“No Surprises…” by WIT President & CEO Ellen Voie

No Surprises…

Ellen Voie, CAE, President & CEO Women In Trucking Association, Inc.

I once asked a professional driver what he meant when he referred to a “gravy load.” He said it was a trip with no surprises. In other words, everything he expected would become reality. These days, we all wish the future of our industry didn’t have a lot of surprises, at least not in the negative sense. We hear about the need for more drivers, the shortage of certain commodities, and the rising costs of fuel, insurance, and just about everything. Add increased regulations to the list and we really don’t know what to expect in the coming months. Mix in a world-wide pandemic and I think the gravy train has passed. As I write this, we are looking forward to seeing everyone in person at our annual Accelerate! Conference and Expo Nov. 7-9 in Dallas. We’re keeping a close eye on the situation, and also are keeping a watchful eye on other groups to see if they are moving forward with inperson events, switching to a virtual event, or offering a hybrid event. We examine their pandemic-related requirements on a daily basis. Do they require a vaccine, masks, negative tests? What should we do to ensure the safety and comfort level of our attendees? As an industry association, we are more inclined to defer to our members and allow you to make the decision regarding your health. If you choose to be vaccinated, that’s your call. If you continue to wear a mask, that’s great. If your preference is to stay home and participate in our conference virtually, we have that option for you. We all wish we could remove the surprises in the future so we could prepare accordingly. Please know that our focus is on you, our members and our attendees. We are abiding by state and local COVID regulations. We also have created a list of COVID safety measures for the conference which you can find on our website. We are asking you to follow CDC guidelines as well to ensure a healthy and safe event. Let’s make this trip a “gravy” one and anticipate any surprises we may encounter. We are looking forward to seeing you all in Dallas (or during our virtual conference) and we anticipate a safe, healthy, educational and rewarding event for everyone who chooses to participate.