Truckload Authority - Winter 2013-14

From Where We Sit • Highway Angel Tour with Lindsay Lawler • Wreaths Across America Gala In Review
O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N o f t h e T r u c k l o a d C a r r i e r s A s s o c i a t i o n
EXCLUSIVE
BILL O’REILLY
NO SPIN MEDIA MOGUL
Winter
2013-14
Cracking Up (No Laughing Matter) | 06
Ridiculudicrous \ r -’dik-y -’lud-e-kres \ | 10
Down to Business with Chairman Kretsinger | 24
TCA Celebrates 75 Years: foundation of the future | 33

Trailer Tracking’s
Best Offensive
Playbook
Joe Gibbs Racing uses FleetLocate to monitor their race car haulers for maximum
performance on and off the track. FleetLocate can help you get the right trailer
tracking plays in place to realize cost savings and operational improvements.
FleetLocate offers Rich Data through continuous trailer monitoring with
exception based reporting for improved trailer utilization to help you right size
your fleet, increase loads per trailer and drive more revenue.
“FleetLocate
has the winning
for mula that
drives customers
to reach new
heights in
business.”
– Coach Joe Gibbs
Adopt a Trailer Playbook with Winning Strategies.
Call 1-888-517-3630 or visit FleetLocate.com/
©2013 Spireon, Inc. ©2013 Joe Gibbs Racing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
©2013 Game Plan for Life. Licensed under authority of Joe Gibbs Racing, Huntersville, NC. Toyota trademarks used with permission.

Winter Edition | TCA 2013-14
President’s Purview
Trucking moves america forward
As I write this, TCA is working on two big events for the trucking industry — the U.S. Capitol
Christmas Tree, lit on December 3, and National Wreaths Across America Day, set for December
14. Trucking’s involvement supports great American traditions, but also gives the public a glimpse
into our industry — its charity, patriotism, professionalism, and an emphasis on family.
Every year, the tree travels across the United States to DC. This fall, a volunteer driver in a
custom-built Mack truck picked it up in Washington state and drove it from whistle stop to whistle
stop, where families got the chance to look at both the tree and the intriguing-looking truck.
And this time around, we have three great opportunities to directly tell trucking’s story:
• TCA Highway Angel spokesperson and country singer Lindsay Lawler brought her pro-trucking
message to several whistle stops. She will also bring it to the tree-lighting and several lighting-related
events in DC for the second year in a row.
• At each stop, participants are receiving “Milemarkers and Memories,” an account of last
year’s tree’s journey from the perspective of its driver — former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of
Colorado. Participants in a post-lighting Congressional reception will also get a copy.
• A video spotlighting trucking’s role in delivering this and last year’s trees was played at the
Dallas stop . . . and it is now playing on TCA’s YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/
tcanews). Scan the QR code below to view.
All of these activities, and more, are taking place while we get ready for National Wreaths
Across America Day.
Every year, remembrance wreaths are delivered to veterans’ cemeteries all over the country,
and volunteers lay those wreaths on gravestones to honor our veterans’ sacrifices. For the second
time, TCA is supporting this effort by raising money to cover the cost of placing wreaths at Arlington
National Cemetery and by managing logistics for the entire program.
People along the route from Maine, where the wreaths were created, to Arlington will get to
see a police-escorted convoy of our finest trucks, some sporting a wreaths-themed wrap or decals.
The convoy will stop in several towns, where locals will stop by to learn about veterans’ sacrifices.
And thanks to our Wreaths Across America partners, they will also get to hear about trucking’s
role in this event.
At all of the cemeteries, people will help unload our trucks and witness first-hand the professionalism
and charity of our drivers. And at Arlington, people will learn about trucking’s support
and hear Lindsay perform during the opening ceremony, which will take place this year on a mobile
stage — a curtain-sided flatbed truck provided by former TCA Chairman Gary Salisbury.
New to our fund-raising effort is Trucking’s Patriot Pair, which we hope will one day make a
wreath on a truck synonymous with honoring our veterans in the public’s eyes. At www.TruckloadOfRespect.com,
you can order a set of two wreaths: one to hang on your grill and one to
have placed on a gravestone at Arlington by a volunteer. Professional truck drivers can buy them
for their trucks and companies can buy them for their fleets . . . and an equal number of gravestones.
U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree and National Wreaths Across America Day are, of course, not
actually about trucking. They are about traditions that each one of us might support even if TCA
were not involved. However, as we all know, Trucking Moves America Forward, and thanks to
programs like these, the public will soon know it, too.
Chris Burruss
President
Truckload Carriers Association
cburruss@truckload.org
Chris Burruss
Get the free mobile app at
http:/ / gettag.mobi
President’s Picks
No Spin Media Mogul What’s his message
for the trucking industry? He shares it and much
more exclusively with Truckload Authority.
Page 14
Foundation of the Future Find out the
important role TCA will continue to play in
trucking and who will be leading the effort.
Page 33
Never Forget Morrill and Karen Worcester
are the founders of Wreaths Across America.
Their life’s message is to never forget the
sacrifices of our fallen heroes. Page 41
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority

555 E. Braddock Road, Alexandria, VA 22314
www.Truckload.org
winter 2013-14
chairman of the board
Tom B. Kretsinger, Jr.
President & COO, American Central Transport
President’s Purview
3 | Trucking Moves America Forward by Chris Burruss
President
Chris Burruss
cburruss@truckload.org
vice President – deveLoPment
Debbie Sparks
dsparks@truckload.org
executive vice President
William Giroux
wgiroux@truckload.org
communications director
Michael Nellenbach
mnellenbach@truckload.org
LegisLative Look-in
6 | Cracking Up (No Laughing Matter)
10 | Ridiculudicrous \ re-‘dik-ye-‘lud-e-kres \
13 | From Where We Sit
14 | nationaL newsmaker excLusive
No Spin Media Mogul with Bill O’Reilly
tracking the trends
20 | Stagnation Nation
a chat with the chairman
24 | Down to Business with Tom B. Kretsinger, Jr.
member maiLroom
32 | Accessing Truckload Academy On-Demand
taLking tca
34 | TCA Celebrates 75 Years: Foundation of the Future
38 | TCA Leading the Way to Better Health
39 | Highway Angel Tour with Lindsay Lawler
41 | Never Forget
44 | Wreaths Across America Gala In Review
45 | TCA Scholarship Recipients
46 | Mark Your Calendar
director, safety & PoLicy
Dave Heller
dheller@truckload.org
first vice chair
Shephard Dunn
President & CEO
Bestway Express
second vice chair
Keith Tuttle
President
Motor Carrier Service, Inc.
director of education
Ron Goode
rgoode@truckload.org
treasurer
Rob Penner
Vice President
Bison Transport
secretary
Russell Stubbs
President
FFE Transportation Services, Inc.
immediate Past chair
Robert Low
President & Founder, Prime inc.
The viewpoints and opinions of those quoted in articles in this
publication are not necessairly those of TCA.
In exclusive partnership with America’s Trucking Newspaper:
1123 S. University Ave., Ste 320, Little Rock, AR 72204
www.TheTrucker.com
vice President
Ed Leader
edl@thetrucker.com
editor
Lyndon Finney
editor@thetrucker.com
associate editor
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
PubLisher + generaL mgr.
Micah Jackson
publisher@thetrucker.com
creative director
Raelee Toye
raeleet@thetrucker.com
Production + art director
Rob Nelson
robn@thetrucker.com
the tca executives’ choice
sPeciaL corresPondent
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetrucker.com
contributing writer
Aprille Hanson
aprilleh@thetrucker.com
Production + art assistant
Mingte Cheng
mingtec@thetrucker.com
administrator
Leah M. Birdsong
leahb@thetrucker.com
Published quarterly, Truckload Authority is the Truckload Carriers
Association’s first ever official publication. America’s leading
trucking executives are already calling it “the best executive
publication in trucking.”
“Whether you are selling a service or a
product, get in front of your customer
base. Get in Truckload Authority.”
Gary Salisbury (TCA Chairman 2011-12)
President & CEO, Fikes Truck Line
advertising and marketing dePartment
Raelee Toye, Sales Director
raeleet@thetrucker.com
nationaL marketing consuLtant
Kurtis Denton
kurtisd@thetrucker.com
nationaL marketing consuLtant
Kelly Brooke Drier
kellydr@thetrucker.com
© 2013-14 Trucker Publications Inc., all rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission
prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. All advertisements
and editorial materials are accepted and published by Truckload Authority and its exclusive
partner, Trucker Publications, on the representation that the advertiser, its advertising company
and/or the supplier of editorial materials are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject
matter thereof. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any art from client. Such entities
and/or their agents will defend, indemnify and hold Truckload Authority, Truckload Carriers
Association, Target Media Partners, and its subsidiaries included, by not limited to, Trucker
Publications Inc., harmless from and against any loss, expense, or other liability resulting from
any claims or suits for libel, violations of privacy, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement
and any other claims or suits that may rise out of publication of such advertisements and/or
editorial materials. Press releases are expressly covered within the definition of editorial materials.
Cover Photo Courtesy of The O’Reilly Factor
Additional photography courtesy of:
AP Images, p. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
FotoSearch, p. 6, 7, 13, 32, 33, 45
Karen Worcester, p. 3, 41, 42
Matt Nichols, Nichols & Co. p. 24,
25, 26, 28, 31, 35
Nashille Music Media, p. 39, 40
Noelle Nikpour, p. 8
Roby Brock, p. 8
Truckload Carriers Association,
p. 4, 8, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38, 43, 44, 45
The Trucker News Organization,
p. 6, 7, 28, 32, 44, 45
4 Truckload auThoriTy | www.Truckload.org Tca 2013-14

How Can You
SAVE THOUSANDS IN FUEL COSTS
Over the Life of Your Reefer?
Just specify ThermoGuardlining in your new
Great Dane reefers and watch the savings grow.
With its revolutionary patented design, ThermoGuard’s impermeable metal barrier layer seals
the insulation—significantly reducing thermal degradation over time. The result is reduced
cooling unit run time and maintenance. And that’s more money to your bottom line.
Find out how much you can save at www.greatdanetrailers.com/thermoguard
The exclusive metal barrier
layer helps maintain a
reefer’s thermal efficiency
as it ages — extending
its useful life.
Exclusively from
The only liner that helps maintain
insulation performance for the life of the trailer.
Great Dane is a registered trademark of Great Dane Limited Partnership.
Calculations shown are for a well-maintained trailer equipped with ThermoGuard and assume a fixed diesel fuel cost of $4.00/gallon and representative operational
factors and conditions. Your results will vary based on your trailer's specific operating parameters and items such as trailer UA, cooling unit capacity and fuel burn
rates, trailer age and condition, number of door openings and regional outdoor temperatures.

Winter Edition | TCA 2013-14
Legislative Look-In
Cracking Up
No laughing matter
By Micah Jackson and Dorothy Cox
There’s a disturbing trend occurring in our
nation’s capitol. It seems our representative
democracy is cracking up. And it’s no laughing
matter. Is this current level of government dysfunction
a unique phenomenon or does it have
historical precedence?
We think legislators have “sharp” disagreements,
now. What about the first session of the Arkansas
General Assembly in 1837 where Speaker of
the House of Representatives John Wilson murdered
another legislator, Major J.J. Anthony, with a Bowie
knife over a bill to offer bounties for wolf hides?
Anthony proposed an amendment to the
“wolf scalp bill” by requiring the Arkansas Real
Estate Bank President, who was Wilson, to sign
each bounty check.
Wilson took personal offense and demanded
Anthony take his seat. “I will not,” responded
Anthony. “Then I will make you,” said Wilson.
Other legislators tried to separate the two by
thrusting a chair between them but Anthony
slashed Wilson’s arm with his knife, and Wilson
responded by mortally wounding Anthony.
Maybe, just maybe, the current dysfunction
in the halls of Congress is not so staggering
after all when put in historical perspective.
And when it comes to those cursed filibusters,
consider this:
As reported in the Wall Street Journal,
President Barack Obama has suffered “unprecedented
levels of obstruction” to his nominees.
However, when it comes to judicial nominees
— which is what sharply pricked Senate Democrats
to change Senate rules to prevent the minority
party from filibustering any nominations
other than nods to the Supreme Court — the
president may only be suffering from a trend
that goes back for decades.
According to a report last May from the Congressional
Research Service, Mr. Obama has had
71.4 percent of his circuit court nominations approved
during his first term, slightly better than
former President George W. Bush’s 67.9 percent
success level.

During Mr. Obama’s first term, 82.7 percent
of his district court nominees were approved
while former President H.W. Bush had 76.9 percent
of his nominees approved.
Some historians point out that the “more
regular” use of the filibuster (a Dutch word
for pirate) began under former President Bill
Clinton’s administration.
But the first recorded filibuster took place in
1841, just after the Whig party won the White
House and the Senate, and members of the
Senate wanted to give patronage jobs to their
supporters.
“Democrats decided they would talk it to
death,” says Senate historian Richard A. Baker
of the patronage legislation.
One of the longest filibusters in history took
place in 1964, and lasted a record 57 days by
Democrats seeking to keep the Civil Rights Act
from passing. Eventually it did pass with the
help of Sen. Everett Dirksen, an Illinois Republican
who pleaded with Democrats to end their
filibuster and accept racial equality.
There is enough blame to go around for
both parties when it comes to keeping bills from
passing through both houses of Congress.
The Senate reportedly has passed at least
27 measures without approval from the House,
while there are an estimated more than 130
bills from the Republican-controlled House that
have not passed the Democratic-led Senate.
And although the most recent government
shutdown was alarming, it was not a departure
from business as usual, historically speaking.
On “the hill,” they call government shutdowns
“spending gaps,” and since 1976, when
the modern congressional budgeting process
took effect, there have been 17 separate
“gaps,” not counting the most recent one, some
lasting a day or two, and some lasting weeks.
Ronald Reagan’s presidency saw nine shutdowns,
none longer than three days. Former President
Bill Clinton saw three shutdowns during his
time in office, including one that lasted 21 days.
One of Mr. Reagan’s shutdowns lasted only
one day, and it happened because neither Re-

publicans nor Democrats wanted to stay into the night
and mess with passing a measure to keep the federal
government running.
Then-President Reagan had invited all members of
Congress to an evening barbecue at the White House and
Democrats were holding a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser that
night as well.
According to The Washington Post’s Dylan Matthews,
congressmen simply “had other plans.” Apparently a
cocktail and a blackened hot dog were more important
than continuing government funding.
And of course, when there is a shutdown, things don’t
get done.
Trucking has borne the brunt of much of the gridlock
taking place in dysfunction junction, also known as Capitol
Hill.
Among the casualties are MAP-21 highway reauthorization
funds; a fix for the dwindling Highway Trust Fund;
infrastructure funding that doesn’t include tolls; a measure
to keep oil and thus diesel fuel, from gyrating up and
down; a provision for more parking spaces for truckers;
and a stay of the new Hours of Service rule until some of
the bugs are worked out, to name but a few.
Dave Heller, director of safety and policy for the
Truckload Carriers Association, says, “Some things just
take forever … fixes that needed to be done yesterday.
… Meanwhile, the need becomes greater for highway
reauthorization, electronic logging, a drug-and-alcohol
clearinghouse. Time is of the essence.”
Of MAP-21 he says, “We need a highway bill; we need
work done on roadways. Highways across the country
need fixing. We need a functional working Congress, not
a dysfunctional mess.”
And Heller adds that Congressional dysfunction impacts
trucking regulations as much as it does legislation:
“It impacts the regulatory [side of government] if Congress
can’t get along.”
Obamacare is one issue where Congressional division
has been highly visible.
Two last-minute Obamacare changes passed by the
House (and prominently championed by Sens. Ted Cruz,
R-Texas and Mike Lee, R-Utah), to avert a government
shutdown were rejected by Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid, D-Nev., who refused to allow it to come to a vote
in the Senate. One of those changes would have delayed
Obamacare’s individual mandate for a year (the other
would have kept Congress from getting a nearly 75 percent
health care subsidy).
Later, when the Obamacare rollout came crashing
down around their future political prospects, many Democrats
reversed their positions, quickly calling for a delay
of the individual mandate. Among the growing number of
Democrats changing gears were Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.,
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen,
D-N.H.
In hindsight, wouldn’t it have been wiser politically for
Reid to accept the House proposal to delay the individual
mandate for a year, especially since businesses had already
received a year-long delay and a shut-down was
hanging in the balance?
“I think it depends on your politics,” says Roby Brock,
a business and political analyst with “Talk Business Arkansas”
and the program’s host.
Brock, a Democrat, views Republicans as unwise in
“leading a charge for the shutdown when they didn’t have
the votes.”
However, he admitted that there has been no real accountability
for the botched Obamacare rollout.
“There is a desire from the public for someone to be
held accountable,” he says, but “you can’t vote the president
out of office.”
He calls the Obamacare fight a congressional “quagmire,”
with one side wanting to “fight through the reform
process and make it work, and on the other hand
you have a large contingency that wants to repeal the
[Obamacare] law altogether … .” There’s a “quagmire of
left and right in an inability to politically navigate a solution.”
Many people would agree, including trucking stakeholders.
Dave Heller, director of safety
and policy for the Truckload
Carriers Association, says
some things just take forever,
fixes that needed to be done
yesterday. “Meanwhile,” he
says, “the need becomes
greater for highway
reauthorization, electronic
logging, a drug-and-alcohol
clearinghouse. Time is of the
essence.”
Noelle Nikpour, author and
Republican strategist says
she “has watched how the
branding techniques used
by corporations to sell their
products are now being
used by campaigns to sell
candidates. No longer are
ideas and qualifications the
primary driver of who wins
elections.”
Roby Brock, a Democrat
and a business and political
analyst says there has been
no real accountability for the
botched Obamacare rollout
and that there is a desire from
the public for someone to be
held accountable. But “you
can’t vote the president out of
office.”
Congressional dysfunction, Heller says, is bleeding
out across the country. “People are doubtful of their
leadership,” he says. “They’re expecting more from
their leaders than they’re currently getting.”
As proof he points to recent polls which show Congress’
public approval rating is down drastically.
A Gallup Poll released Nov. 12 put Congress’ approval
rating at an all-time low of 9 percent. The previous
low was 10, which it hit twice last year compared
with the 33 percent average it had been since 1974.
What’s at the heart of the dysfunction?
Author and Republican strategist Noelle Nikpour is
concerned that ideologies are no longer what get candidates
elected, she told Truckload Authority.
From her vantage point as a consultant, strategist/fundraiser
and TV news commentator, Nikpour
“has watched how the branding techniques used by
corporations to sell their products are now being used
by campaigns to sell candidates. No longer are ideas
and qualifications the primary driver of who wins elections,”
says the description of her book, “Branding
America.”
It would seem that many Congressmen are being
torn by conflicting goals: Represent their constituents
or their political aspirations? Work along party lines or
along the lines of what political power brokers and special
interest campaign donors in Washington want?
Perhaps legislators are no longer representing the
folks who elected them in the first place.
The Morning Consult, a prominent health care policy
newsletter, in July released a survey showing public
opinion on pre-rollout Obamacare was at its secondlowest
rating in the past two years, with just 35 percent
of U.S. adults in favor. A pre-rollout NBC News/
Wall Street Journal poll found 49 percent of people
thought Obamacare was a bad idea.
A full 50 percent of Americans now say they think
Congress should repeal the act, according to the Christian
Science Monitor/TIPP poll, conducted Nov. 21 to
25. That’s up from 47 percent who thought so in October,
the Monitor reported.
A CNN/Opinion Research poll released the end of
last month found 41 percent of the public support
Obamacare while 58 percent oppose it.
It begs the question that if so many Americans
were opposed to Obamacare even before the rollout,
who were legislators supporting it for?
Yes, the wheels of Congress are painfully slow in
turning.
But do we want a well-greased, smooth-running
Congress simply to slide bills through and at what
cost? The last time one party dominated Congress
and bills went whizzing past, one of the outcomes
was Obamacare, and the powers that be — and the
mainstream media — were tight-lipped about what
was actually in it.
When people found out that Mr. Obama had, by his
own admission, “misrepresented” the law as enabling
them to keep their policies if they liked them and their
doctors as well, their approval of Obamacare went spiraling
downward.
Yet, a completely Republican-controlled government
would likely result in similar public dissatisfaction.
“ … The United States is a two-party system and we
need two parties for fairness. … ,” stresses Nikpour.
Historically, when one party or the other has controlled
both legislative and executive branches, they
tend to become emboldened and often overreach their
power politically and legislatively. The American electorate
then emphatically reins the controlling party
back in and re-balances the power equation in subsequent
elections.
That’s precisely what our forefathers envisioned
when they created our system of checks and balances.
They understood that no single political party has a
monopoly on societal solutions, on responsibility or on
good governance.
Perhaps former Democratic President John F. Kennedy
said it best: “Let us not seek the Republican answer
or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.”
Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

“There have been some horrendous lawsuits that essentially were attributed to bad safety
scores. I’ll tell you we spend more time now talking about SMS than we do about claims.”
Terry Burnett, President, Burnett Insurance Corporation
Ridiculudicrous
re-’dik-ye-’lud-e-kres
adj; most appropriately used to describe the state of ridiculous tort
law allowing for the awarding of ludicrous compensatory and punitive
damages against truckload carriers without reasonable cause
By Lyndon Finney
You’re not going to believe this
one. Then again, you may,
especially if one of those billboard
lawyers has come after your
company.
It starts like this:
A professional truck driver is in the last
few miles of his trip that will end with him
enjoying some valuable home time.
He is skillfully guiding his truck well
within the right-hand lane of an Arkansas
interstate focusing intently on the road
ahead when suddenly he feels a bump
against the tractor tires, the result of a
four-wheeler veering out of the left lane
into the right lane.
He looks in his mirror and sees a car
spinning sideways and cringes as he
watches another tractor-trailer — traveling
within the speed limit just behind the
car — T-bone the automobile, killing the
woman driver and injuring her husband and
two children.
A clear-cut case of passenger car negligence,
you say.
“Not so fast there,” as football analyst
Lee Corso intones when one of his partners
makes a prediction with which he does not
agree.
It ends like this:
During the investigative process, the
attorneys for the family of the woman
killed learned that the driver of the truck
in the right-hand lane was out of hours by
between 60 and 90 minutes; his company
settled out of court and paid $2 million.
The family also sued the carrier of the
second driver who just happened to be
in the wrong place at the wrong time and
settled out of court for $1 million.
A blood test performed on the driver
of the automobile found she was driving
under the influence of marijuana, but that
information was never entered into the record,
most likely the result of what is called
Rule 403, a judicial decision which says
the court may exclude relevant evidence if
the probative value of the evidence is substantially
outweighed by a danger of one
the following: unfair prejudice, confusing
the issues, misleading a jury, undue delay,
wasting time or needlessly presenting cumulative
evidence.
And while Rule 403 will remain in place,
there are other issues that must be addressed
to better protect motor carriers
from ridiculous, ludicrous tort cases, says
Bob Pitcher, vice president for state laws at
the ATA, and the man responsible for the
federation’s Insurance Task Force (ITF).
Just call those cases
“ridiculudicrous” for short.
The ITF was created around 2000 to
assist motor carriers in finding affordable
insurance, and once that insurance cost
crisis ended, chose tort reform as a means
of attacking the underlying cause of high
insurance rates: outrageous and unfair
verdicts caused by a deeply flawed judicial
system.
The ITF focuses its efforts on those reforms
most important to the trucking industry,
Pitcher said, and works closely with
state associations to ensure that trucking
industry interests are included in state tort
reform efforts.
Pitcher was quick to cite problems with
laws that govern tort cases with the caveat
that because tort laws are passed by individual
states, not all problems are found in
all states.
First, there is the joint and several liability
law.
“In tort suits, it’s often found that more
than one party is responsible for an injury
and liable for damages,” he noted. “Joint
and several means any one of them can be
held liable for the whole shebang.”
Which usually means the heavily-insured
motor carrier.
“They probably chose them in the first
10 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14-
14

Happy Holidays
Here’s to keeping hard working drivers going all night.

place because they’re the only one who had money,” Pitcher
said.
Once the carrier held liable has paid the plaintiff, they can
try and get a proportional share from other defendants.
Then there’s the collateral source rule, a rule in common law
that says in effect that during the course of a tort suit for injuries,
the jury may not hear any evidence nor the judge consider
any evidence that shows the plaintiff has had any compensation
from some source other than the defendant.
“The word ‘insurance’ is never to be spoken before the jury,”
Pitcher says.
In other words, the jury gets to hear only the amount of the
original bill, a quirk in the business known as phantom damages.
“We would like to get rid of that rule,” Pitcher said, noting
that some states have done so.
Then there’s the issue of seat belts, two issues in fact.
First, trucking interests would like to see all states adopt primary
seat belt laws.
“There’s the fact that seat belts save lives and there is evidence
that just buckling the seat belt causes drivers to be a little
more cautious. It also helps with passengers as well as drivers,”
Pitcher noted.
What’s more, there is an attached issue of getting all states
to adopt primary seat belt laws.
“In most states, the jury can’t hear that a plaintiff in a suit in
which he was injured in a traffic accident wasn’t wearing his seat
belt. That’s kept out of evidence,” Pitcher said. “There’s really
no good reason for that except that in many cases where a legislature
was reluctant to place another imposition on car drivers
they took that as a kind of a trade-off for primary enforcement.
The general negligence of the driver can’t be introduced to mitigate
damages because you might not have been hurt if you had
your seatbelt on.”
Today, the ITF is dealing not only with tort reform, but another
insurance cost crisis, brought about by fewer insurance
companies writing motor carrier policies.
Add to that those that are watching SMS scores more closely
than ever, says Terry Burnett, who’s been writing insurance for 32
years and heads Burnett Insurance Corporation of Little Rock, Ark.
Not only are losses more difficult to predict today, there is a
significant amount of uncertainly over CSA and carrier scores.
“There have been some horrendous lawsuits that essentially
were attributed to bad safety scores,” Burnett said. “I’ll tell you
we spend more time now talking about SMS than we do about
claims.”
All this information has been compiled and organized in a
report that the Central Analysis Bureau publishes.
There are times, however, when states pass tort reform that
doesn’t cover every industry and those industries left out of reform
are facing higher insurance costs and more lawsuits.
Take Texas for instance.
In 2003, the Texas Legislature passed medical liability tort
reform that better protected the medical community.
With that protection in place, doctors flocked to Texas to set
up practices.
But that reform left the trucking community more vulnerable,
says John Esparza, president and CEO of the Texas Trucking Association.
“The reform was well received and we became proud of that,”
Esparza said. “We went from the lawsuit capital of the world to
lead the nation in job creation and business growth.”
But…
“There were folks out there used to suing for medical malpractice
that when those limits came about in 2003, they started
looking at the trucking industry and said, ‘Ha, trucking has deep
pockets.’ We seem to be the new frontier,” Esparza said. “Once
they had shot all the buffalo — the doctors — they came after
the sheep. We are the sheep.”
GREAT WEST’S COLLISION
AND REPAIR EXPRESS
The Great West C.A.R.E. SM program. You might wonder
why we picked that name. Simple. Care is what we do, and
care is what you get with Great West Casualty Company.
Let’s say you experience a breakdown or a collision in
an unfamiliar area. How do you pick a local repair shop
you can trust to do the job quickly, and do it right?
That’s where we can help. We have approved lists of quality repair
shops and have local adjusters wherever you need assistance.
We’ll help you choose the right shop so you can be back on
the road in no time. Plus, any time, day or night, you can talk to
a real, live person who’ll give you the answers you need.
Great West Casualty Company – Because no matter
where you are, we’re with you every step of the way.
WE CARE 24/7
GREAT WEST CASUALTY COMPANY
The Difference is Service
Not available in all states. All policy
exclusions apply to this coverage.
Please see your agent for exact
provisions.
TO FIND AN AGENT VISIT GWCCNET.COM
AND CLICK ON “FIND AN AGENT”
800-228-8053
gwccnet.com
12 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

From Where We Sit
executives and political leaders discuss key issues.
Writing a strategic plan for TCA
These five-year plans, it’s like herding cats. It’s not like it’s just four to five hours trying to find out the future of where
you’re going. “We had breakfast, lunch in the room; pulled the shades up, pulled the shades down.”
— Kevin Burch, 2009-2010 TCA Chairman
American politics
“The branding techniques used by corporations to sell their products are now being used by campaigns to sell candidates.
No longer are ideas and qualifications the primary driver of who wins elections.”
— Noelle Nikpour, author of “Branding America” and GOP strategist
The long-term future of the economy
“If you look down the road to about 2018 to 2020, that’s when we really start to see the insurmountable problems of
demographics emerge. The baby boomers are retiring and collecting Medicare and Social Security, the working age
population is going to be smaller relative to retirement-age people and there’s really in the long run an unsustainable
situation where interest on the government debt is going to start piling up on top of everything else. The sooner we
address those long-term issues, the better.”
— Dr. Michael Pakko, economist
Writing the best-selling book “Killing Jesus”
“Most Americans don’t know anything about Him. If you are raised in a non-religious home and you go to public
school, you don’t know anything about Jesus of Nazareth other than they executed Him and hung Him on a cross.
This is all new to many people. They know Christmas and they know Easter, and that’s it. So I’m trying to bring
back some sanity in the debate.”
— Bill O’Reilly, host of “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News
CSA impact on the cost of insurance
“There have been some horrendous lawsuits that essentially were attributed to bad safety scores. I’ll tell
you we spend more time now talking about SMS than we do about claims.”
— Terry Burnett, President of Burnett Insurance Corporation
Texas tort reform
“There were folks out there used to suing for medical malpractice and when those
limits came about in 2003, they started looking at the trucking industry and said,
‘Ha, trucking has deep pockets.’ We seem to be the new frontier. Once they had shot
all the buffalo — the doctors — they came after the sheep. We are the sheep.”
— John Esparza, President of the Texas Trucking Association
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 13

with
no spin media mogul
Exclusive to Truckload Authority
By Micah Jackson and Lyndon Finney
Bill O’Reilly’s message to the transportation
industry was brief and to the point.
“Keep rollin’ man,” The New York Times
best-selling author and Fox News Channel
icon said in an exclusive interview with
Truckload Authority.
Rollin’ is exactly what O’Reilly has been
doing since his father and mother settled
in Levittown, N.Y., when he was a 2-yearold
lad.
And it continues today as the 64-yearold
hosts Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly
Factor,” which is the highest-rated show of
the three major U.S. 24-hour cable news
channels and the show that that most say
began the trend toward opinion-oriented
prime time cable news programming.
With his views on any given subject
expressed on his daily program, O’Reilly
might “roll” right into the midst of an adulatory
audience of conservatives one night
only to find the same group angry at him
the next night, calling him a liberal for expressing
a view or value with which they
disagree.
The same — in reverse order, of course
— could be said for any group of liberals,
although most say the majority of his
views lean toward the right.
O’Reilly doesn’t necessarily see it that
way, noting that he is a registered independent
— better yet a man with traditionalist
opinions on political and cultural
issues who says he bases his views on
fact-based analysis — which he says separates
“The O’Reilly Factor” from ideological
shows.
He says he speaks for the average
American, calling himself a “problem
solver.”
If you strip everything down about his
books and his television show, it’s all about
making things better for himself and everybody
else.
He points to his upbringing in Levittown
for shaping his views on society, his work
as an adult and his personal beliefs.
Levittown, he said, is located about
25 miles from Manhattan. Its residents
were mostly ethnic refugees from the
city.
“In that environment you basically had
to survive because there were teams of
kids — baby boomers — and there was
not a lot of adult supervision,” he said.
“There was a time where we’d go out in
the morning and come back for lunch and
then you’d go out again and come back for
dinner. There were no playgrounds. Your
parents didn’t care what you were doing
as long as you didn’t get arrested. On the
streets, you basically survived. It was all
about self-reliance and being innovative
and negotiating with your playmates and
all that stuff.”
The independence he learned on the
street stuck with him and is the basis for
many of his views today.
“I never wanted to be dependent on
government or anything like that. I wanted
to make it on my own and I have. I didn’t
borrow any money or take any money
from anybody. I just did it.”
After graduating from the streets and
from high school, O’Reilly headed to Marist
College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he
majored in history.
He wrote for the school newspaper The
Circle, but turned to teaching at a Miami
high school for his first professional job.
“It wasn’t like I wanted to be a high
school teacher for the rest of my life,” he
recalled. “It was ‘this will be fun. We’ll go
down to Miami, we’ll have a good time and
we’ll do good teaching [with] some kids in
a tough area.’”
But after a “good time” for two years,
O’Reilly decided it was time to put his writing
skills to work, so in 1973 he enrolled at
Boston University where he earned a master
of arts degree in broadcast journalism.
“I applied to graduate school because I
knew that was a way in. I mean you don’t
14 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

Read full
interview
here:
Get the free mobile app at
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority http:/ / gettag.mobi 15

show up at a newspaper or TV station and
they hire you. You have to have a credential
and I had a degree in history and that wasn’t
enough.”
His first job was at Scranton, Pa., and later
he worked at television stations in Texas, Colorado,
Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts
and at ABC television. In 1989, he started
hosting the syndicated show “Inside Edition,” a
gig that lasted about five years before another
O’Reilly traditionalist view took over.
“Along the way I looked at people who were
successful not only in journalism, but other
walks of life. You could see that the more they
knew, the more they were educated, the more
they traveled, the more experiences they had,
the higher they went. This wasn’t lost on me.
So that’s why I decided to continue my education
at Harvard after leaving “Inside Edition”
and decided this is a good thing to do and a
good credential to have.”
That credential — among many others
O’Reilly had amassed since he left his teaching
job — in 1996 landed him a job on the then
startup Fox News Channel as host of what was
first called “The O’Reilly Report,” then later rebranded
as “The O’Reilly Factor.”
Seventeen years later, in an era of many
short-lived programs, he’s still on the air every
night.
“Two things,” he says when asked to define
the show’s success. “First, it’s authenticity.
I’m not a phony. Even if you don’t like me you
know I’m speaking from experience and that
I’m not trying to curry favor with anybody. I
think the folks like the authenticity of it.”
Then there’s his fact-based analysis that
O’Reilly says separates him from other opinionated
commentators.
“Most cable news shows and the radio talk
shows are ideological. I have a judicial point
of view that comes through, there’s no doubt
about that. I’ll depart from traditional if I feel
there is a better solution on the left, for example,
on a social problem. I’ve done that many
times. So I think the folks like that there is
fact-based analysis along with the authenticity.”
As a self-labeled independent problem
solver, O’Reilly is known for his no compromise,
no short-cuts, no let-up work ethic. Many say
he’s working harder now than ever. One thing’s
for sure, he’s well aware of the role he plays in
American life today.
‘“The O’Reilly Factor’ has taken on a huge
role in the country. We are aware of that and
we know we have a responsibility to provide
information that is accurate and analysis that
is honest,” he says. “And we can’t make any
mistakes, so I have to be on top of everything,
every day. I can’t coast. It’s also a very competitive
industry. We’ve been No. 1 for 13 years
but that doesn’t mean we are going to be No. 1
for 14 years.”
O’Reilly refuses to use his program as a
bully pulpit, even when ideologues challenge
his opinion. “I respect people who are committed
to a cause, no matter what cause it is
if it is sincere and the cause is positive. So
conservative people who firmly believe this is
the way the country should go, I respect that.
Liberal people who feel the opposite, I respect
that.”
But ideologues who refuse to admit the
“other side” may be correct on certain issues,
that’s another story.
“There comes a point where you have to
Bill O’Reilly consults with actor Rob Lowe on the set of the National Geographic Channel’s “Killing Kennedy.”
Lowe played President John F. Kennedy in the movie adaptation of the O’Reilly book bearing the same title.
be able to compromise in our Republic. It’s a
system based on compromise,” he says. “That’s
how the founding fathers set it up. And if you
are going to walk in and say there is no compromise
and I’m not going to do anything to move
legislation along or goodwill along, then you’ve
become part of the problem; you are destructive.
So your ideology can work both ways. It’s
a good thing, but it can be a bad thing.”
What really gets to him, O’Reilly says, are
the ideals of those he calls secular-progressives
who have targeted the type of American
traditions on which he was raised, all of
which led him to write one of his better-known
books, “Culture Warrior.” In the book, O’Reilly
declares war against “the committed forces of
the secular-progressive movement that want to
dramatically change America, molding it in the
image of Western Europe.”
The “S-P’s” as he calls secular-progressives,
are hostile to the Judeo-Christian ethic on
which our country was founded and the traditional
values associated with it, O’Reilly says.
“It’s well known that Christians oppose
things like legalization of narcotics, unfettered
abortion, gay marriage. They stand
in the way of the liberal secular progressive
agenda,” he said. “So therefore, the other
side that wants those things starts to attack
and marginalize Christians. And I think that’s
wrong. If my faith tells me it’s not a good
thing to have babies aborted three hours before
they’re born, then I have a perfect right
to voice that without being attacked. That
makes me angry.”
His reference to abortion could easily be
construed to be a reference to when in 2005,
O’Reilly began periodically denouncing George
Tiller, a Kansas-based physician who specialized
in second- and third-trimester abortions.
Tiller was murdered on May 31, 2009, by Scott
Roeder, an anti-abortion activist.
Critics, including many secular progressives,
asserted that O’Reilly’s anti-Tiller rhetoric
helped to create an atmosphere of violence
around the doctor. Jay Bookman of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution wrote that O’Reilly “clearly
went overboard in his condemnation and demonization
of Tiller” but added that it was “irresponsible
to link O’Reilly” to Tiller’s murder.
O’Reilly responded to the criticism by saying
“no backpedaling here ... every single thing we
said about Tiller was true.”
To help expound on his own Christian
beliefs (he is of the Roman Catholic faith),
O’Reilly said the Holy Spirit — one of the three
persons of the Trinity, God the Father and Jesus
Christ the Son being the other two — led
him to write his latest book, “Killing Jesus,”
which has already sold more than 1 million
copies to date and is heading toward selling 5
million copies, O’Reilly says.
He calls the events surrounding the death
of Christ, the founder of the Christian faith, an
amazing story.
“Most Americans don’t know anything about
Him. If you are raised in a non-religious home
and you go to public school, you don’t know
anything about Jesus of Nazareth other than
they executed Him and hung Him on a cross.
This is all new to many people. They know
Christmas and they know Easter, and that’s it.
So I’m trying to bring back some sanity in the
debate. We can disagree as Americans over issues,
but once you get in to attacking people for
their belief system, that’s wrong. So I stick up
16 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

Brand Better.
That’s right. The
trucking media market
has changed, so my
marketing plans have had
to change with it.
I found a better way.
You can too.
Elevate your brand the
more efficient and
effective way.
Did you know more trucking
professionals now turn to
The Trucker and TheTrucker.com
than any other trucking media
source?
It didn’t
make sense
to continue
investing my
precious
marketing
dollars into
sources with
only about
half the
audience The
Trucker News
Organization
can provide
me and my
business.
Tw i t t e r : @ t r u c k e r t a l k
F a c e b o o k S e a r c h : T h e Tr u c k e r
w w w. T h e Tr u c k e r. c o m • ( 8 0 0 ) 6 6 6 - 2 7 7 0

Never short on advice, Bill O’Reilly chats with Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant during a
game at Los Angeles between the Lakers and Atlanta Hawks. O’Reilly is an avid sports
fan who once played semi-pro baseball for the New York Monarchs.
for it; I defend it and thank God we’ve been very successful in beating
back those attacks.”
“Killing Jesus” was the third book O’Reilly co-authored with Martin
Dugard about the death of a famous person.
“Killing Lincoln” was first, followed by “Killing Kennedy,” which was adapted
into a movie that premiered on the National Geographic Channel Nov. 10.
O’Reilly said true to his fact-based approach to reporting the news,
he painted an impartial picture of the Kennedy White House.
“One of five things I learned when writing the book was how JFK conducted
himself, how he actually acted, some of it good, some of it bad.
We lay out both so you can decide in totality what kind of president he
was,” O’Reilly said in an interview with USA Today.
O’Reilly is quick to point out that there is a correlation between cultural
traditions that fashioned his beliefs and the domestic problems
he so abhors: When America strays from the values on which it was
founded, problems can occur, O’Reilly believes, and he’s not afraid to say
something not generally perceived to be politically correct to prove his
point.
He cites the African-American crime rate as an example.
“The African American crime rate is driven by unsupervised young
black males because there is no father around. So how did that happen?
Why is it happening and why isn’t there knowledge that it is a prime
driver of violent crime, because it is? And it’s also the prime driver of
poverty,” he says, asking, “Why isn’t it being addressed by Americans?”
Overall, O’Reilly believes the United States is a much weaker nation
than it was at the turn of the century.
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars drained blood and treasure from the
country and divided Americans, he says. “Iraq was a tremendous fiasco.
We won the war, but at a tremendous, tremendous price.”
Adding to America’s declining stature, O’Reilly believes, is that President
Barack Obama is sending mixed signals to the world.
“Tyrants like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin don’t respect him,”
O’Reilly said. “The Chinese have not been so bad, because the Chinese
are tied into our economy. So for them to marginalize the president
hurts them economically. That’s why you haven’t heard much
from them. But the villains of the world don’t fear President Obama
because they know he’s weak. He’s not a weak person, I’m not saying
that. It’s basically that he’s trying to recede from the theater because
of all the problems. They know that. America is on the retreat;
the bad guy is going to step in and do bad things daring you to come
back.”
Rather than being burdened with administrative
tasks, why not focus on revenue generation and
leave the rest to us?
PeopLease Corporation will help your business
enhance employee productivity and improve
overall profitability.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES:
• Safety Programs
• Cash Flow Improvement
• Tax Deposits & Reporting
• DOT & Regulatory Compliance
• Health Insurance & Other Benefits
(800) 948-4453 • www.PeopLeaseCorp.com
18 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

Of course, O’Reilly is not just opinionated on
traditions and culture, he’s not afraid to speak
out on current events.
He doesn’t see an immediate defection of
Democrats from Obamacare, but gives the
administration three months to get its act together.
He thinks that the 2016 elections will be a
pocketbook issue.
He believes the federal government is part
of the problem when it comes to immigration
reform.
And he realizes the importance of the trucking
industry.
As for Obamacare, “the president and his
acolytes have a three-month window to get this
thing in shape. But say in three months you
still have all this chaos; you are going to see
defections by the people who have to run for
office next year. You’ll see that pretty hard.”
That could lead to a delay in implementation,
but if Obamacare “continues to go south,”
O’Reilly says the Republicans will pick up a lot
of seats in both the House and Senate next fall.
Obamacare certainly plays into the 2016
elections, O’Reilly says.
“The reason that Obamacare is so threatening
to Americans is they don’t have the money
to pay the higher insurance premiums. And
then if you examine the taxation strategies by
the Obama administration, you see that there
are all kinds of hidden taxes in everything you
do.
“The people’s money is being taken away
from them and they know it because they
aren’t making that much money. The median
income under President Obama has gone down
in five years. That’s the issue.”
American opinions are all over the place
with respect to the number of illegal immigrants
that stream across the border ranging
from rounding up and deporting every single illegal
immigrant to providing those already here
with a path to citizenship and an increased law
enforcement presence along the country’s borders,
possibly involving a fence.
“What I would do if I was the architect of
immigration reform, I’d say to the nation, part
of the problem is that the federal government
allows these people to come in here for a variety
of reasons — big business wanted them,
agricultural business wanted them. We’ve
looked the other way for 30 years. Because
part of the problem is the federal government,
we have to atone for that.”
Atonement would include giving the people
who are here established and law-abiding a
chance.
“But they don’t get a preference,” O’Reilly
said. “They have to apply and then they are
put in the system. You can’t deport 12 million
people, so you basically say to them,
‘You can work here, but you don’t have citizenship
and you have to follow these rules’
and you give them the rules. And then you
adjudicate what their application is along
with everybody else and you decide. If you
decide they are not fit to be Americans because
they have three DUIs or something
like that, then that’s the decision and they
may have to leave.”
As for the trucking industry, O’Reilly said
he realizes its essentiality in American life
and that he chose The Trucker Newspaper
and Truckload Authority to speak directly to
Bill O’Reilly on the set of the Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” the most watched cable news show for the past 13 years.
trucking because of our vast audience.
“That’s why I gave you the interview,” he
said. “I know what you guys do: I know who
you reach and I wanted to get the word out
that we’re not bad guys here, we’re not trying
to hurt anybody, we are trying to make things
better.”
Oh, and remember the comment that
opened this editorial profile?
Well, there’s a bit more to it.
“Keep rollin’, man” was quickly followed by
“You’re the guys who make everything work. If
you don’t roll, we don’t eat.”
Now that’s dead on fact-based analysis.
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 19

Winter Edition | TCA 2013-14
Tracking The Trends
Stagnation
By Lyndon Finney
The American economy in a word, is stagnant,
the result of a whole host of uncertainties.
What’s more, the recent ballyhooed government
shutdown and debt ceiling played only a minor role
in creating that uncertainty, says a veteran published
economist at the University of Arkansas at
Little Rock.
“I think the shutdown and debt crisis debate
did have some temporary impact and some of the
implications (primarily a rise in the unemployment
rate) are showing up in the current statistics, but
I think overall the impact was less than some of
the hype would have led you to believe,” says Dr.
Michael Pakko, the chief economist at UALR’s Institute
for Economic Advancement. “For one thing, it
all took place within one calendar quarter so that
while some people’s spending might have been
interrupted or postponed, it’s just as likely that
spending will take place in the latter part of the
calendar quarter, kind of evening things out.”
Pakko is a former research economist at the
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where he published
research on a variety of topics including international
trade, economic growth, monetary economics
and public policy. He spoke at length with
Truckload Authority and without hesitation listed
other factors he believes will continue to yield only
a 2 to 2.5 percent gross domestic product growth
in 2014.
Among them:
• Another impending government shutdown and
debt crisis debate
• The political gridlock in Washington
• The inability of Congress to tackle long-term
issues
• Obamacare, something Pakko says may create
the biggest impact on economic uncertainty, and
• The 2014 mid-term elections.
And all are interrelated, Pakko believes.
For instance, don’t expect the rancorous Congress
to do anything but kick the can down the
road when the continuing resolution funding the
government runs out in January. Also, Americans
shouldn’t expect Congress to come up with a final
solution to the debt ceiling. He expects at best a
temporary fix when the issue comes up the following
month.
“If you observe the past and extrapolate into
the future, it’s most likely they’ll come up with
a temporary solution and kick it down the road
again,” Pakko says. “In terms of the outlook for the
government debt, there is to some extent some
time before it becomes really a problem, but that’s
not to say we shouldn’t be considering the future
right now with some additional revenue sources.”
Even if Congress fails to act in time to prevent
another shutdown, don’t expect a major outcry
from the general public, he predicts.
Americans feel the economy made it OK
through the first shutdown/debt crisis and expect
the same will happen again if circumstances repeat
themselves, Pakko says.
The impact of the recent government shutdown
and debt crisis debate turned out to be only
a blip on the economic radar and Pakko says he
20 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

expects the same would happen early next year.
“The bigger problems in our economy are longer term than
that,” he says. “I think the shutdown highlighted some of the
things that are contributing to general economic weakness, but
in and of itself neither the shutdown nor the debt ceiling crisis
had a lasting impact.”
What about the future, however?
“If you look down the road to about 2018 to 2020, that’s
when we really start to see the insurmountable problems of
demographics emerge,” Pakko notes. “The baby boomers are
retiring and collecting Medicare and Social Security, the working
age population is going to be smaller relative to retirementage
people and there’s really in the long run an unsustainable
situation where interest on the government debt is going to
start piling up on top of everything else. The sooner we address
those long-term issues, the better.”
But that’s where political gridlock comes into play.
“First of all, those issues have to be discussed and debated,”
Pakko says, “and there seems to be a reluctance in Washington
to even address the really tough issues. There are a number
of ways you could make those long-term income support programs
sustainable, but that would require some changes in
their structure and there doesn’t seem to be much agreement
among the parties in Washington about which measures ought
to be taken. There are a lot of technical ways to address the
problems, they are just politically infeasible.”
Much will likely remain politically infeasible for at least the
next three years regardless of the outcome of the mid-term
elections next November, something Pakko feels will add to the
economic uncertainty.
“There’s always uncertainty in the world, so I don’t want to
suggest that we are going to eliminate all uncertainty, but a lot
of the economic uncertainty has to do with what is the future
course of economic policy,” he explains, “and I guess as the
elections next year draw closer, those questions may loom even
larger on the horizon because we won’t know how the election
is going to turn out. There’s the possibility we’ll see even more
ambiguity about what the course of the economic policy is going
to be given the outcome of the elections.”
As long as there is the inability of the two political parties
to get things done there is still a built-in amount of uncertainty
about the long-term course of government policy and what that
means for consumer and business decisions, Pakko believes.
As for Obamacare, the nation is just beginning to see the
real working parts of the plan, officially called the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act, Pakko predicts.
“It’s very hard to foresee what type of impact it’s going to
have. I think the biggest impact compounds the other factors
I’ve shared. There’s just the uncertainty of how it’s going to
affect things,” Pakko says. “There’s been a recent study saying
that the very environment of uncertainty of not knowing what’s
coming next in the political environment is a big factor putting
a damper on economic growth and I think the uncertainty of
Obamacare and how it’s going to influence the economy is by
itself having the biggest impact.”
Pakko says the all the stimulus money that the Obama
administration pumped into the economy did help the nation
during the deepest times of the recent recession, but when it
comes to real long-term economic growth, it’s not government
spending that is the answer.
“Rather it’s savings and investment of people within the
economy to see capital accumulation and seeing people’s skills
and education improve,” Pakko says. “Those are the real
Nation
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 21

CAT Truckload Authority 052013_Layout 1 5/20/13 12:41 PM Page 1
We’ve
Got
Your Back.®
“
Our trucks operate all over the
country and we want some
continuity in our scales, and we
get that with CAT Scale.
CAT Scale does have our back
because of their accuracy, and
on a scale of 1-10 they are
a 10 or 11 for sure!
”
– Aaron Tennant
Tennant Truck Lines
Read more about
The CAT Scale Guarantee at
www.catscaleguarantee.com.
1-877-CAT-SCALE (228-7225)
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
sources of economic growth. We’re not seeing that because we
still haven’t reached a period where the economy is seen as being
in any sort of normal situation. We’re still in a crisis mode.”
And just what type of economic conditions would need to occur
before people start saving and investing?
“A lot of it has to do with confidence in the future and resolving
uncertainty,” Pakko says. “[With] the political situation in
Washington, everyone realizes there is gridlock and there is not
a lot getting done.”
One of the things that would go a long way toward improving
economic performance would be if Congress had a budget going
forward and had a plan addressing some of these longer-term
entitlement issues, he adds.
If the Federal Reserve was able to get back to a more normal
monetary policy, not one intended to support the economy in
times of crisis, it would help erase some of the uncertainty.
The nation somehow needs to get back to a feeling of normality
and predictability in public policy.
“That’s easier said than done,” Pakko quickly adds.
Like us on
Facebook.
© 2013 CAT Scale Company
22 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org

Tca’s
inaugural
scholarship
g a l a
Saddle up for TCA’s inaugural shindig benefiting the TCA Scholarship Fund.
This ace-high fandango will feaTure:
• Dinner as “fine as cream gravy” • Live and Silent Auctions
• Performance by Grammy-nominated country group
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION. SEATING IS LIMITED.
Tables of 10: $2,500 | Upgrade to a premium table: $3,500
If you will be riding solo, individual seats are also available for $275 each.
Contact Debbie Sparks: 703-838-1950 • dsparks@truckload.org
SponSored By:

Winter Edition | TCA 2013-14
A Chat With The Chairman
Down to Business
Foreword and Interview by Micah Jackson
When we last “chatted” with Chairman Kretsinger we learned he is a man
who revels in outdoor activities, reading a good book, preparing culinary
delights and, most of all, spending quality time with his family and close friends.
Yes, Mr. Kretsinger enjoys life and knows how to have a good time, but he’s just
as adept at getting down to the business at hand. In our third of four “chats”
with him, that’s exactly what we do.
Find out what Chairman Kretsinger believes is the number one danger
facing the industry right now and what must be done about it. Is there an effort
behind the scenes in trucking to lobby Congress to raise the liability minimum?
What’s really going on here? We get to the bottom of it with the chairman. Plus,
get his take on the mistakes too many truckload carriers are still making and
the tort reforms that are desperately needed and long overdue. So, sit back,
grab a beverage of your choosing and enjoy this edition of “A Chat with the
Chairman.”
24 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

Sponsored by
THE ABILITY TO DO MORE
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 25

Sponsored by Mcleod software
McLeodSoftware.com | 877.362.5363
Thank you Chairman Kretsinger for joining
us for our third “Chat” exclusively in
Truckload Authority.
Let’s get right down to business. In our first
“Chat” you stated a significant industry
challenge is “the things the government
does to us.” How effective do you think the
trucking industry as a whole is at beating
back government’s attempts to impose
more rules, regulations and barriers to
growth?
I think the results on the whole are pretty good
but it is somewhat mixed. On the one hand, I believe
our industry organizations have a good dialogue with
the FMCSA and work together where they can. The
industry certainly is very active in the halls of Congress
as well. It’s so divided, it’s so partisan, it’s very hard to
have anything [done]. What also happens is the president
has said, I think sometimes unconstitutionally, that
if Congress won’t give him what he wants then he’ll do
what he wants without Congress. And the way that they
do that is through the federal agencies. If you look at the
sheer volume of regulations that are being proposed it’s
somewhat overwhelming. There’s something like a new
regulation being proposed every two and a half hours
around the clock. So that’s what we’re up against. It’s not
only the FMCSA, but it’s also the Department of Labor,
the EPA, the EEOC and a host of other alphabet soups of
agencies. I think the challenges we have is when special
interests that are aligned with the administration get
involved, such as the unions and trial lawyers. We’ve
seen that in the recent disappointing Hours of Service.
But there’s a lot of times those players are not involved
and we can do quite well. Where we are lacking I think
sometimes is unity in the industry. We have a lot of
people who sit on the sidelines and then they complain
about this or that, but they don’t join, they don’t get involved,
they don’t help us be as strong and united as an
industry as we could be. If we were more united I think
you’d see our impact be much stronger.
A recently released report from ATRI
revealed that the new Hours of Service rule
modifications were, as expected, decreasing
carrier efficiency, reducing driver pay,
costing the carrier more in hiring new
drivers to make up for the decreased
productivity, and a host of other negative
outcomes. Do you think there is a chance
in the near term to have these rules revised
and in the long-term, what are the keys to
successfully navigating the changes?
I don’t know if they’ll be revised or not. There are
efforts in Congress to have Congress overturn them, but
as divisive, as partisan as Congress is I think that’s maybe
a long shot. I think we’re starting to see once you got past
the slow part of July and August that there is a hit on
productivity. They have taken time away, they have taken
flexibility away. We’re starting to hear more and more
each day of drivers complaining about varying situations.
You have to stop, look and listen and take those things
very seriously. The things that happen on the road which
create non-driving time I believe are and will become
increasingly under scrutiny. Things such as excessive wait
time, multiple stops, nighttime driving and other things
like that. And probably what will happen is carriers will
tend to steer away from those types of business to keep
the drivers happy because sometimes in economic cycles,
customers are No. 1 and other times drivers are No. 1.
Right now, drivers are No. 1. That issue and what takes
care of them will trump all other issues.
Is the driver shortage the greatest danger
to the growth and prosperity of the industry
right now?
Yes. The No. 1 danger that I think is getting extremely
serious is this driver shortage. I drive around
town in Kansas City and I look at all the empty trucks
that are sitting on the lots and I can tell you there are
more than enough of them that if they were filled
could make a good size truck line.
What does every trucking executive need to
know and understand about the changing
dynamics in the driver market?
It’s as hard as I’ve ever seen it. And I believe it’s
getting worse and I don’t see a whole lot of light at
the end of that tunnel. It does seem the tenured, really
good drivers in our company are staying. There’s the
bottom 30 percent that just churns at an alarming rate.
And they’re not as good as what we’re traditionally
used to. It’s getting worse. I think this is one of those
things where everyone is talking today about what do
we do differently and then you wake up tomorrow
and do it again.
So what must we do?
Well, not the entire solution, but the big solution, is
they’re underpaid. I was with one of the largest companies
in the United States Monday, who has a fleet of
6,000 trucks and they’re all company drivers. They have
a 5 percent turnover. They have the best drivers, drivers
make about $80,000 a year. I’ve heard similar stories
from other private carriers. For some reason, these
shippers are willing to be more than generous with
the drivers they hire, but they won’t pay carriers the
amount of money they need to keep a good driver pool.
And by doing that in the long run, what they’re really
doing is destroying their own capacity, which at some
point in the future they will desperately need.
Let’s shift gears a bit.
As you’ve traveled as chairman of TCA
this year, what are you finding as the most
common mistakes you see truckload
carriers making in the midst of this overregulated
environment and what should
they do to correct them?
Actually there are a lot of them. One mistake some
carriers have made is put off replacing old equipment.
I believe that’s a mistake that really hurts because the
drivers don’t want to drive that, they don’t want to
spend all their time in the shop and maintenance costs
at some point exceed the truck payment. I think another
mistake that some have made is not going to EOBRs,
not establishing a culture of “we do things legal, no kidding.”
I think those carriers are going to be under a lot of
pressure to change their business models and in a short
amount of time, they might not have the luxury of doing
that. Not paying attention to safety on top of compliance
I think is a big mistake for some. The insurance market
has been hardening. They’re looking at CSA scores in
underwriting insurance and I think some of them are
giving some sticker shock on that. Another mistake I
think is not being ready for this health care debacle we’re
currently going through. It takes a lot of time with some
experts to prepare and position yourself to deal with
that. And even the ones that have, like us, we’re finding
very large increases in costs. So with a business, another
mistake is not being involved. Business is becoming very
complicated and takes a great deal of sophistication to
be successful in it and the ones that sit in their office and
don’t have a network and aren’t continually seeking
more education are going to find themselves behind,
and maybe behind in a way that they can’t catch up with
all the complexities we have.
The current liability minimum is $750,000.
However, Representative Matt Cartwright,
D-Pa., has proposed legislation that would
lift this minimum to over $4.2 million, which
would result in much higher premiums for
carriers. Is there any support in trucking,
even behind the scenes, to support the lifting
of the liability minimum threshold by any
amount?
There are differing views on this. A lot of carriers
who are more sophisticated understand that a verdict
can easily be over the minimums. In fact, way over the
minimums. And so they buy more insurance than what’s
required. We are one of those. For some of these, it’s very
tempting to think “Well gosh, since I do it, everyone ought
to do it.” That’s one point of view, kind of a thought that
this would level the playing field. The other side of the
coin is that 81 percent of the carriers on the road today
only carry $1 million. There’s a reason they do that.
They’ve made a business decision. They may have fewer
assets to protect, and maybe they can’t afford it. The cost
of the first $5 million is extremely expensive and there’s a
reason for that. The average fatality case will be close to $4
million. An average brain damage case with lifetime care
will be around $12 million per person. So in view of these
things, the current limit looks relatively skinny.
On the other hand, I used to sue people in my other
career; I’m a reformed attorney as you know. And I can
tell you that any amount of insurance will not level the
playing field. Lawyers want to make more, like anybody
else, just like we do. And we look, when we take a case, as
to how deep the pockets are of the people we’re going to
sue. And the deeper the pockets are, which could be provided
by insurance or it could be assets that you have, the
more we’re going to want. So the more successful you are,
26 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

Naughty or Nice -
No Need To Check Twice!
Managing Santa’s lists used to be difficult and took
too much time. But the new McLeod Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) helped automate it all.
Best of all, McLeod CRM is integral to his McLeod PowerBroker
system, keeping all of the same data and history in one place,
not a CRM that was bolted on with duplicate data. Now he never
misses anything, so be good for goodness sake!
www.McLeodSoftware.com | 877.362.5363

Sponsored by Mcleod software
McLeodSoftware.com | 877.362.5363
the bigger you are, the reality is, the more you’re going to
pay regardless of what everyone else does. So I think the
other side of this coin is that if everyone was mandated
to have $5 million, plaintiffs’ lawyers would collect more
money. And if lawyers collect more money, somebody is
going to pay for that. And I think the answer would probably
be all of us. A lot will sit there and say it’s a fool’s
bargain to try to make a deal with someone who innately
wants to sue you for as much money as they can get.
Speaking of tort reform, as an experienced
lawyer in this area, describe what tort
reform is needed to better safeguard the
trucking industry from lucrative payouts
and burdensome settlements.
It’s a long list of things. One thing that immediately
comes to mind is joint and civil liability. It wasn’t
too long ago that if there were two defendants, say my
company and the driver, or my company compared to
the plaintiff, if I am 1 percent at fault, I can be held liable
for 100 percent of the verdict if my co-defendants
couldn’t pay. Why would they want to go after truck
lines? Two reasons: one, if you collide with a truck, it’s
a horrible thing with a lot of damages and the other
thing is we are carrying more insurance. The average
car is carrying what, $25,000 to $50,000? We’re carrying
$1 million on up.
So I think one good reform would be we shouldn’t
have to pay in any instance, any more percentage of
the damages than what our percentage of fault is and
a lot of states are far from that. The next one is punitive
damages. Punitive damages aren’t your actual
damages at all. What they are is an amount to punish
and deter the defendant from “malicious behavior.”
So how do you figure out how much is enough? It’s
just up to the jury. So if not capped it allows plaintiffs’
lawyers to make these emotional non-fact based
arguments such as holding up a bloody shirt with an
exhibit sticker to try to enflame a jury into these unknowable
amounts of money.
Another one would include non-economic damages,
some reasonable cap on those. Economic damages
are those things you can put on a chalk board
and add them up. How much were the plaintiff’s
medical bills? How long was he off-work and lost his
job? What will his medical needs be in the future? But
then there’s that intangible thing, pain and suffering,
emotional distress, all of these things that you can’t
quantify. And some of those may be real, but again, it
allows an attorney to do the same thing as they would
with punitive damages. Create the possibility of these
unreasonable runaway verdicts. There’s the collateral
source rule which says if a person’s medical insurance
pays all the medical bills, you can’t tell that to the
jury. So in that sense, they get to collect these twice.
What does that mean in light of Obamacare, where
supposedly everyone is supposed to have insurance?
The rule is based on you shouldn’t be penalized because
you were smart enough to buy health insurance.
Now, you don’t have a choice. So are you really smart
enough if everyone has it? So those are just a few
things. It probably needs to be done on a state-by-state
level. The ATA Insurance Task Force has been working
diligently for several years on this and people would
be helping themselves actually if they’d donate to
those folks to help them in their efforts.
Let’s talk health care reform. What are
your general thoughts on the predictable
Obamacare mess to this point?
They don’t know what they’re doing. This is in
line with a couple of other things where they try to
buy votes by telling a bunch of others we’ll give you
28 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

already being hailed as
the most innovative and entertaining
publication in all of trucking.
Grow your brand by reaching thousands of top-line decision makers.
To inquire about advertising partnership opportunities, we invite you to reach out to us.
800.666.2770, ext. 5040 | raeleet@thetrucker.com

Sponsored by Mcleod software
McLeodSoftware.com | 877.362.5363
something that doesn’t cost anything, I’m such a good
caring guy you should vote for me. I’ve found, and
I’m getting to be one of the older people around now,
that nothing in life is free. Generally when somebody
is trying to sell you something for nothing, you can
pretty much figure out it’s a con game. Here you had
this audacious attempt by some fairly arrogant people
to take over 20 percent of the nation’s economy. It’s
quite apparent today that the king has no clothes.
Politicians are not insurance people. A lot of their
appointees’ main qualification was they supported
them in the election. So now we have probably the
largest political fiasco that I can remember in history.
Policies are being cancelled, people can’t sign up for
new insurance. If they do they have to pay a whole
lot more. Companies are getting incredible increases
and what does that mean? They can’t grow, they lay
off people. They charge more, which goes to the consumer.
There’s no good scenario in any event. So this
will play out and I think the damage is done. I think
the house is on fire and you’ve got a bunch of people
running around with little buckets.
So let’s bring readers up to date on the
inaugural Wreaths Across America Gala
and some other TCA initiatives that have taken
place since we last spoke in the summer.
This is the fun stuff! We had our first inaugural
gala for Wreaths Across America, which is a TCA
supported organization delivering two things: It
delivers honor and respect to our fallen veterans
and it delivers a good and positive image for our
industry. TCA took this on last year. The program
was started with Barry Pottle and some friends
in Bangor, Maine. If you know Barry, he’s a bighearted
caring, charitable, hard-working guy. He
grew this thing from the trucking side to a point
that was just too big for him and TCA took it over.
The information on the program is easy to find at
truckloadofrespect.com. But we started off with a
fundraiser black-tie gala in Washington, D.C., and
I went not knowing what to expect and I’ll tell you
what, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever gone to. It
was very well attended. You had Gold Star mothers,
you had veterans, you had generals, you had
admirals, you had privates, you had truckers and
supporters of truckers all in this big-time thing.
We had a presentation that showed the history
of the program and all of what we do. It’s actually
very emotionally compelling if you haven’t
seen it and Lindsay Lawler, our Highway Angel
spokesman, was there and she sang for us and then
Lonestar, a popular country band, performed live.
It raised $160,000 for the program. December 14 is
National Wreaths Across America Day and there’s
several things people can do to be a part of this
whether they are a member of TCA or not. One,
is something as simple as buy a wreath, go online
to truckloadofrespect.com and buy a wreath, buy
several, and we will ensure that that’s delivered to
the grave of a fallen soldier.
Other things you can do is volunteer to haul a
truckload of wreaths. We haul wreaths from Maine
to more than 800 military cemeteries throughout
the United States and you can be a part of that
convoy. They also always need dispatchers. It’s a
great program, it’s growing, it’s going to continue
to grow every year. One of the things that’s happening
right now is the nation’s Christmas tree
is being transported by truck from Washington
state to the capital. There are stops along the way
sponsored by TCA and again, this is another way
of showing the people in this country that truckers
care and are patriotic and pretty good men and
women.
Now, tell us about the gala in March of
2014 to support the scholarship program.
The scholarship program is another big success
story. It continues to grow every year. We’d like
everyone to be a part of it both from a standpoint
of helping them increase their endowment and letting
their employees know there are scholarships
available for young men and women interested
in the trucking industry, and they can apply for
them.
What are you most focused on in the last
few months of your chairmanship?
Well, we’ve done a lot of good things this year. As of
late, I’ve been focused on the events that are currently in
action, being primarily Wreaths Across America. Then
after the holidays, it’ll be pretty close to when I am done
and what we’re focused on is making sure there’s a good
hand-off and a good transition to the next chairman, who
is Shepard Dunn and keeping the chairman after that,
Keith Tuttle, in the loop. I’d done a lot of work actually
before I was chairman on continuity and direction and
our officers are onboard with that, trying to make it a type
of organization where it’s going to be good and grow and
improve and do great things regardless of who’s chairman.
And I think we’re well on the way to that.
T H E FACE S O F F U S I O N F L O O R
the
inventor
GOPAL PADMANABHAN, Havco’s V.P. of Product Development,
is a perfectionist. It’s a trait that has helped him invent
industry-changing products, like Fusion Floor by Havco – a
trailer floor that delivers strength without added weight.
Improve your ROI and put Fusion Floor to work for you today.
LESS WEIGHT – Up to 360 lbs. lighter for a 53 ft. trailer vs. hardwood alone
STRONGER – Almost twice as strong as a conventional hardwood floor of comparable thickness
LESS MAINTENANCE – Nearly 100% impervious to warping, cupping and de-bonding
LONGER LIFESPAN – Retains over 80% original flex strength after 10 years of use
800.792.4040 | FUSIONFLOOR.COM | PUT IT ALL ON RED
30 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA TCA 2013-14

Read full
interview
here:
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 31

Winter Edition | TCA 2013-14
Member Mailroom
“I understand TCA
members have access
to free education and
training content on the
Truckload Academy
On-demand (TAO).
How do I access this
content?”
by Ron Goode,
TCA Director of Education
As a TCA membership benefit, many recordings
from TCA webinars and other training and education
materials are available at no cost. Go to www.
truckload.org/TAO. Click on “Login” from “My
Account” and enter your TCA username and password.
For access to the webinar recordings, select
“Truckload Academy Webinars On-demand” from the
“Conferences” drop-down menu. From here you can
view webinar recordings to learn how to avoid wageand-hour
lawsuits and Department of Labor scrutiny
or Fair Credit Reporting Act violations and associated
fines. Other webinar recording topics include
lease-purchase plans, like-kind exchanges, and the
use of criminal records and background screening.
TCA has even more free content available which
can be used for training your drivers as well as all
non-driving personnel. For example, the Truckers
Against Trafficking Certification, developed to build
awareness of and combat human trafficking, can be
earned by any company employee. All they need
to do is log in to their existing account or create
one from “My Account,” and access to the training
will be immediate. Once they successfully complete
the 12-question test, they will earn the Certified
Truckers Against Trafficking designation. As soon as
they pass, they can print their certificate for proud
display. Employees can also use the same process
to take the Understanding Nutrition Labels training
program for better health and fitness.
To help our members better understand the
current state of our industry, speeches by industry
leaders at major TCA conferences are also made
available to all TCA members. After logging in,
select the conference of choice from the “Conferences”
drop-down menu and the free recordings
will populate below the conference name.
PowerPoint slides and other materials can be
downloaded from the “My Download” tab. In the
future, members will have the ability to download
white papers, best practices documents and other
resources pertinent to the trucking industry. Take
time to browse through all the conference categories
to explore what is available to you and check
back often for newly added content.
If you do not know your TCA username and
password, or have trouble logging in, please contact
TCA at (703) 838-1950 or write us at truckloadacademy@truckload.org.
32 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

Winter Edition | TCA 2013-14
Talking TCA
“I think education is the cornerstone for us. While we’re advocates
for the industry, we’ve taken the educational approach to make our
member-companies more profitable, which strengthens the industry.”
Chris Burruss, TCA President
Foundation of
the future
This is the final installment of a series of
articles on the past, present and future of
the Truckload Carriers Association in honor
of its 75th anniversary.
By Aprille Hanson
Wilbur and Orville Wright took us on a flight we’ll
never forget. Thomas Edison, J.P. Morgan and the
Vanderbilts lit up the world. Steve Jobs and Steve
Wozniak revolutionized communication. And Walt and
Roy Disney brought us Mickey and Minnie, the mouse
duo that changed the entertainment industry.
Some of the greatest American success stories
began with collaboration, and for the Truckload Carriers
Association, its goals for creating a focused
legacy that lasts beyond the individual chairman
were centered around the “three amigos”: Ray
Haight (chairman 2008), Kevin Burch (chairman
2009) and John Kaburick (2010 chairman).
Patrick Quinn, chairman in 2001, was the catalyst
— he made the calls to the three to step up as
officers, they told Truckload Authority magazine.
“I remember the day that Pat Quinn called me
and said would you consider being an officer,” Burch
said. “It was unusual; we kind of were the freshmen.
Ray and I were on the committee for driver
retention and recruiting … we were all learning together
and we all seemed to have a passion with issues
that were confronting us in the industry. That’s
how the three amigos began.”
For Kaburick, he almost refused Quinn’s call
because of mistaken identity. Kaburick said he
was in the midst of “major battles over trucking
fees” with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. When his
secretary said Pat Quinn was on the phone, his
first response was “What the hell is he calling me
for?” Kaburick said with a laugh.
Jim O’Neal, chairman in 2007, guided the TCA
officers through the first “succession plan,” or strategic
plan, in several years, Haight said.
“Strategic planning is something every business
and association should go through,” Haight said. “It
requires input from everybody.”
It was not easy. Then again, nothing is ever
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 33

easy about creating a
new destiny.
“These five-year
plans, it’s like herding
cats. It’s not like it’s
just four to five hours
trying to find out the
future of where you’re
going,” Burch said.
“We had breakfast,
lunch in the room;
pulled the shades
up, pulled the shades
Kevin Burch down.”
“This was not an
2008-09 hour-type deal put together,”
Kaburick said.
But what happened became TCA’s present
and future.
Instead of a chairman coming in with his own
agenda for just one year, long-term goals were set
and the two next in line, the first vice chair and
second vice chair, were going to continue to support
the mission and goals before them when they
became chairman.
Main objectives were decided for the whole organization
— focuses like education, advocacy, image,
health-and-wellness.
“In our history, we’ve been very fortunate to
have the type of members to step up and do the
work. We ask our members to steer the bus,” said
TCA President Chris Burruss. “Without a doubt
we’ve been fortunate to have the chairmen we’ve
had. [Currently], We’ve got 11 solid chairmen coming
up through the ranks.”
But who is in the background, prepping that bus
to travel well into the future? A TCA staff of only
“13 people who probably do the work of 50 people,”
Burruss said.
“If you look at the scope of the work they do, they’re
definitely overachievers. Everyone wears a lot of different
hats. It’s kind of an all-hands-on-deck mentality,”
he said. “I couldn’t be more proud of a group of people
than I am of them. I think that is important for our
members … it forces us to evaluate which of the things
we are doing that are core to our mission.”
While the three amigos are quick to say they did
not come up with the succession plan, they were
some of the first to put the three-officer succession
plan in motion.
Their focus was primarily education.
“The three amigos decided we could make a difference.
We thought that every year the organization
had a chairman and an agenda … we always
thought back then you have one year as chairman
you’re just getting warmed up. That created a
bonding for the three amigos. ‘Let’s stay focused on
something,’” Burch said of trio’s philosophy.
As trucking company owners, the three recognized
TCA’s continued
role in education.
“TCA is for all the
members, including
smaller companies,
John Kaburick
2009-10
who may have less
than 20 trucks …
they depend on organizations
like TCA
more-so than other
organizations to get
their best practices.
I think TCA has really
strived to get the best
of what is out there to
Ray Haight
2007-08
the members,” Burch
said.
That has evolved
into webinars and active
updates for members
through sharing
information on the
TCA website, truckload.org,
and social
media, including Facebook
and Twitter.
What made this
succession plan work
ultimately was camaraderie,
which so
many TCA members share.
“We always enjoyed each other’s company. We
just had a lot of fun together. We were in contact
… we had bi-weekly calls where everybody was
invited to a call-in to update everyone on what
was going on. It helped to keep everyone in the
loop,” Haight said of his time as chairman. “Kevin
and John and I would usually talk before or after
those calls on a personal level and also what was
going on in the organization.”
The trio would also get together three to four
times a year, which helped form their friendship.
“It was a good time; you get to know folks when
you spend time with folks like that,” Haight said,
who said the three are still close and visit one another.
“They are gentlemen. I got their back and I
know they’ve got mine.”
Their legacy and those before them helped carry
TCA into the future. For now, that future is the
brand new three amigos: Tom Kretsinger, Jr. (current
chairman), Shepard Dunn (first vice chair) and
Keith Tuttle (second vice chair).
34 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

“Some of the things we’re continuing today go
back before Robert Low to Gary Salisbury on image.
He started this program that’s just continuing;
it’s the basics of health and strategic planning.
We’re working on image and continue to work on
image indefinitely,” Dunn said, referring to several
of TCA’s landmark programs, including Highway
Angel and Trucking’s Weight Loss Showdown.
“We’ll continue that. When Keith is chairman,
he’ll dust off that strategic plan again and come
up” with another one.
For Kretsinger, this all falls under the umbrella
of what TCA has preached for years — education.
“Whether you’re a big company or small or medium,
with today’s issues coming at us at a speed
we haven’t seen before, keeping on top of education
is crucial,” Kretsinger said. “It’s about networking
— participating in the things we do: safety meetings,
recruitment, events like the Wreaths Across
America Gala, developing a broad circle of friends
and colleagues in the industry. We’ve looked at advocacy
and what the government does is critical to
companies of all sizes
and how can we tap
into our members’
strengths and get
that message to congress.”
For Burruss, education
will be TCA’s
lasting legacy.
“I think education
is the cornerstone for
us. We’re placing a lot
of energy into that.
That includes everything
from webinars
Shepard Dunn
Incoming 2014
to the brick and mortar,
including seminars,”
conferences
and meetings, Burruss
said. “While we’re advocates
for the industry,
we’ve taken the
educational approach
to make our membercompanies
more profitable
to strengthen
the industry.”
The programs are Tom Kretsinger, Jr.
all looking toward the
2013-14
future, continuing to
build on the membership to help companies succeed
in the industry.
“It’s the value component,” being a member of
TCA, Kretsinger said. “The fees are modest, inexpensive.
I think the trick is getting the message out there;
Truckload Authority is one of the ways to do that.”
Taking Kretsinger’s comment a bit further, Burruss
said the way TCA budgets and uses its member
dues sets it apart from other trade organizations.
“One of the things we benefit from is that the
cost of being a TCA member is low. We’re not solely
dependent on dues. About 30 percent of our income
comes from membership dues,” he said, adding
that the other 70 percent comes from a variety
of areas, including sponsors. “That helps us when
the economy gets a little tough … we don’t have to
worry about what we’re going to do.”
One of the programs that Krestsinger, Dunn and
Tuttle said they hope to grow is the benchmarking
group, started about six years ago.
“There are between 10 to 15 trucking companies
in one group: large refrigerated group carriers;
the medium-sized refrigerated group; and dry van
carriers. We meet two to three times a year,” to
compare monthly key performance indicator numbers,
given to an outside company, Tuttle said. “It’s
meant incredible value to myself and my company.
You actually benchmark your best ideas and your
financial numbers,” to help cultivate success.
Growth is on the horizon in this area, but the
three amigos are keeping it hush-hush for now.
“I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag just
yet,” Dunn said. “There are teams getting together
to take a look at the program, gussy it up a little bit,
and try to grow it in a positive way.”
Kretsinger said he’s confident that in three
years, members will see an already good education
program grow.
“You’re going to see an increase by at least
25 percent in [TCA] membership. The scholarship
[fund] will be up to $2 million not just $1 million …
there will be advocacy making our voices heard on
critical issues to the people that make the rules,”
Kretsinger said. “We
won’t just be talking
to truckers, we’ll be
talking to the public
about the good things
we do … It’s exciting
to be a part of.”
And while TCA
pushes on, it is worth
taking a look in the
crystal ball to examine
what the trucking
industry will look like
down the road.
The key issues
being discussed today
Keith Tuttle
Incoming 2015
Are you upgrAding your trAiler fleet?
We think “outside the box”
Do you?
If so,…
Are you looking for a new approach
for the disposition of your used equipment?
Call RCM-Remarketing Consultants Management
We Can Help!
We will provide you with new & different alternatives. These would
include a variety of options from; Remarketing Services, to outright
purchase, or perhaps a Sale-Lease-Back. We have extensive expertise
in creating Sale-Lease-Back to fit each fleets particular needs. We truly
think “outside the box” to achieve the optimum of getting the greatest
value for your used equipment and maximum fleet utilization.
YOUR TRAILER SOLUTIONS PARTNERS
Call Phil or Paul today @ (623) 792-5478
RCM
Dedicated Services LLC
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 35

The road to
protecting
your fleet
Chris Burruss
TCA President
2004-Present
Insurance Brokers & Consultants
Transportation Insurance Specialists
Since 1970
888-313-3226 Offices in PA, MD, SC
www.ecbm.com
include driver shortage and low driver pay, increased government regulations
(including Hours of Service) and the future of fuel.
These are issues that Dunn said we might still be talking about for years
to come, but that TCA will be at the forefront with solutions and education.
“Unfortunately, a lot of what we do is driven by Washington and advocacy;
they move a lot slower,” Dunn said, referring to lawmakers. “I think
we’re still going to be talking about some of these in years to come. We
need to educate our members on those issues and what to do about them
in the immediate future.”
By growing membership, TCA just might knock some sense into Washington
lawmakers; after all, as Kretsinger said, “politics is a contact sport,
but it’s a team sport.”
“When I can go to my congressman or one of the regulators and say we
represent this number of trucks and this many members of companies, we
certainly have more credibility than with lower numbers,” Tuttle said.
While some, like billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens, predict natural gas
is the fuel of the future, it’s not a reality for many trucking companies right
now, including for Motor Carrier Service Inc. where Tuttle is president.
“We’ve not been able to find the niche and value out of natural gas at
this point,” Tuttle said. “It’s not a fit right now.”
But for Dunn, president and CEO of Best Way Express Inc., he predicts
that natural gas will be widespread.
“To think that we want to change the industry fuel from diesel to natural
gas was much like when we went from petroleum gasoline to diesel. I
don’t think there’s any doubt that will happen,” Dunn said. “I don’t think
it will happen 100 percent. However, I do see that natural gas will be
supplementing quite a bit in our industry and that’s good. This industry is
in the business of reducing cost. Natural gas is just another one of those
conduits to help reduce that cost.”
The big looming elephant in the room of every trucking company continues
to be how to attract new drivers. Kretsinger, Dunn and Tuttle all
agree that pay needs to match the work and that companies and everyone
needs to show respect for the country’s hard-working “knights and
knight-etts” of the road.
However, there is more than just one component to attracting new
drivers. One recruitment technique that continues to grow is the use of
social media.
“Social media is interesting and TCA is doing a lot more with that
and will continue to do a lot more in the future so we want to encourage
everyone to go to the Facebook page for TCA and for the Highway Angel
36 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org

program,” Kretsinger said. “Certainly the younger generation is plugged
into these things and it’s evolving. Kids now go to Twitter or Instagram.
Just about the time you have one figured out, it’s another. It’s amazing the
power of social media.”
Kretsinger said his company, American Central Transport, posted a story
that went viral on Facebook about one of its drivers saving an elderly couple
after an accident. The story reached about 15 million people, he said.
“That’s the first time I had seen going viral in action,” Kretsinger said. “For
a company or TCA trying to recruit drivers and tap into the power of that, there
are limitless possibilities.”
Reaching out to a younger generation also means new needs. Many young
drivers expect more home-time than past generations. This will continue to
change the length of hauls, making them shorter and subsequently, alter the
entire long-haul landscape.
“More warehouses to work out of the distribution centers have popped up.
Since HOS has changed productivity, I think you’re going to see length of haul
reduced even more,” Dunn said. “This is an industry that’s constantly changing.
To try to attract drivers to that, we’re going to have to change the lifestyle
and that means they’re going to have to be home more.”
The biggest threat to the industry right now lies with the industry’s entrepreneurs:
independent contractors.
“The independent contractor is going to be challenged very heavily; it’s
revenue driven for tax purposes,” Dunn said. “An independent guy can’t make
a living without someone telling them they’re not doing it right … it’s been bubbling
in the background for a while and it’s going to come to a head soon.”
While what it means to be an independent contractor may be pushed in a
new direction because of government regulations, the three agreed that independent
contractors will remain important to the industry.
“People have talked about the demise of the owner-operator for years and
it won’t happen,” Kretsinger said. “Independent contractors, it’s kind of the
American dream … They don’t want to be company employees, they want to
build something and so a lot are going to lease-purchase programs.”
One of the challenges for an independent contractor and the industry in
general will be the future impacts of President Barack Obama’s legislation,
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare.”
The act creates a mandatory national health care system, one that
allows those without insurance through a company to sign up through state
health exchanges.
“This so-called affordable health care act is going to be a larger burden on
a lot of carriers and a lot of drivers and could potentially threaten the owneroperator
model,” Kretsinger said. “Either the driver is going to have to find it
[health insurance] or if they can’t find it, pay a penalty. I’m seeing shocking
increases” in health care costs.
In its entire history, TCA has been at the forefront of change by sharing
education, adapting to the needs of members and actively coming up with new
ways to improve upon the trucking industry. TCA’s commitment to its roots and
what it set out to do is not changing.
“I say if you look way down the road, TCA is the place to go for information,
education, white papers, networking, the premier place to go for trucking,” Kretsinger
said. “Understanding the environment you’re trying to do business in and
adapting is a critical survival skill. Education and networking — they’re not just
nice fluffy things to do. It’s going to be hard to survive unless you embrace it.”
And bettering a trucking company from “top to bottom” means joining TCA,
Burruss said.
“Nobody can go do it alone in this industry. I think people that try to do that
without any help from other colleagues, in my opinion, they’re destined to fail.
It takes benchmarking, bouncing ideas off one another. Twenty-five years ago,
it was hard to get trucking companies in a room together, let alone discussing
ideas,” Burruss said. “TCA has become fraternal in a lot of ways. We spend a
lot of time sharing ideas … the companies that don’t operate efficiently cost a
lot of money,” which negatively affects the industry, something he said TCA
works to change.
Predicting what the trucking industry will look like 75 years from now is
near impossible, but there are some things that are easy to foretell.
TCA will soar to new heights in education; light a fire in trucking industry
professionals looking to excel in their companies; revolutionize the conversation
about what it means to be a truck driver; and, for members, continue to nurture
and entertain friendships that will last for well beyond the next 75 years.
Simply
the best
coverage
at the
best price
For more than years Northland has protected truckers with
a broad range of reliable coverage responsive claims handling
and prompt local service Whether you are a oneunit
independent or own a busy fleet Northland delivers
You can be sure that Northland understands your unique
insurance needs
Call your agent or broker for best in class service
or visit northlandinscom
© The Travelers Indemnity Company All rights reserved M New
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 37
NL-4-SimplyBest_TA.indd 1
2/12/13 9:21 AM

TCA Leading the Way to Better Health
By Aprille Hanson
The Truckload Carriers Association hosted 18 free
health fairs throughout two days at TravelCenters of
America/Petro Stopping Centers across the United States
in September to support a healthier way of living for drivers
such as Frederick Jerome.
The 36-year-old owner-operator leased to B&M Logistics
Inc. of Chuckey, Tenn., stopped by the health fair at
the Petro in North Little Rock, Ark.
“I think it’s good for someone to be out here and showing
how important health is,” Jerome said. “A lot of people
just wake up in the morning and think they’re OK, but it’s
people like [TCA] that come” and provide a reality check.
The theme was “Make Your Destination Another
Birthday,” emblazoned on free hats and pins handed
out to drivers.
The fairs were part of National Truck Driver Appreciation
Week.
The health fairs offered information packets on
eating healthy and exercise, as well as various wellness-related
activities, including hula hoop contests
and yoga at various locations. Some locations featured
one- to two-mile walks.
“Overall they went very well,” said Steve Sichterman,
chairman of TCA’s Health & Wellness Taskforce. “We had
good participation at all our locations and a lot of really
positive comments from drivers. …We’re very happy. Right
now we’re in the process of planning for next year. We will
use what we have learned from the past two years and
build upon it.”
While there was plenty to do at the 18 locations, which
were spread throughout 17 states from New York to California,
the nurses’ on-site blood pressure checks and the
information packets on eating healthy were the biggest
hits, Sichterman said.
“It’s about promoting a healthy snack instead of a
candy bar,” said Tracy Witcher, a member liaison for
TCA. “It doesn’t always take going to the gym and
working out for an hour,” but something as simple as
choosing fruit over a bag of chips, she added.
“That is one area we really want to expand on next
year on how to eat healthy on the road,” Sichterman said.
Sichterman said the taskforce is still discussing ideas
for the health fairs that will again take place during National
Truck Driver Appreciation Week in 2014.
“Our big goal was to expand the number of locations,”
Sichterman said. “It was with the help of state associations
that we were able to go from 12 locations the first year to
18 this year,” adding that the plan is to remain at these 18
locations but focus on reaching more drivers.
Matt Sheppard, general manager of the Petro in North
Little Rock, said he was happy to be able to show his and
Petro’s care for drivers by promoting healthier living.
“It’s really important for people to pay attention to
their health,” Sheppard said at the health fair.
Sichterman said the health fairs are just another way
to show TCA’s overall support for drivers.
“To me, it’s about giving back,” Sichterman said.
“They [drivers] need support.”
38 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

Highway Angel Tour
with Lindsay Lawler
By Aprille Hanson
The Truckload Carriers Association Highway Angel Spokesperson and
country singer Lindsay Lawler saw it all on her 26-stop truck stop tour
sponsored by TravelCenters of America/Petro Stopping Centers (TA/Petro)
and Wholesale Truck & Finance — from a monkey to drivers shedding some
tears. But she said the most rewarding sight was watching the hard-working
“knights and knight-ettes of the highway” jam along to her music.
“It’s been eye-opening,” Lawler said. “I just heard a lot of driver
stories and how they sort of for years felt forgotten … I’ve had several
drivers say, ‘Thanks for not forgetting about us.’”
Lawler, who was raised in Texas, was officially named TCA’s Highway Angel
spokesperson in 2012. The program awards drivers for doing good deeds
on the highway, which can vary from saving a life to changing a tire.
The tour was designed to enhance the industry’s image and make drivers
feel more appreciated while out on the road.
“I think the feedback I’ve got talking with her and attending one of the
events … I think the drivers are very appreciative of this,” said Brad Bentley,
TCA communications and image policy committee co-chairman. He
said many professional truck drivers appreciated bringing trucking-related
events back to the truck stops like in the early days of trucking.
“More than anything else I think her heart’s in the right place,” Bentley
said. “She’s just a very passionate person and respects the job that these
men and women do on the highway every day ... I think she’s done a
great job with it.”
Before signing on with TCA, Lawler spent a few years performing in
Nashville and built up a local fan base. In 2010, she met with TCA officials
and pitched the song “Highway Angel,” a country ballad aimed at
celebrating the program’s honorees and since then, it’s been all about
the music and advocating for drivers.
“The music industry today is ever-evolving and there’s so many different
ways to get your message out,” Lawler said, at first seeing the
trucking industry as a way to further her music career. “Initially it was
a business venture, but then it became like a family thing. There are a
lot of artists who will attach to something to get the word out; it’s nice
to actually believe what I’m talking about.”
While there are parallels between the lifestyles of a professional truck
driver and a musician, most notably traveling, Lawler said she wasn’t entirely
a stranger to trucking before getting involved with TCA.
“My dad has worked in the trucking world for several years. He’s an
attorney who works with insurance companies that insure drivers. I’ve
known about it [trucking] for a long time and known about that world a
little bit, but until I was on the road, especially with the Highway Angel
Truck Stop Tour, I hadn’t really formed a bond with it.”
From August through October, Lawler traveled to 16 states across the
southeast and Midwest on the tour, performing acoustically and occasionally
with the full band on a flatbed truck, sponsored by Fikes Truck Line.
Other sponsors included Prime inc. and Tennant Truck Lines Inc. The tour
also featured a live, two-hour radio remote through Renegade Radio Nashville,
according to a TCA news release.
During the tour, there were different segments to get the drivers
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 39

1/2 V
Control Your Fuel Costs with Webasto!
The new SmarTemp control devices work with Webasto’s
engine-off heating solutions to reduce idling, save fuel and
lower emissions.
Precisely control bunk temperatures
and keep drivers comfortable during
rest periods with the SmarTemp
Control. The SmarTemp Control fx
offers easily programmable timer
settings to ensure engines are
pre-heated and ready to go when
drivers arrive.
SmarTemp Control Thermostat for Air Heaters:
Loaded with features to help save fuel and reduce maintenance costs
Revolutionary comfort dial that provides one-click-to-one-degree
temperature adjustment
SmarTemp Control fx Timer for Coolant Heaters:
Set and go! Simple to program
Reduce idling and maximize fuel efficiency
Week at a Glance & Month at a Glance screen views
involved, including the “Wholesale
Truck & Finance (WTF) road
moment” where they shared
their experiences on the road.
For one driver, monkeying
around was part of his daily
routine.
In Raphine, Va., “this guy
showed up with his monkey
that had a diaper and leash on.
He was his co-pilot in the truck.
It was hysterical. He takes his
monkey along and not his wife,”
Lawler laughed.
“One thing that was cool at
each stop was TA or Petro competitions — which stop could pull out all
the stops so to speak,” Lawler said. “In West Memphis, Ark., they had a
bounce house and cotton candy and a huge green room set up for us,
made the band shirts and stuff. In North Little Rock, Ark. — I love Taco
Bueno I’m creepy obsessed — they had known that and were so sweet to
get me food from there.”
Lawler said part of the goal is to let communities know the positives
about professional truck drivers. One couple was so enthused by the
message, they wanted to hear more, Lawler said.
“There was a woman and man who were travelers, not truck drivers.
They happened to be pulling up to get gas. They watched on top of the
van,” Lawler said. “They followed us for six weeks” watching the shows.
Highway Angel honorees were also able to attend some of the shows,
including Wesley Phillips, an owner-operator for American Central Transport
Inc., who in June, helped rescue an elderly couple whose vehicle had
flipped upside down in a ditch next to their driveway.
“They are smart drivers with great stories,” Lawler said. “Wesley Phillips
came and brought his whole family,” adding that his wife was interested
in getting Lawler’s CD artwork as a tattoo.
While rocking out with the drivers was fun, Lawler was happy to see
the joy on their faces while singing “Highway Angel.”
“A big old burly dude standing with tears in his eyes to ‘Highway Angel,’
I get that a lot,” Lawler said.
Lawler said her favorite song to perform is “Spin the Bottle,” which is
a non-trucking country tune.
“There are so many drivers who say ‘thanks, for singing about things
besides trucks,’” Lawler said. “We of course have ‘Highway Angel,’ ‘He Loves
the Road,’ ‘The Long Haul,’ but we’re not just singing about 18 wheels.”
The tour was a first for TCA and Lawler, who said she plans to hit the
road again next year, possibly as early as the spring.
“It’s been hard, in a good way,” Lawler said of traveling. “We learned a
lot about what to do and what not to do,” including not going to Texas in
August. “I passed out on like the first song; it was 102 [degrees].”
Besides planning a few stops in cooler locations, Lawler said she also
wants to incorporate more sponsors and add other artists to the tour.
“Maybe just do an appearance at the truck stop and the concert portion
at a manufacturer’s [headquarters] or local club” that incorporates
the surrounding community as well, she said. “We’re figuring out how it’s
most beneficial for the driver to not feel rushed and hear a song and then
have to get back on the road. I love back in the days when Johnny and
June [Cash] and Elvis took the whole crew on the road. Bringing along
other guys and girls makes it a bigger event and all about the drivers and
the Highway Angel” program.
The big dream is taking the trucking message to the small screen,
Lawler said.
“I’m dying to be on Ellen,” she said, referring to “The Ellen DeGeneres
Show.” “She’d love the Highway Angel program and the stories.”
Most of all, Lawler wants the general public to understand what it truly
means to be a professional truck driver.
“They are a really passionate group of people that have just an interesting
life and existence … I just wish people could understand the loyalty and
passion they have for what they do,” Lawler said. “The stuff I’ve gotten to
do because of the trucking industry and what drivers do has been memorable.
I hope what we’re doing is making an impact. I think it is.”
www.SmarTempControl.com
40 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org

By Aprille Hanson
Never
forget
On 17,000 acres of land throughout Washington
County, Maine, sits more than a million
balsam trees, something that Morrill and Karen
Worcester have invested their lives in for both
business and in remembrance of the United
States’ fallen military heroes.
Around 5:30 a.m. each day, Morrill walks
the land for about an hour and a half, studying
the trees and taking in the beauty of his life’s
work, his wife said.
The land is breathtaking. The couple says
it is a mecca for wildlife and common to see
a herd of 50 deer running through the winter
snow. The smell of balsam is intoxicating, a
natural aroma therapy that brings calmness
and focus, Karen said.
In this scene of serenity, dog tags of fallen
soldiers hang from tree branches, a living memorial
for those who have died defending the
United States. Camp Freedom, a cabin, sits
nestled on the land where veteran families can
stay while visiting.
“A family can come and pick out a tree, their
family’s tree and put a dog tag of the one that
they lost,” Morrill, 63, said. “They have to come
to grips with this person that they lost and they
never want this person to be forgotten.”
The Veteran Memorial Program is fairly new,
but the couple and their children have been
honoring military veterans for more than 20
years and in that quest, became founders of
Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit that was
created on the mission of “Remember, Honor,
Teach,” about the price of freedom. While the
program has several educational and ceremonial
off-shoots, its pillar event is the coordinated
wreath-laying ceremonies that take place on a
designated Saturday in December at Arlington
National Cemetery in Arlington County, Va., and
at more than 900 other cemeteries throughout
the United States and overseas. This year, National
Wreaths Across America Day is scheduled
for Dec. 14.
However, as the couple is quick to point out,
the widespread nature of the event is thanks to
many volunteers, including professional truck
drivers and the Truckload Carriers Association.
“We could not do it without the trucking
industry,” said Karen, 57. “Not just with them
carrying the wreaths but helping with the logistics.
Working with the Truckload Carriers Association,
they have done so well to embrace the
other trucking industry organizations” to recruit
volunteers to deliver the wreaths throughout
the country or donate time and money to the
cause.
Just how the nonprofit was ultimately
formed is a combination of fate and blessings
— a childhood memory, 5,000 extra wreaths
and a family’s dedication and compassion.
“We were the catalyst but we are just a cog
in the wheel at this point,” Karen said. “We
couldn’t do it without many people.”
At 12 years old, little Morrill Worcester had a
goal — gain more customers on his newspaper
route to earn a trip to the nation’s Capitol.
And he did it.
“One of the sights I saw in Washington was
Arlington National Cemetery,” Morrill said. “I
never forgot what it looked like,” the endless
rows of white headstones blanketing the grass.
The memory was a mere flash in a lifetime
of moments, but one that would change Morrill’s
destiny.
In 1970, Morrill met his future wife Karen,
an equestrian lover.
“I remember the first time I ever saw him, I
believe he was walking out of church” in Cherryfield,
Maine, Karen said, adding that Morrill
owned his own trash business at the time. “I
saw him getting into a truck … The truck said
on the side of it, ‘Your garbage is our bread and
butter.’”
The witty saying and the handsome man
caught Karen’s attention.
“I made it a point to try and spy him out after
that,” Karen said. “I rode up to the window
of the truck on my horse, you asked me how
old I was, do you remember that,” she joked
with her husband. “We started going out and
that was kind of it.”
The couple married on Nov. 16, 1974 and
were blessed with six children, who now range
in age from 17 to 37.
Karen said the children are all involved in
some capacity with the family company and
Wreaths Across America: Pam Slaven-Lee, WAA
board member; Morrill R. Worcester II (Rob),
Worcester Wreath Company and County Concrete;
Michael Worcester, Corey Worcester, and
Lydie Worcester, all with the Worcester Wreath
Company; and Molly Worcester, a student. The
couple now has seven grandchildren.
As Karen quipped, her education was the
“school of hard knocks” as a young married
mother, while Morrill studied Animal and Pre-
Veterinary Science at the University of Maine,
graduating in 1973.
“I really didn’t do anything with it,” Morrill
said of his degree. “I got interested in business
early on.”
It started with a fruit and vegetable
business.
“In the summertime we used to have vegetable
and fruit stands,” Morrill said, adding
that a customer from Boston inquired, “‘When
it comes Christmastime, you think you can get
some Christmas wreaths for us?’”
While the Worcesters do have other businesses
(a blueberry business, an investment in
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 41

Truckload_halfpg_V_ad_21May13_P.pdf 1 5/21/13 12:35 PM
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
their son Rob Worcester’s concrete
company and a few operating
peat bogs on the East
Coast), wreaths are No. 1.
In 1971, Morrill founded
the Worcester Wreath Company,
which was wholesale for
the first 12 years, in which
the family “bought and sold
wreathes but didn’t decorate
them,” he said. In 1983, the
business branched out to
mail order, sending wreathes
directly to individual homes.
Today, it’s a combination of
both.
“We actually produce
wreaths for other companies,”
about 33 total, including Sam’s
Club, (800) FLOWERS, and
Amazon.com, as well as doing
mail orders, Morrill said.
“We went into raising our
own balsam, it’s really a quality
issue. We can control where
the balsam is harvested, where
it’s stored,” Morrill said. “We’re
the only one to grow our own
balsam. We can grow the quality
and quantity we need on a daily basis.”
In 1971, the demand was 500 wreathes. Just 42 years later, there’s
an anticipated 650,000.
“The tips are harvested … Morrill has even designed their own trimmers,
so people can stand on the ground and reach up and clip the
tips,” Karen said. “You’re clipping it in such a way to do what’s right for
the tree, so they have healthy growth. The last week of October, first
week in November, it’s very involved.”
When it comes time to get the wreaths ready, “It’s all hands on
deck,” Karen said.
“We didn’t have six kids for nothing,” Karen laughed, adding that
450 seasonal employees are also there to make it happen; 25 are
year-round employees. “This time of year they all turn it up a notch.”
The trees themselves are not cut down, only the tips.
In 1992, Morrill said the business had a very good year, but he had
provided money for 5,000 more wreaths than were sold.
“By mistake I bought too many,” Morrill said. “I thought well, what
to do with them, they’re nice and fresh. Then, I thought about Arlington.”
With an assist from 12 volunteers, Morrill took a 14-hour van ride
to Arlington National Cemetery.
“They really didn’t understand what it was all about,” Morrill said of
the administration at the cemetery. “They picked a place out for us at
the northeast side of the cemetery, way, way in the back,” to lay the
wreaths.
As they started laying down the wreaths, some of the cemetery administration
watched and quickly realized the significance and offered
to clean up the wreaths after the holiday season ended.
“Everybody was coming up to us saying, ‘This looks so good we
can’t believe you guys would do this,’” Morrill said. “When I got home I
was telling Karen we’re going to continue to do this as long as we can.
It was something we had to do.”
For the next 13 years, the family, a few volunteers and with the
assistance of trucking company Blue Bird Ranch Inc., based in Jonesboro,
Maine, more wreaths were laid at Arlington. In 2006, everything
changed.
“A Pentagon photographer took a picture of the wreaths,” Karen
said. “It just went crazy. We had thousands of e-mails of people wanting
to get involved.”
In 2007, Wreaths Across America became an official nonprofit,
comprising now a 15-member Board of Directors and a six-member
Advisory Board, with Karen as executive director.
Each year, between 600,000 and 800,000 volunteers lay wreaths
at veterans’ graves at cemeteries throughout the country and beyond.
The nonprofit’s main mission, “Remember, Honor and Teach,” has incorporated
military families to continue to spread awareness of what
military members sacrifice for freedom.
“We don’t decorate graves. We go with a gift of appreciation. It’s
a live thing. It’s not plastic, we go through the process of picking the
42 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org

tips; it’s fresh, green hope,” Karen said. “The defining moment for me
was in 2007. I was asked to meet a young mother. It was her first year
without her son; she asked me to meet her at her son’s grave to place
the wreath at the grave … We went down together and she got down on
her knees. I cry every time I tell this story,” she said, adding that the
mother gently laid it by the stone.
“It was just her attention to detail; she gave that gift to her son.
She stood up and looked right at me … she said, ‘Karen do not remember
my dead son, remember that he lived.’”
In order to keep the memories of all the veterans alive takes planning,
logistics skill and time — the hallmarks of a good truck driver.
“From my experience, they take this very seriously, they are really
hauling gifts to America’s heroes and they know it,” Morrill said of the
drivers, about 140 of which have volunteered for this year’s routes.
Trucks assigned to Arlington are staged the day before the wreath
laying, with each truck driver appointed duties to keep things orderly
with volunteers and the drivers often participating in the wreath laying,
Karen said.
On Sept. 12, TCA hosted a “Wreaths Across America Gala” in Washington
D.C., raising $161,300 for this year’s effort. “I don’t know how
many stories I’ve heard where drivers have said, ‘I stopped and took
my wreath on my truck and laid my wreath on a grave in a town I was
passing through,’” Karen said. “They are rolling ambassadors. We could
not do it without their support.”
It is for this reason that the nonprofit is working with TCA and Pilot
Flying J about being involved somehow in the “Trucking’s Patriot Pair,”
where drivers can go to wreathsacrossamerica.org or truckloadofrespect.com
and order two wreaths at $15 apiece, one that can go on the
grill of their truck and the other for a grave at Arlington on their behalf.
Next year is the 150th anniversary of Arlington National Cemetery
and Wreaths Across America’s goal is to see a wreath at every gravesite
at the cemetery.
“We’re really hoping the Trucking’s Patriot Pair will help us” reach
that goal, Karen said, adding there are close to a half a million graves
at Arlington to date. “People lose sight of the fact that people from every
state are buried at Arlington.”
After more than 20 years of wreath laying, the couple and their children
have no plans of slowing down or passing the torch.
“It’s something that we as a family have taken on now. It’s a duty to
do this and we just love doing it. We just want to do it and we always
will,” Morrill said. “We just feel honored to do what we do.”
“We have people in this country that need to realize how fragile
freedom is,” Karen said. “The stories need to be shared. We wouldn’t
have anything we have if it weren’t for those men and women.”
Though not that same 12-year-old boy staring at the white headstones
painted along the grounds at Arlington, Morrill’s dreams for the
yearly ceremony are childlike in their optimism.
“The ultimate goal is a very lofty one: One day actually place a
wreath in remembrance for every veteran nationwide. Whether that
ever happens or not we’ll never know. I don’t even know how we got to
this point,” Morrill said. “If you don’t have that goal, you’ll never reach
it.”
And after everything the Worcesters have seen, impossible is just a
word worth conquering.
The Worcester family gathers just before entering the Hyatt Washington ballroom for the
Wreaths Across America gala. Morrill Worcester, center, and his wife Karen, second from
right, are joined by sons Rob Worcester, right, and Mike Worcester, second from right, and
Mike’s wife Renee’. Morrill and Karen Worcester founded Wreaths Across America.
www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 43

Inaugural
Wreaths Across America Gala
In Review
(1) The American country music group Lonestar provided entertainment. (2) The TCA offered a special welcome
and expressed gratitude to a group of veterans who are currently receiving their health care at the Washington
VA Medical Center. (3) TCA President Chris Burruss salutes the flag during the singing of the National Anthem.
(4) Major Eric Robinson, left, and Mac McFarlin, both of whom work at Arlington National Cemetery. (5) Participants
enjoyed a three-course meal during the gala. (6) Karen and Morrill Worcester shared the history of Wreaths Across
America. (7) Former Miss America Heather French Henry served as master of ceremonies. (8) Left to right, Rob
Worcester and Mike Worcester, sons of Karen and Morrill Worcester, show how the wreaths are made as their dad
told the story and meaning behind each bouquet. (9) Taking a minute to chat before the dinner are, left to right,
TCA Chairman Tom B. Kretsinger, Jr.; Karen Worcester; TCA Vice President-Development Debbie Sparks; Ann
Hanson; Wayne Hanson; and Morrill Worcester. Wayne Hanson is chairman of the board of Wreaths Across America.
A late afternoon drenching thunderstorm
could do nothing to dampen the enthusiasm and
spirit of the more than 200 trucking industry
stakeholders and their guests, including military
veterans, who gathered at the Grand Hyatt
Washington Sept. 12 for the inaugural Truckload
Carriers Association Wreaths Across America
gala, held to raise funds for, and awareness of,
the Wreaths Across America program.
The total raised was $161,300, all of which
will go to Wreaths Across America (WAA), a
nonprofit organization that remembers, honors
and teaches about the service and sacrifices of
veterans, active military and their families.
WAA will use the money to further its mission
and provide additional wreaths for veterans’
gravestones across the United States on National
Wreaths Across America Day Dec. 14.
Among the guests at the gala were Congressional
representatives, military personnel, numerous
veterans, and individuals from trucking companies
and related businesses and organizations.
Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000,
served as the master of ceremonies.
As a disabled veteran’s daughter, Henry spent
her reign as Miss America visiting VA hospitals
and homeless facilities as well as Congress to
help spread awareness about veterans’ issues.
“We’re here tonight to support Wreaths
Across America,” she said, “because everyone in
this room recognizes the supreme sacrifice that
our fallen heroes have made in the name of freedom.
This organization is ensuring that future
generations will respect and remember what
happened in the past. The group is also doing
something of great importance for the families
of the deceased. In this sense, we honor those
who died by serving those who live.”
During their remarks, Morrill and Karen
Worcester, who started the Wreaths program,
conveyed appreciation to TCA for holding the
gala and continuing to tackle the logistical
challenges of delivering more than 500,000
wreaths to 950 locations in 2013 as professional
truck drivers transported 65 loads to
cemeteries across the nation.
They stated that the organization’s fundraising
efforts have done much to further the
cause of educating the public and recognizing
the sacrifices made by the nation’s veterans.
Many of the wreaths are transported by
professional truck drivers who volunteer their
time and equipment to transport the wreaths
from Maine, where the Worcesters are based,
to Arlington and other military cemeteries.
Arlington National Cemetery will celebrate
its 150-year anniversary in 2014 and WAA
hopes to fully cover all the graves next year.
Other speakers included Barbara Bernard
of Columbia, Pa., president of the American
Gold Star Mothers Inc., and Bryan Matthews,
associate director for the Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Center in Washington,
the facility from which many of the veterans
in attendance receive their health care.
Bernard spoke on behalf of parents like
herself whose children lost their lives while
serving the nation.
“This gala has a noble cause, one that veterans
are committed to,” Matthews told the
audience. “We’re walking alongside you tonight
and always.”
44 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

2 3 4
1
5 6 7
8 9 10 11
12
13
14 15 16
17 18
19
20 21 22 23
24 25
Since 1973, the Truckload Carriers Association
has helped students associated with
the truckload industry reach their dreams.
In 2013, the TCA Scholarship Fund awarded
$72,700 (the highest amount to date) to 24
deserving recipients who have displayed financial
need, demonstrated scholastic achievement,
maintained full-time student status and
are of high character and integrity.
Much of the program’s support comes from
within the truckload family — companies and
individuals who are committed to our community’s
future. To learn how you can become involved,
visit truckload.org/scholarships for
more information.
1| National Association of Independent
Truckers Scholarship Recipient ($6,250): Matthew
Reed, Wadsworth, Ohio; TravelCenters
of America 2| Kai Norris Scholarship Recipient
($3,250): Jennifer Hoekstra, Peoria, Ill.;
Hoekstra Transportation 3| Thomas Welby
Scholarship Winner ($3,250): Hallah Holloway,
Greensboro, N.C.; EPES Transport.
4| Reese Stubbs Memorial Scholarship Recipient
($2,725): Jordan Ames, Peoria Ariz.; Knight
Transportation 5| TCA Scholarship Winner
($2,725): Samantha Block, Morganville, N.J.;
Comp Care Partners 6| TCA Scholarship Winner
($2,725): Mackenzie Jeffries, Savannah,
Ga.; Great Dane Trailers 7| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Hughston Hodges, Athens,
Ga.; Hodges Trucking Company 8| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Tyler Prebor, Gainesville,
Fla.; Watkins Inc./LandSpan Inc. 9| TCA
Scholarship Winner ($2,725): Kenna Nelson,
Cedar Falls, Iowa; Warren Transport 10| TCA
Scholarship Winner ($2,725): Courtney Young,
North Charleston, S.C.; TLD 11| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Ethan Grant, Fairborn,
Ohio; Baylor Trucking 12| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Allison Keene, Chattanooga,
Tenn.; U.S. Xpress Enterprises 13| TCA
Scholarship Winner ($2,725): Evan Grant,
Mount Vernon, Ohio; Baylor Trucking 14| TCA
Scholarship Winner ($2,725): Ashley Smith,
Danville, Ill.; Knight Transportation 15| TCA
Scholarship Winner ($2,725): Kalie Snyder,
Mars, Pa.; Wabash National 16| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Meg Will, Fishers, Ind.;
Celadon 17| TCA Scholarship Winner ($2,725):
Ellen Mundie, Euless, Texas; CRST International
/ STI Division 18| TCA Scholarship Winner
($2,725): Sarah Lucas, Inver Grover Heights,
Minn.; Hirschbach Motor Lines 19| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Rachel Ryan, Hazelwood,
Mo.; Earl L. Henderson Trucking Company
20| TCA Scholarship Winner ($2,725):
Amanda Mankovich, West Lafayette, Ind.;
Wabash National 21| TCA Scholarship Winner
($2,725): Tanner Dennis-Brown, Marshfield,
Wis.; Roehl Transport 22| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Sarah Heerboth, St. Louis;
Knight Transportation 23| TCA Scholarship
Winner ($2,725): Wendy McKamie, Hope, Ark.;
Fikes Truck Line 24| TCA Scholarship Winner
($2,725): Timothy Chism, Midlothian, Texas;
FFE Transportation 25| TCA Scholarship Winner
($2,725): Nathaniel McCormick, Hooper,
Neb.; Fremont Contract Carriers.
TCA 2013-14 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 45

Mark your calendar
To register or to learn more about any upcoming events
visit truckload.org or call 703.838.1950.
2013 Dates Event
Location
December 13-14
2014 Dates
Wreaths Across America
Driver Appreciation Dinner (Invitation Only)
Sheraton Crystal City
January 29 - 31
2014 Recruitment and Retention Conference
The Renaissance Nashville Hotel
March 23 - 26
2014 Annual Convention
Gaylord Texan, Grapevine, Texas
May 18 - 20
2015 Dates
March 8 - 11
2014 Safety & Security Division Annual Meeting
2015 Annual Convention
Hyatt Regency, St. Louis at the Arch
Gaylord Palms, Orlando, Fla.
From all of us at America’s most trusted
trucking news organization, we wish you a
happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.
We look forward to sharing it with you.
From your friends at
46 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2013-14

SHELL - FP

IMAGINE
Document Submission Options
that Make You AND Your Drivers Happy.
With document submission options
Reality.
Whether your drivers choose TripPak EXPRESS, TripPak TRUCK STOP SCANNING, TripPak IN-CAB,
or TripPak MOBILE, you receive your documents or quality images fast!
Search TripPak
877-298-7202
www.trippak.com