May 2024 NAPFTDS LC Vol 12 No 2

FMCSAeasingfleetrequirementsforunder-21pilotprogram

Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, May 14, 2024:

FMCSAofficially removing driver-facing camera requirement from under-21 pilot

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced via a Federal Register notice that will publish Tuesday, May 14, that it is removing two requirements from its under-21 interstate pilot program, as directed by Congress.

The agency’s notice revises the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot (SDAP) program to remove the requirement that fleets in the program install or use inward facing cameras, as well as the requirement for carriers to obtain a Registered Apprenticeship number from the Department of Labor before being allowed to participate in the SDAP program.

The transportation spending package passed by Congress in March required FMCSA to remove the requirements to help boost participation in the program. FMCSA quickly got to work on revising the program, requesting approval to amend the SDAP from the White House Office of Management and Budget in April.

With the change in effect, motor carriers who are already participating in the SDAP program will no longer be required to use driver-facing cameras, or to maintain their approved Registered Apprenticeship program.

Motor carriers still may voluntarily decide to install or use inward-facing cameras or become an approved Registered Apprenticeship. They may also choose to include safety alerts from inward-facing cameras as part of their monthly data submissions, however, they will not be required to do so, even if they choose to use the cameras.

The agency noted that it is again accepting applications from motor carriers to participate in the pilot program. FMCSA will also reach out to carriers who previously applied but had not obtained a Registered Apprenticeship.

President’s Message

It was great to see so many at our 34th Annual Conference in Reno, the 'biggest little city in the world ‘! The choice of the Grand Sierra Resort as the conference site was a practical and unique experience. It resembled a bustling little city and provided a great backdrop for our event. Thank you to our conference committee members, Martin Garsee, Crissie Moffet, and Tina Frindt, for their efforts in securing this location and working with the Grand Sierra Resort team to ensure our stay was memorable.

Lorie Latigo President, NAPFTDS

The Conference was a resounding success. An incredible turnout, with professionals from all over the country gathering to share ideas, insights, and best practices. We were thrilled to welcome many new members and first-time attendees. Thank you to the presenters for sharing their expertise and passion, which will help us build stronger truck driver training programs and enhance the skills and knowledge of new drivers. The overwhelmingly positive feedback we received from the attendees is a testament to the conference's success. We eagerly anticipate the Regionals later this year and next year’s annual conference. If you have never had the opportunity to attend, we hope this will be your year!

On behalf of the entire Association, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the carriers and vendors who generously sponsored this conference and provided their participation and meals. Your support was instrumental in making this conference a reality, and we sincerely appreciate it. The conference provided a platform for our Associate Members to showcase their products and services, and we are grateful for their participation. Participants had the opportunity to explore the latest technologies, innovative equipment, and other products that could potentially enhance their operations. Thanks to the vendors for their efforts in hauling simulators, materials, and goodies around to support our schools and conferences. We also want to acknowledge the motor carriers who participate and regularly hire our students. Your commitment to empowering the next generation of truck drivers is commendable and we look forward to a continued partnership with you.

Congratulations and best wishes to Michael McCarthy from Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas, on his retirement at the end of the month. Michael has been an active member for many years and served on the Board of Directors for the last six. His contributions to entry-level driver training across the country have been invaluable. Michael, it’s been our honor to have had you as a member of our Association. Good luck in the next chapter of life.

As we move forward, I want to reiterate that NAPFTDS is here to support you, our valued members, in any way we can. Whether you wish to connect with fellow professionals, enhance your training program, or strengthen relationships with Carriers and Vendors, we are here to help. Our Association will continue to work tirelessly to advance the interests of our members and truck driver training. If you’re on LinkedIn or Facebook, we hope you will like our page and follow along. Your likes, comments, and shares make a difference in helping get the word out about us. We have a membersonly Facebook group, NAPFTDS Members. This is a great place to ask specific questions and get to know one another.

Finally, thank you all for entrusting me with the honor of serving as your president and supporting the NAPFTDS. I look forward to working with all of you to achieve our goals and to provide the next generation of truck drivers with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in this critical industry. I look forward to seeing you at the regionals later this year.

In This Issue ...

• Joe Lackey article

• President’s Message

• Coming Events

• Executive Director Report

• 2024 Board Election Results

• Committee Happenings

• 2024 Partnerships & Meal Sponsorships

• 35th Annual NAPFTDS Conference UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• Board of Directors

• Contact NAPFTDS

By Martin Garsee

What a great time was had in Reno! Thanks for all that attended. It was good to see 36 first time attendees and 9 new members.

Thanks to our 2024 partners that attended and participated (Partners are listed on page 6).

Meal Sponsorships from our Association and/or partners are very much appreciated, it helps to cushion a blow to our budget for food at the annual conference. (Meal Sponsorships are listed on page 6). Thank you!

We had a lot of information given to us to absorb and a great time networking with other members and presenters.

The facility was GREAT and the weather was stupendous. Many attendees commented on how wonderful the surrounding area was and some got the chance to see and/or visit the area. Reno is definitely on my list of things to go back and check out!

Thanks to our industry partners that came and presented to us. You all are a valuable asset that is enjoyed, as well as great relationships have been created and maintained over the years. Our industry partners are a great resource the Board encourages each of our members to look at each one and join if you are able to.

Special thanks to Michael McCarthy for his years of service on our board, his schools membership, his valuable input and the many memories created. Mike, enjoy your retirement, you deserve it and you will be missed. You are always welcome at our events. I am glad that I was able to share several years of our work life serving NAPFTDS.

Thanks for all of you for making this Association what it is. Please reach out to us if we can be of any help.

Coming Events ...

• 2024 Regional Hosts who have volunteered: Region 1 & 2Advanced Training Systems, San Diego, CA, Date TBD; Region 3 & 5-Schneider, Green Bay, WI, Date TBD; Region 4–Amarillo College, Date TBD; Region 6, Tallahassee, FL, Date: Dec 9-10, 2024.

• 2024 Regional Host still hunting for a Region 7 host. Call or contact Crissie 316-425-3297 / cmoffet@napftds.org or Missy Blair mlblair@pima.edu .

Committee Happenings

Want to be a part of a working committee, please contact Crissie Moffet, cmoffet@napftds.org.

Carrier-Donnie Tulk, Chair. The Committee is still reaching out to several carriers and keeping the dialogue going and are excited for annual conference! Items discussed: 1) Be very pronounced about how much industry knowledge NAPFTDS members have. 2) Approach someone up the chain at the carriers and tell them how valuable it would be for them to join NAPFTDS. 3) Know the associate member cost and let potential carrier members know that it could be a low cost solution for them to get highly trained student drivers. 4) Give non-member recruiters that come into our schools a hard copy of the carrier outreach postcard. We need to make sure that all members know who our associate members are and to thank them for all that they do!

Conference/Nomination-Martin Garsee, Chair. The Committee is also looking into 2025 35th Annual Conference locations. Any ideas, please email Crissie Moffet, cmoffet@napftds.org.

Education-John Thorpe, Chair. The Education Committee introduced an innovative concept: A Train the Trainer programs aimed at instructors. Over the coming year, Mr. Thorpe, alongside the committee and in collaboration with Bumper to Bumper, will begin work on developing a training booklet. This resource will focus on best practices for training new instructors in Truck Driver Training, ensuring a standardized approach to instruction across the industry. Once developed, this booklet will be presented at next year’s meeting and will be shared with all members of NAPFTDS.

If you have any interest in being on the Education Committee, please contact John Thorpe, john.thorpe@centraltech.edu or Crissie Moffet cmoffet@napftds.org

Marketing/Social Media-Bill Buechel, Chair. The marketing efforts continue to progress due to a strong bump from the National Conference. LinkedIn gained 107 new followers (206% growth) and increased views 174% in the last 90 days. Our LinkedIn posts we will mirror Facebook to continue our consistency as a brand. We now find ourselves in a lull until the Regionals begin. It is imperative that we are as active as possible to promote the organization and highlight it’s members. We also will want to push scholarly articles of industry happenings and any action/ activities the organization may be involved in. Martin Garsee has connected us with some great resources and provided excellent opportunities for our content to grow. We will need more of that and are open to any ideas that the organization sees beneficial. The low hanging fruit is to continue our membership spotlight so we will need volunteers, combined with a proactive approach to reaching out to our members to get involved. Lorie Latigo called out announcing new members is a phenomenal idea to show value.

Please remember to like our … Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NAPFTDS and Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/ company/national-association-of-publicly-funded-truck-driving-schools/

If you have suggestions for the marketing committee or you would like to become a member of the committee please contact Crissie Moffet cmoffet@napftds.org.

Membership-Dan Zdrojewski, Chair. The National Conference was a great success! We had a large turnout of new members, non-members, and members that have been with NAPFTDS for years! It was truly a great sight to see everyone having a good time and collaborating on so many different topics. Like every year, the Membership Committee acquires new team members and some team members move to other great ventures while some team members continue to provide their time and dedication to our membership year after year. I cannot thank them enough.

I would like to introduce the Membership Team for 2024-2025. Donnie Tulk (Tulsa Tech, OK), Lesley Vincent (Melton Truck Lines), Deborah Quackenbush (Virage Simulation), Brent Lauber (Kelly Anderson Group), Amanda Rojas (Bumper to Bumper Easy CDL), John Rojas (Bumper to Bumper Easy CDL), Lynette Cervantes (Del Mar College, TX), Jonathan Scheidegger (CDL PowerSuite), Dan Zdrojewski (Milwaukee Area Technical College, WI) I am excited to work with this team and continue to build our membership for NAPFTDS. Thank you.

Regionals-Missy Blair, Chair. The Region Committee is still hunting for Region 7 for a 2024 host. As you can see from this edition of Learning Curve, the regional meetings are an important part of how we serve our membership. If you'd like to host Region 7, or if you have any questions about being a regional host, please contact Missy Blair, Regional Committee chair, at mlblair@pima.edu or Crissie Moffet at cmoffet@napftds.org, 316-425-3297.

So find out what it is all about and show off your campus by hosting a region meeting in 2024! Contact Crissie Moffet, cmoffet@napftds.org or call 316-425-3297.

Regulatory-Jill Schultz, Chair. Welcome Carl Borleis, Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, Rick Eaton, Milwaukee Area Technical College, and Alex Barber, Yavapai College to the Regulatory Committee.

At our committee meeting, during the annual conference, we discussed the various challenges schools and new drivers face with the process of obtaining a CDL. Specifically, variances in the process that can occur from state-to-state, office-to-office, and examiner-to-examiner.

The regulatory committee informs members of changes and proposed changes to federal laws, regulations, and policies related to truck driver training. This is done via Learning Curve updates and Board meeting minutes.

Michael McCarthy's retirement marks the end of an era for the trucking industry, his college, and the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS). Over his distinguished career, Mike has been a pillar of wisdom and innovation, significantly shaping the landscape of truck driver training. His unwavering commitment to excellence and his deep understanding of the complexities of the trucking industry have not only elevated the standards of training at his college but also reverberated throughout the NAPFTDS community. Mike’s contributions have been instrumental in developing best practices and advocacy efforts that have propelled the industry forward. His legacy of leadership, mentorship, and passion for the trucking profession will undoubtedly continue to influence and inspire future generations. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mike for his years of dedicated service and wish him a fulfilling and joyful retirement.

Michael McCarthy has been a board member since 2018 and has stepped up to fill interim board positions. Since the beginning of his board terms, he was somewhat quiet; but with enthusiasm in this industry he grew to speak up where things concerned him. Seward County Community College has been a member since 1996. As Seward CCC grew, so did Michael. As a member, he grew in his knowledge and his interest in becoming a Board member escalated his growth, personally and professionally as a board member.

34th Annual NAPFTDS Conference

April 21-24, 2024

Reno, Nevada

‘Rolling into the Biggest Little City Reno!’

2024 Partners

2024 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

GOLD PARTNERS

Doron Precision Systems, Inc.

Kelly Anderson Group

Tenstreet

TMC Transportation

Virage Simulation

SILVER PARTNERS

Advanced Training Systems LLC

Bumper-to-Bumper Easy CDL

CRST

Covenant Logistics

Driver IQ

FASTPORT

Freymiller, Inc.

J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

L3-Driver Training Solutions

Melton Truck Lines

Navistar-Intl Used Truck Org

Ruan Truck & Trailer Sales

Schneider

Seaboard Foods LLC

Simulator Systems, Intl

Stevens Transport

Transforce Group

Werner Enterprises

Meal Sponsorships

Monday,April 22

Breakfast Werner Enterprises

Afternoon Break TMC

Tuesday,April 23

Breakfast Advanced Training Systems

Morning Break KellyAnderson Group

Afternoon Break Seaboard Foods

Banquet

Virage Simulation & Bumper to Bumper-Easy CDL

2024 Annual Conference Exhibitors

Advanced Training Systems

Doron Precision Systems

DriverIQ

Bumper to Bumper-Easy CDL

Kelly Anderson Group

Navistar-Intl Used Truck Center

L3-Harris Technologies

The Trucker Media

Virage Simulation

2024 Annual Conference Speakers

Defensibility Security Training

Sean Grigsba

Undersheriff Kay County Oklahoma

Welcome and Introductions

Lorie Latigo

NAPFTDS President

ELDT Task Force

Andy Poliakoff, CVTA & Martin Garsee, NAPFTDS

NAPFTDS Treasurer Report

Rob Behnke, Treasurer

Tina Frindt, Finance/ Technical Assistant

Truckload Carriers Association Update

Dave Heller

AAMVA Presentation

Ian Grossman President/CEO AAMVA

FMCSA Office of Safety Updates

Patrick Nemons Director, FMCSA

ATA Initiatives

Kevin Burch

Transition to Trucking

Brad Bentley President, FASTPORT

Martin Transportation Systems, Gov. Affairs

FMCSA Update

Rich Clemente Transportation Specialist

Board Election Results

Missy Blair, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona. Missy is, in no order of importance, a Class A CDL holder, higher education leader, veteran of the United States Air Force, facilitator, amateur photographer, former Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCoach, wife, and mom. Missy was named one of the 2019 Top Women to Watch in Transportation by Women in Trucking for her work on Pima Community College's Autonomous Vehicle Driver & Operations Specialist certificate program and for her efforts to encourage women to join the trucking industry. Missy has been Pima Community College's Center for Transportation and Logistics' manager/academic director since 2014.

Tony Diaz, Amarillo College, Amarillo, Texas. Tony is passionate about his work with Amarillo College as a Program Coordinator and has been with Amarillo College for 17 months. Prior to that, Tony worked in the Trucking Industry in administration for 15 years. There, he went from Dispatch to Assistant Operations Manager and then into safety. Tony has been part of new startups and dispatch programs. Tony started out driving a truck over 27 years ago. When Tony went into management, he focused on creating a culture where the drivers were put first; figured if the drivers were doing great, then our customers would be doing great.

Celeste Turner, Hawkeye Community College, Waterloo, Iowa Celeste has been in the trucking industry since the 80’s. Also dispatched 15 drivers and negotiate outside carriers to haul the product - which was loading 25 trucks at our plant, 50 trucks a day at a cold storage that we used. Her secretary, and drivers, along with Celeste were considered a separate entity for the processing plant, so she had to keep accurate books. She has been with the college for 8 years, managing the Regional Transportation Training Center. She has written programs for CDL Class B, School Bus, Drivers Ed, Drivers Ed instructor class, Woman in Basic Automotive, Construction Equipment Operator I and II, and Hitch Haul and Steer class.

INTERIM Board Member (replacing Michael McCarthy-Retired) David Inman, Northeast Tech, Kansas, Oklahoma. David is a native of Vinita, Oklahoma and an Alumni of Northeast Tech. He attained a Class A CDL in 1997 and has L, P, S, T, X Endorsements. David began as an Instructor at Northeast Tech in 2015 and moved to the CDL/Truck Driver Trainer in 2020 and started our Truck Driver Training program from the ground floor using my lifetime experience is a perfect fit for me with this program.

Bill Buechel, Schneider, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Bill’s entire 31-year professional career has been in the trucking industry and with Schneider. His experience has been in operations, dispatch, utilization, customer service and driver recruiting.

Schneider has been a long-standing member of NAPFTDS. As a 4-year carrier board member of NAPFTDS, I fully understand that highly trained safe drivers are the lifeblood of our business as well as our industry. He also understands the level of expertise NAPFTDS schools bring to training tomorrow’s drivers. As such, Schneider has maintained either a Silver or Gold Member status as well as supporting regional meetings. We have also put great energy into building long lasting and consistent relationships with the vast majority of member schools. This includes regular scheduled visits from our extensive field recruiting team no matter the level of demand for drivers. We know that good relationships remain consistent no matter the economic conditions.

Bill personally wishes to continue serving on the board because he is passionate about the trucking industry and know that it all starts and ends with training new quality drivers. Bill also believes that he has a lot to contribute to the Association with his 31 years of trucking experience. In his 14 years in driver recruiting, He has personally visited well over 100 publicly funded and private school locations in almost every state of the country.

Deborah Quackenbush, Virtual Excellence, LLC and Virage Simulation, Port Orange, Florida. Deborah Quackenbush is a market expert in the implementation of driving simulation for training all types of drivers for close to thirty years. Throughout her extensive career, she has developed a far-reaching network of professional colleagues and has worked closely with businesses, governments, educational institutions and communities to further safety and education for all roadway users.

In November 2011, Deborah joined Virage Simulation as their business development consultant/director for the United States. Her wealth of experience in product and business development and strong passion for road safety make her a great addition to the Virage team and an ideal liaison to Virage end users in the United States. Ms. Quackenbush is an active member in several association. She has been a subject matter expert contributor on several research projects and served on several national committees charged with writing standards for performance in education, training, and assessment areas. In 2021, Ms. Quackenbush was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS), dedicated to the development of quality truck drivers for the trucking industry.

2024 Board Elections and Winners!

Front Row-Bill Buechel, Mike McCarthy, John Thorpe, Donnie Tulk, Lorie Latigo, Martin Garsee and Jill Schultz.

Back Row-John Rojas, Celeste Turner, Nikole Willing, Deborah Quackenbush, Richard Monroe, Lesley Vincent, Rob Behnke, Lynette Cervantes,

Nominees: (Left to Right ) Tony Diaz, Amarillo College; David Inman Northeast Tech; Brent Lauber, Kelly Anderson Group; Celeste Turner, Hawkeye CC; Donna Elicke, Olive-Harvey College; Tom Pietrzak, Werner Enterprises; Betsy Waldrop, Freymiller, Inc.; Bill Buechel, Schneider; Deborah Quackenbush, Virage Simulation; Missy Blair, Pima CC.

2024 Board Election Winners! (Left to Right) Deborah Quackenbush, Virage Simulation (Vendor); Bill Buechel, Schneider (Carrier); Celeste Turner Hawkeye CC (Board); Tony Diaz, Amarillo College (Board); Missy Blair, Pima CC (Board); and David Inman (Interim Board) Northeast Tech (completing Michael McCarthy’s Board position-Retired) shown below right corner).

Missy Blair and Dan Zdrojewski.

2023 NAPFTDS Board

2024 Committees

TMC-Cheryl Freuff gave away 6 tickets to Infinity Races Winner! - Celeste Turner Advanced Training Systems Enriqiue Mar gave away 2 ipads

- Richard Eaton and Gina Stumborg

Kelly Anderson Group Brent Lauber gave away TV Winner! - James Bergeman

Just Plain Havin Fun!

The National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS) is an organization for the promotion of public education for the transportation industry. Through membership, educators can network with other truck driving schools across the country to provide the highest quality, most cost-effective, and up-todate training available.

Contact us:

Martin Garsee, Executive Dir., NAPFTDS Martin.garsee@hccs.edu

713-718-8203 (O) 713-304-8324 (M)

Rob Behnke, Treasurer, NAPFTDS rob.behnke7787@fvtc.edu

920-996-2889 (O)

Tina Frindt, Finance/Technical Assistant tfrindt@napftds.org

570-688-5710 (M)

Crissie Moffet Admin Assist to the Board cmoffet@napftds.org

316-425-3297 (O)

NAPFTDS BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2023

Celeste Turner Hawkeye

Lesley Vincent Melton

Cindy Atwood CVTA

Dan Zdrojewski Milwaukee Area

Nikole Willing Central Tech

Lynette Cervantes Del Mar College

Missy Blair Pima

Richard ‘Rickey’ Monroe Marion

Would you like to advertise in our eNewsletter, the Learning Curve? You do!

Then please give Crissie Moffet a call/email 316-425-3297 / cmoffet@napftds.org.

Mission Statement

The National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools, Inc. is an organization established for the promotion of safety, professionalism and quality education within the transportation industry.