Truckload Authority - April/May 2019

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MAY/JUNE | TCA 2019 Talking TCA Dan Doran and Josh Kaburick explain why continuity is the key to keeping TCA moving forward By Klint Lowry Every time the United States swears in a new president, it is inevitable that somewhere during the coverage someone will, in very formal, profound-sounding tones, praise the “peaceful transition of power” being witnessed. Compare that to the scene every year at the close of the Truckload Carriers Association Annual Convention, when the sitting TCA chairman passes the torch to his successor. It is also a smooth transition, but with less gravitas, less pomp. It’s downright collegial, more like a gathering of familiar friends. There’s good reason for that. At the TCA’s 81st Annual Convention, it was Dan Doran in the role of outgoing chairman and Josh Kaburick as the incoming chair. With about 36 hours to go before the official handoff, they sat down together to talk about the chairmanship. The conversation began with them laughing at the suggestion that maybe the moment of transition should include more trappings, something like they have for Miss America, with a crown and a sash. They laughed not just at the thought of either of them waving as they walked along a runway cradling a bouquet, but because of their perspective of what the chairmanship is all about. “To play devil’s advocate, there’s maybe a little too much emphasis put on the chairman’s year,” Doran said. It’s an impressive title, he continued, and it’s a privilege to hold that title, but “it’s not really like a presidential election where’s he’s stepping in.” What may not be apparent to an outsider or even to casual TCA members is that the yearly changing of the guard in the chairman position isn’t a transition of power at all. Rather, it represents the continuity that is one of the organization’s great strengths. Ascendancy to the chairmanship is not achieved through backroom politicking or aggressive campaigning, but rather by long-term commitment and teamwork. “We’ve worked side-by-side for, what is it, eight years?” Doran asked Kaburick. “We’ve been in the same rooms, discussing the same things.” A TCA chairmanship lasts roughly a year, from one convention to the next, but for the person assuming the title, that year comes after serving several years as a member of the TCA Officers group. At any given time, there are eight to 10 members in the Officer’s group. When a new officer joins the group, they are appointed an at-large officer, Doran explained, “just getting in the group and getting your feet wet.” Throughout one’s time in the Officers group, you are working with your fellow officers, communicating throughout the year, he said. The group comes together at the annual convention and at an annual retreat and then again at TCA’s Fall Business Meetings. Continuity within the group and the familiarity that comes with it is an asset that allows the group to chart and navigate TCA’s long-term course. After a few years, an at-large officer will take on a designated role, such as vice chair to the American Trucking Associations, or secretary or treasurer. These roles carry a lot of responsibility and can be rather time-consuming, Doran said. For the sake of efficiency, someone might hold one of those positions for a few years, before eventually being named second vice chair, then vice chairman, then chairman. Once in one of the vice chair positions, involvement in the organization ramps up even more, as one works more closely with the chairman and the immediate past chairman. In recent years, it’s become a custom for the current and incoming chairmen to pay a visit together to TCA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, to get better acquainted with the staff. You know a couple of years ahead of time when your year in the chairman’s seat is going to be, Doran said. And by the time your year comes, you’ve been working with your predecessors so closely, you’re fully prepared. The phrase “passing of the torch” is an apt metaphor when it comes to the TCA chairmanship. It is like the running of the Olympic torch, with each torchbearer taking a segment of a single route. “And for me, it’s, ‘man, don’t get in there and screw it up,’” Kaburick said. “I mean, it can be easy as the chairman, because you get to have a little bit of an influence in what are some of the main points we want to spread some light on.” 20 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2019
Kaburick and Doran agreed, though, that for the most part being chairman isn’t about dictating the course so much as maintaining it. Doran added that any significant mark you’re going to make on TCA and its policies is going to be done over the long haul in the years leading up to your turn as chairman. Sharing that perspective on the eve of his chairmanship, Kaburick was anticipating he’s going to preside over some exciting times at TCA. In the eight years he’s been in the Officers group, “what I saw was a group of officers that got focused and started to build what we considered more of a long-term plan of success for the association. “And we’re really now just starting to see the fruits of that labor,” he said. “Where we’re at right now, we have a lot of great things that are taking place. And we can all feel the energy, we can see the results. And right now, it’s absolutely critical that nobody changes that course, and to stay focused and to continue to push that ball into the end zone. We’re about at the half-yard line.” Kaburick said the real anxiety that comes with anticipating the chairmanship is the feeling, “what if something happens?” That is, what if something happens externally, something out of his control that sends their plans off course? “I remember when the Great Recession hit,” Kaburick said. He wasn’t yet in the Officers group, but his father, John Kaburick, was, serving as TCA’s 2010-11 chairman, shortly after the recession officially ended but individuals and businesses were still struggling to recover. “Carriers wanted to drop out,” Kaburick recalled. “Everybody was just cutting costs everywhere. And everyone is looking around, and when you’re the person in charge, you almost have to sit there and think — even though you had absolutely zero to do with it — to feel a little bit accountable for everything that’s going on.” With less than two days before Josh Kaburick, left, was set to succeed Dan Doran as TCA Chairman, the two discussed the long path and years of organization that precede assuming the title. TCA 2019 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 21
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Page 3 and 4: MAY/JUNE | TCA 2019 President’s P
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Truckload Authority - April/May 2019

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