ATA Installs 15 More Pavers at Capitol Office; $675,000 Raised So Far to Pay Down HQ Debt

American Trucking Associations installed a batch of 15 rooftop deck pavers at its Capitol Hill office last month, the latest of 46 pavers to be placed at the Washington, D.C., building, the group announced last week.

At $15,000 each, the pavers so far have brought in $675,000, which ATA is using to pay down the debt from the building’s $23 million renovation completed last year, said ATA Controller Rusty Duckworth.

“When you buy a paver, the purchase price of that paver goes to help reduce the debt used to finance the reconstruction,” Duckworth told Transport Topics. ATA took out a $17.5 million loan to renovate the building that houses its lobbying staff.

Among the pavers recently installed is one that bears the name of Baylor Trucking, Milan, Ind.

“The reason we made the donation is to support the efforts of ATA,” said Bob Baylor, the carrier’s president.

“We felt that it’s very essential we have a strong voice in Washington and that when our elected representatives come to an impressive building, they know that members support it,” he said.

Baylor has long been involved with many ATA committees and other member functions, he said. He previously toured the Capitol Hill building, and “it’s quite impressive,” he said.

“So we wanted a little bit of recognition of being a company that wants to contribute to the efforts of keeping and making our industry better,” Baylor said.

ATA started offering the pavers in October 2010 with a goal of raising $3.7 million toward the Capitol Hill office’s debt, the group announced at its 2010 Management Conference & Exhibition (10-25-10, p. 5).

The rooftop deck is one of the spaces ATA uses to host events, such as fundraisers, at the Capitol Hill office, Duckworth said. The events are targeted toward members of Congress and their staffs, and ATA has marketed the pavers as a way for companies to get their names known.

ATA moved its legislative affairs staff into the building in May after a 41-month makeover (6-6, p. 4).

The latest batch of pavers includes one ATA donated in memory of Angie Zoulfaghary, who died in March after working for ATA for 13 years, Duckworth said. Zoulfaghary was director of legislative operations at the Capitol Hill office.

ATA President Bill Graves personally donated the money for one of the pavers, which displays his name and those of his wife and daughter.

The other pavers in the recent batch were bought by Bilkays Express Co., Con-way Inc., Dart Transit Co., Hahn Transportation, Hall’s Fast Motor Freight Inc., Knight Transportation, Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., Schneider National Inc., Silver Eagle Manufacturing Co., Skyline Transportation Inc., Titan Transfer Inc. and Werner Enterprises Inc.