President's Message
I figure members probably read or hear enough from me over the course of a year. However, as we concluded our 2011 Leadership Conference, I found myself doing a lot of reflecting about the past decade, some of its milestones and what may lie in ATA’s future.
Not too many months after I started at the helm of ATA (then Arizona Motor Transport Association) on July 1, 2001 came the devastation of 9/11 and its aftermath. In the year or two that followed, the trucking industry faced much greater scrutiny and new security requirements with the newly identified threat of terrorists using trucks as weapons. Almost immediately, we had to find an alternate route to the Hoover Dam Road when all but local trucks were restricted from utilizing this route--the shortest route not only to Las Vegas but to I-15 heading north to Utah and beyond. For over a year, we worked hand in hand with ADOT, DPS and local communities to enhance safety on State Route 68 through Bullhead City and across the Colorado River into Nevada. The route added almost 44 miles to the trip to Las Vegas, but it was the only viable alternative truck route for the nearly nine years it took to get the Hoover Dam Bypass built and open.
About a year after 9/11, we got into the Highway Watch training program and, with the support of hundreds of member companies, trained over 14,000 truck drivers on how to observe and accurately report suspicious behavior, as well as how to protect their own trucks and cargo. Cross-border operations into Mexico and Canada faced greater delays, more security checks and tighter credentialing.
As the years rolled on, ATA began to grow its membership and the scope of services to its members. Forward-thinking leaders quickly concluded we had outgrown the small building at 2111 West McDowell that had been the association’s headquarters since 1964. Major donations from Swift Transportation, Knight Transportation and Hurley Transportation, coupled with purchase of the old building by Freeman Theriault of Finders Equipment, enabled ATA to purchase property and build the facility we now occupy.
We moved into 7500 West Madison in Tolleson in May 2007, added staff and new services, and continued to enjoy a growth in membership until the recession hit in early 2008. But like most of our members, we took the hit, did what we had to do, hunkered down and rode it out. By mid-2010, business had improved, membership had stabilized and we could look forward to ending the year with a small net operating profit once again.
Throughout the years, ATA served as the industry’s chief advocate at the Legislature and with regulatory agencies. We defeated continued attempts to adopt a CARB diesel-like standard for Arizona, fought off three different attempts to repeal the industry’s sales tax exemptions, advocated for more highway funding—even suggesting legislators increase fuel taxes!—and worked to establish an online permitting system for our heavy-specialized carrier industry.
As state revenues plunged, highway funds dwindled as well, and much of what was left was taken by the Legislature to fund general government in the wake of the recession. Yet we were almost the lone voice speaking out against imposing tolls on existing roads. ATA also proposed and passed safeguards to prevent Arizona from granting tolling authorities the kind of unchecked powers these entities have used to penalize trucking in many other states. (This battle continues today.)
But every legislative battle of the past decade was a prelude to the 2011 session, when Arizona Trucking Association proposed and passed HB 2359, making it illegal for most shippers to force truckers to be liable for the shipper’s negligence. The description “David vs. Goliath” is an apt metaphor for small truckers pitted against Fortune 500 companies and other big corporations in this attempt to restore balance to freight contracts. In 40 years of lobbying, I have seldom seen the kind of support we rallied for this legislation. You—the members—did it!
In the midst of the worst recession in history, ATA leaders established the Arizona Transportation Education Foundation (ATEF) in May 2009, a new non-profit foundation for managing safety education and research programs to benefit the transportation industry, and to provide scholarships to dependents of ATA-member company employees. Twenty-two members donated more than $20,000 in charter contributions and ATA funded additional startup costs of around $39,000 to establish ATEF. It was a strong statement of their belief in a bright future for our industry as well as a desire to leave a legacy for future generations of trucking businesses and their employees.
Is the truck transportation industry back to pre-recession levels in Arizona? No--and if economic indicators are at all accurate, we still have a couple of lean years ahead. But as ATA enters its 75th Anniversary year, I remain optimistic that this industry will continue to be on the leading edge of safety and innovation, and that a brighter future is just around the corner.
I was honored at the American Trucking Associations conference in Dallas in October to receive my ten-year service award as a state trucking association executive, and at ATA’s Annual Membership Meeting to be recognized by the officers, directors and the 150 or so in attendance for my ten years as your President & CEO. It has been a challenging but rewarding experience for me, and I am deeply grateful for the support ATA’s members have shown me these many years. Thank you!
Karen Rasmussen
President & CEO
Karen Rasmussen*
President & CEO
*Karen Rasmussen has been the CEO of the Arizona Trucking Association since July 2001. Prior to joining ATA, she was Director of Government Relations for Ryder System, Inc. Before joining Ryder, Ms. Rasmussen served 13 years in top management with the California Trucking Association. She also served several years in Oklahoma as a grants coordinator in the Governor's Office of Highway Safety and as the public relations officer for the Department of Public Safety/Oklahoma Highway Patrol. She began her government relations career working in and lobbying the Montana Legislature. Ms. Rasmussen has been recognized for her accomplishments during a 35-year career in traffic safety, and in 2005 was named the top trucking association executive in the United States with the President's Award from American Trucking Associations.