600 Reisterstown Road
Suite 404
Baltimore, MD 21208
VOICE: (410)486-7430
FAX: (410)486-7478

President
David A. Kohlman
Truck Sales & Leasing

Vice President
Rolf Lockwood
Today's Trucking

Secretary-Treasurer
Bob-Deierlein
Freelancer

Directors
Paul Abelson
Super Driver

Jim Mele
Fleet Owner

D. Mike Pennington
Meritor Automotive

Denise Rondini
Successful Dealer/
Truck Parts & Service

In this issue:
• Mock Press Conference Highlights TWNA ITS Meeting
• Hidden Messages in TWNA Mock Press Conference
• WELCOME New Members
• TWNA.ORG
• Kolman's Korner
• Member News
• Taking On 'Bad' Press
• TWNA's Mission
• Internet Connections
• PRESIDENT'S PAGE: Something To Get Behind?

About 50 people attended TWNA's annual meeting held during the International Trucking Show in Las Vegas, NV. The meeting -- sponsored by Peterbilt Motors, which provided refreshments -- was run by secretary-treasurer Bob Deierlein, as neither TWNA's president or vice president were able to attend. (It has been reported that Bob did a surprisingly straightforward job.)

The highlight of the meeting was a mock press conference designed to point out some of the pitfalls of such events. A full report begins on page 3. But first, among the matters discussed at the meeting:

• Jim Mele reported that he has received no nominations for TWNA's new Excellence In Communications Award. The award recognizes a Full or Associate Member for outstanding professional contributions to the trucking press. A nomination can be found elsewhere this issue. For more information, contact Mele at (914) 287-6734; e-mail: jmele@fleetowner.com.
• Secretary-Treasurer Bob Deierlein gave a state of the association address: 145 members, down from 262. Money in the treasury: $3,426.67, less outstanding bills.
• Tom Berg reported on efforts to get the+ Mid-America Trucking Show to limit the number of press conferences. His letter to MATS, on behalf of TWNA, can be found elsewhere this issue.
• Jacqueline Biddle suggested TWNA develop an award for the best non-trucking journalist's article on trucking. For more information, contact Jackie at (703) 838-1913.

By D. Mike Pennington TWNA Director; Director-Marketing Communications, Heavy Vehicle Systems, Meritor Automotive

That's what members of TWNA heard at our recent meeting during the International Trucking Show in Las Vegas. Yet beyond the silly speeches and ridiculous questions posed by the "reporters", there were truths to be heard and frankly, learned from.

The premise was that by conducting the mock event - with industry media serving as supplier PR persons and PR persons acting as reporters - we could all learn something about how the other thinks, acts and conducts his/her business. The cast included "supplier company executives" Tom Berg and Steve Sturgess, and "industry reporters" Don Alles, Mike Pennington and Jim McNamara.

The new product was the Coin-Operated Individually Necessitated HP. Or COIN HP (the HP stands for high power or horsepower). While Mr. Berg's and Mr. Sturgess' formal remarks were too long, too boring, too unfocused, too detailed and often ridiculous, the reporters' cellular phone and beeper rang during the conference, their meal requests were ridiculous, and they asked confrontational questions. The supplier asked one reporter: "Can I see your story before you print it?", and one of the reporters had to leave early (15 minutes into the conference) and asked for special transportation to the airport.

The conference was rolling along so smoothly (or roughly, depending on your perspective) that one of the key points was edited on the spot by the supplier executive - the important point about on-time RSVPs and actually showing up for a RSVP'd event. The supplier president's script actually read: "By the way, I've just counted the number of editors attending, and we've hit the magic ratio again - 68 guaranteed they'd be here, 44 show up, six will bug-out of the meal, and three are vegetarians. By my count, that means we wasted right at $1,300."

Also, be mindful or rather hesitant of the over-use of "media's hated words": "Our facilities, heck in fact, our industry, is not over overcapacitized, or under-facilitized. According to our 399 days of field testing, this new, exciting product plainly screams automaticity, testability, receptivity, variability, as well as electronification, and electronization. And I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that it includes patentability, complementarity, deliriosity, and of course, globality."

All attending members indicated tired face muscles from having smiled so much but also lessons that they learned by attending the mock press conference, and hopefully, all of us will attend or conduct the next media gathering with a new degree of respect and appreciation.

The bottom line of the mock event (or so just what have we learned from this silly exercise):

• All of us are professionals.
• RSVPs do mean something and do cost suppliers money.
• Accurate, thorough information is key.
• "Just the facts, 'mam" (no fluff).
• Relations are important and productive, between reporter and supplier.
• Neatly and succinctly presented information is vital.
• Be courteous and respectful of one another.
• Silly, made-up words are disliked by journalists.
• Don't read slides to an audience.
• Sharing good, solid, factual information is fundamental to professional public relations persons, and should be received by journalists accordingly.

My special thanks to script editors and 'professional talent' Rolf Lockwood, Stephen Petit, Don Alles, Tom Berg, Steve Sturgess and Jim McNamara.

Gary Corrigan, director of communications, Dana Corporation, Toledo, OH.

John Couretas, reporter, Automotive News, Detroit, MI.

Robert Crump, president, Crump & Associates, Richmond, VA.

J. Davis, communications consultant, Arcadia, MO.

James E. Higgins, Jr., manager-trade relations, Mack Trucks, Allentown, PA.

Ray Hitchcock, editor, Transportation Equipment News, Birmingham, AL.

Bill Hudgins, editorial director, Road King, Nashville, TN.

Sandi Laxson, managing editor, Land-Line Magazine, Grain Valley, MO.

Evan E. Lockridge, owner, Evan E. Lockridge Communications, Birmingham, AL.

Lawson Marshall, editor, Transport Technology Today, Edmonds, WA.

Shari McCullough-Arfons, McCullough Public Relations, Uniontown, OH.

Norm Norville, senior associate editor, Commercial Carrier Journal, Radnor, PA.

Bob Palamara, National Truck Protection, Carlstadt, NJ.

Lou Smyrlis, editor, Motor Truck, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada.

Jennifer Stofko, account executive, Grant/Jacoby, Chicago, IL.

TWNA.ORG

Anyone going to the old site (www.heavytruck.com/twna) will be directed to the new one.

TWNA wishes to sincerely thank Newport Communications for providing and maintaining - at no cost to TWNA - the original Internet site. Thanks also to Newport's webmaster and TWNA member Luke Wood who created and maintained the original site. Newport has operated TWNA's site since the fall of 1996.

Michele Elder, Randall Publications, will now serve as TWNA's webmaster on our new web site.

Special thanks for the development of the new home page done by Beth Farho and Mike Debiak of Nucleus Communications -- and for the financial support given to the project by Eaton Corporation as coordinated by Don Alles. The fee for registration of the site name is being paid by Meritor Automotive, so special thanks to Mike Pennington for this contribution.

Kolman's Korner

• The number of people watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your action.
• Today's society will ignore almost any form of public behavior except getting in the express checkout line with two extra items.
• Don't ask questions you don't want answers to.

Member News

Tayfun Amur of Crossworld Communications, in each e-mail press release he does for the International Trucking Show always ends each release with a paragraph promoting TWNA. TWNA thanks Tayfun and ITS management for their support of our organization.

Jacqueline Biddle has become director of communications for the American Trucking Associations. She had been director of public relations for the Truckload Carriers Association.

Karen Bowman of Qualcomm Inc. will now manage the OmniTRACS Division's media relations programs.

Cathy Campbell, rpm Magazine, on behalf of its sister publication, rpm eXtra, honored Leon Witconis, editor emeritus of Owner Operator with rpm eXtra's 1998 Golden Mile Award. The award "honors those who have gone the extra mile for others and for the industry" (see rpm eXtra, May/June, page 6. Leon, 62, died peacefully at home in early January.

Susan Hind of Qualcomm Inc. has been promoted to industry relations representative for OmniTRACS. She had been handling public relations.

Bette S. Garber, photojournalist, was featured - complete with photograph - in an article in the June 16 issue of USA Today. The article, which appeared in the paper's Technology Bonus Section, had to do with "Cultivating Cool Wen Connections."

Becky MacDonald has become director of corporate communications for Robert Bosch Corporation, Farmington Hills, MI.

Share your deeds, accomplishments, news, moves, etc. Send your items to:

The TWNA Dispatch
600 Reisterstown Road
Suite 404
Baltimore, MD 21208
fax: (410) 486-7478
email: dkolman@heavytruck.com.

TWNA Mission

Founded in November 1988, the Truck Writers of North America is an organization of professionals involved in generating, gathering, writing and reporting news and information about trucks, trucking and the trucking industry. Among TWNA's objectives:

• Improve the quality of trucking journalism.
• Promote a positive image for the trucking industry.
• Continually improve relationships between the truck trade press and manufacturers and suppliers.
• Serve as an information source and referral service for the non-truck trade media as it reports on the trucking industry.
• Function as a watchdog over the non-truck trade media and respond to inaccurate, incorrect or biased reporting on trucking industry-related matters.

Taking on bad press