CO V E R S T O R Y
CVSA's North American Inspectors Championship Celebrates
~25Years~ More than 25 years ago, Tim Africa with the Nevada Highway Patrol read an article about a military helicopter rescue competition where rescue personnel took part in a contest that re-created various rescue situations for the contestants to complete. Tim thought to himself, “We should create a similar competition for commercial motor vehicle inspectors.”
He then shared his idea with Susan Petty of the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carriers (now the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) who, in turn, made arrangements to provide the funding for the competition through a Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant and organized her entire department in support of the competition.
With Tim leading the charge and with the help of the Nevada Highway Patrol, volunteers from industry and enforcement, and federal support and grant funding, in 1993, the firstever international inspectors’ competition, known at that time as the “Challenge,” took place in Denver, Colorado. Tim, however, is quick to say: “No one person is responsible for the success of the program. There are hundreds of people who need to be thanked for its success. It was very demanding. It was a lot of hard work. But everyone rolled up their sleeves and got to work. The people who have volunteered their time throughout the years are at the heart of the success of the program.”
NAIC
2 YEARS
2017
Continued on next page
FIRST QUARTER 2017
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