, but we also like to pass along kudos to our mainstream
colleagues when they get the story right. Our recent election
resulted in a co-directorship to oversee the Media-Watch duties,
so we now have both Sherri Midleton and Rene Tankersley sharing
this important task. If you run across news items -- either negative
or positive -- please forward those to Serri's or Rene's attention.
Sherri Middleton, Editor
Transportation Equipment News
33 Inverness Center Parkway
Birmingham, AL 35242
(205) 988-9708 ext. 1163
1-800-366-0676
Email: smiddleton@vulcanpub.com
Rene Tankersley, Feature
Editor
Land Line Magazine
1 NW OOIDA Drive
PO Box 1000
Grain Valley, MO 64029
(816) 229-5791 ext. 161
1-800-444-5791
Fax: (816) 427-4471
E-mail: renet@landlinemag.com
Media
Tech
Think your media website has everything it needs? Check it against
this list:
-
Dedicate top navigation links to media contacts and news releases.
- List
your company product divisions alphabetically -- along with
the appropriate media contacts for each area.
- Highlight
the benefits of e-mail news alerts. That'll help reporters see
immediate value and not grouse about following registration
instructions. Note: Make sure your instructions are crystal-clear.
- Place
your search function in a highly visible area on your home page.
Most reporters that come to your site are there to find a particular
piece of information -- and they rely on the search function
to find it. Tip: Most users look to the upper right hand corner
of the home pages when they visit sites.
- Standardize
speech document titles. For example, you could use "Remarks
by…" as one way to make it easier for reporters to
separate speeches from press releases when they're faced with
a list of search results.
- Don't
clutter your media site home page. Avoid using pop-ups or animated
graphics.
- Offer
relevant, customized news in one click. A good design allows
users to customize news they view. Users who register and share
their preferences will find news they want listed in the upper-right-hand
corner of the site -- just one click away. Reporters applauded
the feature.
- Include
your mailing address on the home page. Doing so is not only
recommended by journalists, but it also may boost traffic. That's
because directories like Yahoo! are more likely to index a site
that carries an address.
- Include
release and revision dates on all public policy documents. Visitors
never know if a public policy document is two months old --
or two years.
- Post
a time stamp on releases. Some reporters consider day-old announcements
breaking news while others consider it stale.
This checklist, reprinted
with permission from Ragan's
Interactive Public Relations newsletter, is just one of many
resources that can be found in the "Press
& PR Resources" section of the TWNA website.
A Few Words About
RSVPs
Working journalists' attendance and participation in a supplier's
press event is absolutely vital for thorough, dependable dissemination
of news and new product information. Equally important to the
process is the media's on-time RSVP to invitations. Number one
priority is to gain the attendance of the right media representative,
but also important to managing the costs is the correct number
of guests who will be offered food and drink.
If the suppliers need
to adjust the RSVP method to gain responses via mail, phone, email
or fax, they will all do it gladly. Still important is the media's
attention to deadlines and reservation dates.
Media's smiling faces
mean everything to a professional communicator, but expecting
22 persons and greeting over 63 persons can lead to bouts of high
blood pressure.
Your cooperation please.
On
The Lighter Side
A few puns from Paul
Abelson:
Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.
A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative.
My wife really likes to make pottery, but to me it's just kiln
time.
Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.
Practice safe eating - always use condiments.
I fired my masseuse today. She just rubbed me the wrong way.
A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother.
Shotgun wedding A case of wife or death.
I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.
I used to be a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it, so they
gave me the axe.
A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.
Marriage is the mourning after the knot before.
A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
Corduroy pillows are making headlines.
Is a book on voyeurism a peeping tome?
Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.
Sea captains don't like crew cuts.
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
A successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.
Without geometry, life is pointless.
When you dream in color, it's a pigment of your imagination.
Reading whilst sunbathing makes you well-red.
When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality
comes from morons?
