Opinion: Making an Impact With a Positive Message
This Opinion piece appears in the Oct. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
By Elisabeth Barna
COO and EVP American Trucking Associations
Sinatra didn’t play to an empty auditorium in Vegas. Ali didn’t become the heavyweight champion of the world with just the referee and opponent in the room. If Bruce Springsteen sang “Born in the USA” in front of thousands of empty seats, would the impact be the same?
Of course not. There have to be fans, supporters and enthusiasts. People who get joy from seeing outstanding performances.
As ATA’s newly appointed President and CEO Chris Spear lays out his vision and plan for the trucking industry over the next few days in Las Vegas, the industry will gain insight into ATA’s mission to secure victories for trucking. My job as ATA’s chief operating officer and executive vice president of industry affairs is not only to see to it that we successfully carry out these goals but also to build a fan base while doing it.
Why is it important that we grow our fan base while we advance our industry’s goals and put wins on the board? Because 7.3 million people in the trucking industry earn more than just a paycheck — they earn our respect.
Safety and professionalism are the foundation of ATA’s efforts to showcase our industry and help shape public perception. When Spear and our legislative team go to Capitol Hill and meet with members of Congress, they point to our industry’s extensive safety record.
When they’re finished highlighting our safety record, they turn to our professionalism and the trucking industry’s dedication to charitable causes, community involvement and willingness to respond quickly during disaster relief efforts. Trucking is the first to respond when a natural disaster hits a community; it is there to help rebuild that community, and it is there when the community comes back together. This is the message we take to Congress, and this is the message that we need to put in front of the American people.
That’s why ATA will be handing out The Mike Russell Trucking Industry Image Award to the industry’s image champions this week and taking time on stage to recognize America’s Road Team captains and Share the Road professional truck drivers. These drivers, suppliers, motor carriers and state executives go above and beyond their regular job duties to get recognition, not for themselves, but for the good work that the trucking industry is doing in communities throughout the country. Supporting the image of our industry is something all of us can do, and we need to jump on board with those already doing the work.
Sharing trucking’s story with our policymakers, the motoring public and the media, we hope, will produce better laws and regulations, better driving decisions and more fair and balanced media stories.
Recently, four Share the Road professional truck drivers took time out of their work schedules to film a safety video in Hagerstown, Maryland. Their employers gave approval for the trip and helped cover the cost of these drivers being off the road. The video, called the Share the Road Instructional Video, goes through an abbreviated Share the Road classroom session and uses engaging graphics and footage to teach students and the motoring public about driving safely near a large truck. Since the video was released over Labor Day weekend, it has accumulated more than 30,000 views, been sent to all parts of North America and generated hundreds of shares on social media. I am confident that because of the efforts from the drivers and companies involved in producing this video, a life of a family member or friend has been saved from a tragic accident.
Examples such as this are common in the trucking industry and should replace the one-line sound bites from anti-truck groups that are often cited by the media.
Are there personal benefits to showcasing the positive aspects of our industry? Sure. For instance, motorists have a 97.5% positive feeling when they see a company’s truck pulling Trucking Moves America Forward trailer wraps. These trailer wraps aren’t simply advertising a company’s brand, they’re advertising a brand while highlighting people, creating empathy and telling our industry’s story. People identify with those stories, so we need more of these “rolling billboards” on our highways.
Many in the industry share this belief, that the story of trucking is the story of America. Hardworking men and women. Successful small business owners pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. Doing what it takes to help people live better lives.
ATA’s new leadership team is fully supportive of weaving this narrative into all of our associations’ efforts, investing in resources and dedicating time to ensuring that when people think of trucking, they don’t immediately think of a big obstacle on the highway; they think of mothers and fathers, husbands and wives earning an honest living and delivering essential goods. It’s our story; please help us tell it.
American Trucking Associations, the largest national trade federation in the trucking industry, has headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and affiliated associations in every state. ATA owns Transport Topics.
