In This Edition:

TWNA Update
TWNA 2003 Directory Completed
Elections For 2004-2005 Term Coming Soon
MATS Long-Range Plans
Member News - David Kolman
Kolman's Korner
The Lighter Side

Next Issue Due Out 9/25/03 - Deadline For Materials 9/18/03!

TWNA Update
Well, the votes are all counted, and as expected, the members overwhelmingly approved the TWNA restructuring plan. For those who missed the earlier details, the restructuring plan focused on three main areas:

1. Changing from our current system of officers and directors, to a board of directors where each director represents a specific group of members. Each member segment will elect its own director, and from that group of directors, the board will choose a chairman to lead meetings and other board activities. Until our regularly scheduled elections later this year, the current officers and directors will continue as the interim board of directors, with our esteemed Prez, Rolf Lockwood, as chairman.

2. Increasing the dues level for associate members to be more in line with that in most other media groups, while at the same time, increasing the level of service that TWNA provides to the associate members.

3. Hiring a part-time Executive Director to handle routine business, membership management, and to ensure that TWNA's plans are executed on a timely basis. For the foreseeable future, that Executive Director position will be held by your trusty Dispatch editor, Tom Kelley.

Obviously, there's more detail to this change than a single newsletter permits reporting, so stay tuned to future issues of the Dispatch for more information.

2003 TWNA Directory
Although a bit behind schedule due to delays in receiving materials and data, the 2003 TWNA Directory is back from the printer and being bound at this very moment. Special thanks are in order for Mike Pennington of ArvinMeritor for donating the printing and binding costs for this year's edition. Members and advertisers should get their copies in the mail in the next week or so.

To make sure we can have the 2004 edition of the directory ready for distribution at MATS, the deadline for 2004 membership renewals, and submission of ads, will be December 15th, 2003. When your renewal form arrives later this year, help us meet this deadline by promptly processing your renewal.

Elections for 2004-2005 Term
Our regularly scheduled elections for the 2004-2005 term are just around the corner. Director nominations will be due by no later than October 1st, 2003, via e-mail. Ballots will be published by November 1st, with a due date of December 1st. Later this month, we'll send out a separate e-mail detailing the full details regarding the balloting. Please take an active role in this election process, it's your chance to help shape the future of TWNA.

MATS 2004 Long-Range Planning
Does your company, publication or organization conduct any type of award or recognition program? Would you like to see a larger forum in which to make the presentation? TWNA may have just the answer. We are currently investigating the feasability of having an "Industry Awards Banquet" to be held during MATS.

The tentative plan calls for the banquet to be on Thursday evening, at the KFEC venue. If you would like to get an award on the agenda, have any ideas, or just want to participate in the planning of the event, drop us a note via return e-mail, and let's see if we can make this happen.

Member News
We have the proverbial good news - bad news report from TWNA's former Prez, David Kolman. It seems that David had decided a few months back that the time was ripe for signing on the dotted line and joining the ranks of trucking's Owner-Operator community. All was going well as David found a good used truck and lined up a great hauling contract. But then while working on his truck, his throttle-foot wound up on the losing end of a disagreement with a moving tire, resulting in two broken bones.

When last we spoke, our ex-Prez wasn't sure which hurt more, the leg injury or the embarrassment. David will be out of commission for a few months while he recovers, so give his spirits a boost and drop him a line if you get the chance. David can be reached at CaboverKolman@yahoo.com via e-mail.

Kolman's Korner
By former TWNA President David A. Kolman
How well do you know trucking history and trivia? Test your knowledge by answering questions devised by the reclusive truck industry chronicler, Professor Farbish Thumbetting.

The correct answers will appear in the next issue of the TWNA Dispatch.

1. What U.S.-based truck manufacturer was the first to standardize on daytime running lights for Class 8 trucks?

2. When was the Tire Retread Information Bureau established?

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?

4. What is the official name of our Interstate System?

5. How many billboards are there along Interstate 95 advertising South of the Border?

The answers to last issue's quiz:

1. False. Trailer tires wear at a slower rate than tractor tires

2. Kysor Westran introduced the Constant Mesh design landing gear - designed to eliminate shifting problems - in 1990.

3. Among the most common truck repairs: air leaks, horn, windshield wipers, brakes, air conditioning, transmission, tires, lights.

4. You are most likely to encounter Road Rage on Friday.

5. Frank Turner - chosen by President Eisenhower to oversee the birth of the Interstate System in the 1950s - was known as the "Father of the Interstate." He was also the first federal highway administrator.

The Lighter Side . . . Of Philosophy
(Courtesy of Land Line & Road King Technical Editor, Paul Abelson)
A professor stood before his Philosophy 101 class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous yes. The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - - your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, your favorite passions - - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else - - the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal."

"Take care of the golf balls first - - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."