In This Edition:
TWNA Communication Awards
Elections For 2004-2005 Term
Tech Award Nominations Due
GATS Follow-Up
Member News - Directory Corrections
Kolman's Korner
The Lighter Side
TWNA
Communication Awards
As part of our activities at MATS 2004, we will be presenting
the first-ever TWNA Communication Awards. This award program is
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.
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 Walter Haessner, 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 final entry deadline
is December 19, 2003, so get out all of your best work from the
past year, and choose the best of the best for industry recognition.
An entry form, and complete details regarding the entry submission
process are available as a downloadable PDF file found at www.twna.org/03comm-awards.pdf
on the web.
Elections for 2004-2005 Term
Our regularly scheduled elections for the 2004-2005 term are now
upon us. Director nominations have been completed, and the ballots
will be published by November 1st, with a due date of December
1st. As a reminder, each director will be elected by the members
they represent. Please take an active role in this election process,
it's your chance to help shape the future of TWNA. Here are the
director candidates for the 2004-2005 term:
CANADA/EUROPE
PRESS
Eric Berard
Stephen Petit
MIDWEST
PRESS
Paul N. Abelson
Denise Rondini
NORTHEAST PRESS
Bette S. Garber
Chris Visser
SOUTHEAST
PRESS
Dan Barnhill
Avery Vise
WEST
PRESS
Tom Berg
Rene' Tankersley
|
AGENCY
Roxane Campbell Rose
Catherine Zacchi
OEM
Jeff Glatus
Derek Smith
ORGANIZATION/OTHER
Harvey Brodsky
Jim Conner
SUPPLIER
Don Alles
D. Mike Pennington
|
Tech
Award Nominations Due Soon
It's once again time to submit nominations for the 2003 TWNA Technical
Achievement Award. Each year, this prestigious award recognizes
the new product that best exemplifies engineering excellence and
broad practicality for use in the trucking industry. While complete
vehicles are not eligible, specific vehicle components and systems
are.
Since the progam's
founding in 1991, the TWNA Technical Achievement Award trophy
has been sponsored by Grote Industries, whose LED marker lamp
was the first product to win the award. Recent winners of the
award include the ZF Meritor FreedomLine Transmission in 2000,
XM Satellite Radio in 2001, and Bendix XVision in 2002.
To be eligible for
this year's award, a product must have been widely deployed for
the first time during 2003. Nominations can be submitted to Tech
Award Chairman Rolf Lockwood at Rolftruck@aol.com
via e-mail, by no later than 12/15/03.
GATS
Follow-Up
Even though it was organized on short-notice, our 2003 Fall Media
Conference at the recent Great American Trucking Show (GATS) was
quite successful. We had approximately 20 attendees, representing
both print and online media, PR/marketing firms, suppliers, OEMs,
and government agencies.
The topics presented
were: conducting public outreach campaigns, digital photography
for reporters and marketers, and communicating effectively with
the press. Based on feedback from the attendees, we intend to
organize similar conference programs at upcoming truck shows.
Among the topics suggested for future events were: press release
creation and distribution, using Adobe's InDesign layout program,
wireless technology for field reporters, media website tips, as
well as additional digital photography subjects.
If there's a topic
you'd like to learn more about, or a topic you feel qualified
to present, please let us know and we'll add it to the list for
upcoming conferences.
Member
News
As is ever the case when one gathers together a list of contact
information, we had a few minor typos and after-press updates
in the 2003 edition of the TWNA Directory. Please jot the following
updates into your copy of the directory:
John Walsh
of Mack Trucks - e-mail is now john.walsh@macktrucks.com
Suzanne Stempinski of 10-4 Magazine - correct fax # is (708)
946-9523
Kolman's
Korner
By former TWNA President David A. Kolman
How well do you know trucking history and trivia? Test your knowledge
by answering the following questions.
The correct answers
will appear in the next issue of the TWNA Dispatch.
1. What
city has the distinction of being the first in the U.S. to use
centerlines on its roadways and the first to use stop signs
as a way to reduce traffic problems? Bonus question: When were
these innovations?
2. In what
year was the first Peterbilt truck produced and how many were
built?
3. When
and how did the Teamsters Union begin?
4. Who
is credited with developing the first semi-trailer rig, and
when did he do it?
5. When
was the federally mandated 55-mph speed limit created? Bonus
question: Why?
The answers to last
issue's quiz:
1. What
U.S.-based truck manufacturer was the first to standardize on
daytime running lights for Class 8 trucks? Volvo GM Heavy Truck
in 1995.
2. When
was the Tire Retread Information Bureau established? 1972; it's
mission: "to promote the use of retreaded tires by the
motoring public."
3. In
1986, the American Trucking Associations selected its first
group of drivers to represent the trucking industry as industry
ambassadors, educating the general public about the trucking
industry and highway safety. What is the name of that group?
America's Road Team.
4. What
is the official name of our Interstate System? National System
of Interstate and Defense Highways; begun in 1956.
5. How many billboards are there along Interstate 95 advertising
South of the Border? Around 200. The last billboard reads: "Keep
screaming kids. They'll stop."
The
Lighter Side . . . Of Charity
A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly
dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple
of dollars for dinner.
The man took out his
wallet, extracted two dollars and asked, "If I give you this
money, will you buy some beer with it instead?" "No,
I stopped drinking years ago," the homeless man said.
"Will you use
it to gamble instead of buying food?" the man asked. "No,
I don't gamble," the homeless man said. "I need everything
I can get just to stay alive."
"Will you spend
the money on greens fees at a golf course instead of food?"
the man asked. "Are you NUTS!" replied the homeless
man. "I haven't played golf in 20 years!"
"Well," said
the man, "I'm not going to give you two dollars. Instead,
I'm going to take you home for a terrific dinner cooked by my
wife."
The homeless man was
astounded. "Won't your wife be furious with you for doing
that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty bad."
The man replied, "Hey,
man, that's okay! I just want her to see what a man looks like
who's given up beer, gambling, and golf!"
