Membership Renewal
GATS Schedule
Board Elections
Comm Award Entry Form Available Online
TWNA Donations
Comm Award Judges Needed
The Chairman's Corner
Kolman's Korner
Membership Renewal Time
It's membership renewal
time! Directors learned at the most recent Board meeting that
only 30% of the membership had returned membership forms to
date. With the deadline fast approaching, the directors want
to encourage all members to endeavor to get those forms turned
in - before the deadline of August 28th, 2007.
GATS Press Conference Schedule
Wednesday,
August 22nd
11:00am - 12:00pm - Kenworth Trucks
12:45am - 1:15pm - GearMaster International
1:30pm - 3:00pm - TWNA Meeting - Room D168
3:00 pm - 10:00pm - Peterbilt (Offsite)
Thursday, August
23rd
8:45am - 9:15am - Comfort Innovations
9:30am - 10:00am - Trucker Buddy
10:15am - 10:45am - Tax Planning Consultants
11:00am - ??? - Michelin
12:45pm - 1:15pm - TCA
1:30pm - 2:00pm - Idelaire
2:15pm - 2:45pm - National BioDiesel
3:00pm- 3:45pm - EHS Industries
3:45pm- 4:15pm - Security Credit Corp
Friday, August
24th
8:45am - 10:00am - Shell Lubricants – Booth 21099
9:00am - ??? - SmartWay Get Green Summit – D222
10:30am - 11:00am - TCI Data
11:30am - ??? - RAMP Publishing
All
events are located in Press Conference Room (D221) unless otherwise
noted.
Board Elections Coming Soon
Along with membership
renewals, the Board's discussion centered heavily on the upcoming
director elections. Early next month, current members in the
Canada/Europe and Associate (OEM, Supplier PR, Agency PR, Org/Other)
segments will be receiving electronic balloting information
to vote for their representative on TWNA's Board of Directors.
As a reminder, the
Canada/Europe Director term will only be for one year this time
around to complete the realignment of Associate and Press Director
terms. After this one-time offset, the Canada/Europe Press Director
term will return to the normal two-year length, running concurrent
with the rest of the Press Directorships.
Also, Avery Vise
of CCJ Magazine has asked that we find a new director to serve
out the remainder of his term as Southeast Press Director, so
this would also be a one year term lasting until the next regularly
scheduled elections for Press Directors.
Here is a list of
the open seats and the current candidates:
Canada/Europe -
Eric Berard & ???
OEM PR - Melissa Epping & ???
Supplier PR - Sherry White & ???
Agency PR - Susan Fall & ???
Organization/Other - ??? & ???
Southeast - ??? & ???
If you are interested
in running for any of these positions, please send a brief bio
and campaign statement to admin@twna.org
before August 31st, 2007.
TWNA 2007 Communication Awards Entry Form
Now Available Online
The entry form for
the TWNA 2007 Communication Awards is now available as a downloadable
PDF file on the TWNA website. The deadline for submitting
entries will be December 15, 2007, but don't wait, start getting
your entries ready and send them in ASAP.
Materials produced
for release between November 1, 2006 and October 31, 2007, are
eligible for submission in this year's program. The award-winning
entries will be recognized during TWNA's Annual Industry Awards
Banquet at the Mid America Trucking Show in March, 2008.
We have made a few
minor changes to the entry submission process, all relating
to electronic submission of support documentation (entry synopsis/image,
author bio/mugshot) so that we can better represent the winning
entries in the multimedia program during the awards banquet.
"Ask the Law" Supported With Grant
From TWNA,
Leftover Banquet Goodies Donated To Special Olympics Convoy
In other business,
the Board voted to present Ol' Blue USA with a $1,000 grant
to assist with the cost producing the "Ask the Law"
seminars presented at truck shows around the country. With the
impending changes to the hours of service regulations, directors
saw fit to assist RJ Taylor with educating drivers.
Truckers participating
in the North Carolina leg of the World's Largest Truck Convoy
for Special Olympics will receive a little something extra in
their goody bags this year with the donation of leftover atlases
from the 2007 TWNA Banquet.
Additional Communication Award Judges Needed!
By Elaine Haessner - TWNA Communication Awards
Administrator
Will you help? Most
of you are qualified, but many are intimidated by the idea of
judging others' work. This is a peer-judged program; your participation
is needed.
What is required?
You will be sent several entries in your particular area of
expertise/ experience, together with judging forms to fill in
for each entry, and "Judges Notes" to assist you through
the process. You will have at least four weeks in which to judge.
Judges are needed
in all areas of truck media: magazine, book, television, video,
PR, graphic design, photography, web and radio. If you can judge
in another language, particularly French, German, or Spanish,
please indicate. To volunteer, send a note to iama0@earthlink.net
via e-mail
Chairman's Corner
Opinion: Speed Limiters Should Not Be Mandatory
By Eric Berard
The two largest Canadian
provinces, Ontario and Quebec, have already decided to go ahead
with a program that will make the use of speed limiters mandatory
on all trucks, limiting heavy vehicles to 105 KM/H (roughly
65 MPH).
In the U.S., the
American Trucking Associations (ATA) has already said it was
in favor of such a program, while the Truckload Carriers Association
was a little more nuanced, saying it encourages its members
to use speed limiters on their trucks, but adding that this
should be made on a voluntary basis rather than being imposed.
Others, on both sides of the border, are clearly against speed
limiters.
This variety of opinions
tells us one thing, among others: our democracies work and there
is still place for a plurality of opinions. It's always a little
scary to see a 100% unanimity, which reminds more of George
Orwell's Big Brother or the Stalin reign, when those who dared
challenging the official regime line of conduct (and thought)
were sent to work camps in Siberia...
While the use of
speed limiters should be encouraged for obvious safety and fuel
economy reasons, I don't think it would be a good idea to force
it down the throat of carriers. No one is again virtue. Maybe
except when it's only a few who impose it to the majority.
Even on the operational
side of things it wouldn't make much sense. A "limited"
truck running at 65 MPH in a zone where speed is limited at
30 because of a badly trained driver is be much more dangerous
than a "non-limited" truck going 70 on a straight
lane on a quiet highway. You can't rely solely on machines and
computers to assure road safety. Any machine, as sophisticated
as it may be, can be dangerous if it's not operated properly.
(Remember Orwell?)
In my humble opinion,
the use of speed limiters should be encouraged, but continuous
training of the drivers would be a much more effective tool
to make our roads safer than just signing a law and then wishing
everything will arrange by itself.
Note: the opinion
expressed above opinion is the one of the author and does not
necessarily reflect TWNA's official position on that particular
matter.
Kolman's Korner
Contradictory Combinations
By David A. Kolman, Associate Director
If you think about
it, English is a funny - and confusing - language.
A case in point:
A fat chance and a slim chance are the same thing. Yet, a wise
man and a wise guy are opposites.
Then there are those
paradoxes of contradictory terms called oxymoron. (How's that
for a word?)
It seems there is
a greater use of oxymorons of late, or maybe it's just because
I've been doing more assorted reading than normal. For whatever
the reason, here are some good ones that I have come across:
- amicable divorce
- burning
cold
- friendly
enemy
- fuzzy logic
- good lawyer
- harmless
lie
- holy hell
- interest
free loan
- job security
- living
dead
- loose tights
- mini jumbo
- minor crisis
- new classic
- peace force
- oven fried
- pure 100%
orange juice from concentrate
- rush hour
- simple
calculus
- small fortune
- true illusion
- unsolved
mystery
- victimless
crime
