EXTRA ~~~ THE T.W.N.A. DISPATCH ~~~ EXTRA

for Summer 2000

Published by the Truck Writers of North America

[Any opinions expressed herein are strictly those of individual writers.]
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NOTE: This issue of The Dispatch comes to you as an e-mail message, with
no
attachment.
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TWNA members: Are your addresses (including e-mail), phone
numbers and other information as listed on the TWNA membership
roster up to date? Check 'em out by contacting Frank Conte: phone
610-205-1065, fax 610-205-1189 or fconte@cahners.com
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SECRETARY-TREASURER'S FINAL REPORT (APPARENTLY)*

We have reached the lofty $8,000 mark in TWNA's bank account
(mine is considerably less).

We have two openings, Treasurer and Secretary**.

1. Treasurer-- We need someone with vast financial acumen... or
in the alternative, anyone who will volunteer. Must be capable of
corralling dues that float around in differing amounts and
different monetary configurations. Must also be able to pursue
and abuse late payers (and some on-time payers, as well).

STOP THE PRESSES: Avery Vise of Randall Publishing has indicated
he will serve as Treasurer, pending approval of the officers.

2. Secretary-- We need somebody who can write (something other
than truck stuff, that is)***.

The positions should be filled prior to or at our GATS meeting.
Members interested in serving should contact our foreign
president, Rolf Lockwood.

Also, I suggest we update our bylaws. Our organization does not
resemble what they call for, by a long shot.

--Bob Deierlein, Secretary-Treasurer

* Bob is TWNA's original Secretary-Treasurer and has served since
the group became active in early 1989. He has told some of us he
wishes to step down, and this apparently serves as his official
notice. Thanks for your work, Herr Deierlein!

** Bob has previously suggested that the Secretary-Treasurer's
job be split.

*** Notes should be taken at each of our membership meetings and
written into minutes, which can be published in The Dispatch.
Editor Tom Berg took the notes and wrote up the minutes from the
June meeting at ITS, but a bonefide Secretary should really do
this, and certain other duties.

***

T.W.N.A. WEB PAGE UPDATE

Transfer of TWNA's official web page to a new host, along with
its overhaul and updating, are closer, thanks to ongoing
discussions between President Rolf Lockwood and several members.
Rolf promises an announcement by the time of our next membership
meeting, in November at GATS in Dallas, or maybe sooner.

***

RICHARDS TO TAKE PART IN HISTORIC TRUCK TALK

Paul Richards of CCJ says he will be in an installment of The
History Channel's "Modern Marvels" series, talking about trucking
and heavy vehicle technology.

The air dates are Tuesday, August 22, at 2 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
(Eastern), and Sunday, August 27, at 11:00 a.m. These times may
vary with your cable or satellite service, so check your
listings.

Paul says a friend of co-worker Parry Desmond's niece (is that
clear?) is involved in the production of the series, and asked
Parry about appearing. Parry suggested Paul. The rest will be
history.

***

JOHN McDONALD FORMS P.R. PARTNERSHIP

John McDonald, formerly of Tenneco Automotive and, prior to that,
Navistar International, is a partner in a new company, The Fusion
Group, in Lincolnshire, Ill. It offers Fortune 500 communications
and marketing experience to emerging and growth-oriented
companies.

John says Fusion's services include planning of public relations,
marketing and corporate communications; branding and positioning;
and corporate identity and imaging. You can reach him by phone at
(847) 914-9625 or e-mail at john@fusiongroupusa.com.

***

GOT NEWS OR FUNNIES? DISPATCH 'EM TO THE DISPATCH!

But if you do, use e-mail. *And if you do, include your copy in
the original message. Do NOT attach copy.

Every organization's internet and e-mail software seems to
differ, and you cannot presume that what works for you and your
co-workers can be read and handled by somebody outside your
company.

Sometimes recipients can read it and sometimes not, and sometimes
they can read it but not edit it. That's the problem I see most
often.

So, if you want to contribute news, features and/or humor to The
Dispatch, please write that copy right into your e-mail message.
That way, if the message can be read, so can your copy.

If you have a file with stuff you want to send, please do NOT
attach that file to your e-mail. Instead, go to Edit (at the top
of your Windows or Mac word processing program), then either Cut
or Copy the copy and Paste it into the message portion of your e-
mail. This automatically converts it to ASCII (or something)
which everybody can read.

Most importantly, I can also edit it, which means I don't have to
retype it into my Dispatch document.

Can do? Thanks! --Tom Berg, Editor, The Dispatch

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KOLMAN'S KORNER: DAMN, I WON'T

"You can and you can't
You shall and you shan't
You will and you won't.

You'll be damned if you do
And damned if you don't.

~~~

The next time you look at a cow, consider that the greatest
scientists in the world have never discovered how to make grass
into milk.

~~~

Kolman's Rule No. 54: No matter when you apologize to your
spouse, the reply is the same: "It's too late now!"

[By David A. Kolman, Ex-El Presidente-For-Life]

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TWNA Officers and Directors...

President: Rolf Lockwood (Today's Trucking, Etobicoke, Ont., Canada),
416-614-2200 or rolftruck@aol.com.

Vice President: Bill Hudgins (Hammock Publishing/Road King) Nashville,
Tenn.), 615-385-9745 or bhudgins@hammock.com

Secretary-Treasurer: Bob Deierlein (freelancer/Beverage World, Fleet
Equipment; White Plains, N.Y.), 914-946-1297 or gyrenebob@aol.com

Director and Dispatch Editor: Tom Berg (Super Scribe/Road King,
Construction Equipment, etc.; Bonsall, Calif.), 760-631-7101 or
monzair@compuserve.com

Director: Ruth Jones (OOIDA/Land Line, Grain Valley, Mo.), 816-229-
5791 or trknruth@aol.com

Director: Deborah Lockridge (Newport Communications/Heavy Duty
Trucking, RoadStar; Birmingham, Ala.), 205-989-6467 or
dlockridge@heavytruck.com

Allied Director: Mike Pennington (ArvinMeritor, Inc.), 248-435-1933 or
pennindm@meritorauto.com

***

Event Clearing House Co-ordinator: Tom Gelinas (Maple Publishing/Fleet
Equipment, Palatine, Ill.), 847-359-6100 or tgelinas@truklink.com

Membership Roster Keeper: Frank Conte (Cahners Publishing/Owner
Operator, King of Prussia, Pa.), phone 610-205-1065, fax 610-205-1189
or fconte@cahners.com
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