Women In Trucking
By Ellen Voie
What Did You Miss?
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he Women In Trucking Association’s mission is simply to increase the percentage of women employed in transportation careers. Whether the role is driver, technician, safety professional, engineer, manager or one of the many other positions in the supply chain, our focus is to attract and retain more women at all levels. The Accelerate! Conference and Expo brings this goal into one very educational, but motivational and fun-filled event, and this year was no exception. Our keynote speaker, Valerie Alexander, charmed and challenged the audience with her insight in “How to succeed in trucking despite having female brains.” Valerie also ended the conference with how to create happiness and engagement in the workplace. She asked the audience to list ten positive things that might result from a negative experience, using industry examples to illustrate the case. Admiral Robert Wray, CEO of Citadel Fleet Safety, talked about leadership and provided lessons he learned in his four decades of experience in both wartime and peace. He challenged the audience to become more confident, be humble leaders in their organizations and provided numerous stories of action-oriented guidance from his years as a nuclear engineer in the Navy. Former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator (FMCSA), Annette Sandberg, shared stories from her experiences as the youngest and first female State Patrol Chief in the US. David Coleman, known as “The Dating Doctor TM” spoke about relationship issues at work and in social settings in
his talk, “Positive People Produce.” Coleman’s interactive presentation included a session with attendees talking about their strengths and weaknesses and using the conversation to build confidence in others and themselves. Returning speaker, Joel McGinley, of TranStrategy Partners spoke about how to “Elevate your Game: A Message of Personal Transformation.” McGinley gave the attendees an understanding of what holds them back from transformational growth and how to overcome these challenges. Sirius/XM’s Road Dog Channel’s Freewheelin’ host, Meredith Ochs, moderated a panel of women who offered their insight into becoming successful leaders. The three finalists for the Influential Women in Trucking Award sponsored by Freightliner participated. Traci Crane, Senior Manager of Fleet Services at CFI, Inc., Tana Greene, CEO and Founder of Blue Bloodhound and Daphne Jefferson, former Deputy Administrator of the FMCSA were the three finalists. They were joined by last year’s Influential Woman in Trucking, Ramona Hood of Genco. In addition to presentations that challenged and empowered the attendees, there were many panel discussions, lunchtime table topic conversations and plenty of industry-related talks ranging from driver health and wellness to ELD mandates. The Women In Trucking Association initiated a Best Practices Survey to better understand how carriers that employ a high percentage of female drivers attract and retain these women. If you missed this year’s Accelerate! Conference and Expo, be sure to mark your
calendar for next year’s event to be held in Frisco (Dallas) Texas November 12-14. For more information visit the Women In
Trucking Association website at www. womenintrucking.org. We look forward to seeing you there!
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VIPAR HEAVY DUTY
VIPAR Newest Stockholder
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rystal Lake, Illinois - Camrock Oil and Supply, based in Elk City, Oklahoma, is the newest company to join the VIPAR Heavy Duty network of distributors as a stockholder. Camrock Oil and Supply serves fleets, owner-operators, independent service facilities, municipalities and industrial companies in the northwest Oklahoma and northeast Texas markets. The company offers a broad selection of heavy duty tractor and trailer parts, shop supplies, industrial supplies, lubrication equipment, hydraulics and electrical supplies. “Camrock Oil and Supply is strategically
located west of Oklahoma City and 150 miles east of Amarillo, Texas in a brandnew facility right off Interstate 40,” said Jim Pennig, Vice President of Business Development, VIPAR Heavy Duty. “The company’s dedicated management team is committed to growing their business and supplying customers with high quality products and outstanding service.” For more information on Camrock Oil and Supply, visit www.camrocksupply. com. For more information on VIPAR Heavy Duty, visit www.vipar.com or email: info@ vipar.com.
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