Christine’s Corner

SDTA STAFF:

Christine Erickson President cverickson@southdakotatrucking.com

Pam Kolseth Comptroller pam@southdakotatrucking.com

Michelle Wells Executive Assistant michelle@southdakotatrucking.com

Jay Steensma Printshop Manager jay@southdakotatrucking.com

Patty Hinz, Office Assistant/Graphic Designer patty@southdakotatrucking.com

Happy April! Hoping you all made it through April Fool’s Day without too many jokes or pranks played on you. With 3 teenage boys I sailed through without hiccups. Early April, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska Trucking Associations came together to host the Tri-State Safety Summit. It has been a long time since this event has taken place. I enjoyed giving a welcome to the attendees to get the conference started. We kicked the first full day off with the Mongoose Method presented by Bill Kanasky, Courtroom Sciences. He discussed escalated verdicts, often times resulting in major financial strains on businesses. Additional information can be found at courtroomsciences.com. Day two, John Joines, Great West Casulaty’s VP of Safety presented Building a Safety Culture. That was followed by a Q&A With Carrier Enforcement with Sgt. Matt Koll, SD Highway Patrol, Sgt. Jay Kirkpatrick, IA Motor Vehicle Enforcement & Sgt. Erick Pfeiffer, NE State Patrol. From there we heard Critical Updates From FMCSA, presented by Jennifer Bell, State Program Manager for the FMCSA Nebraska Division. David Heller, Truckload Carriers Association closed the event discussing Legislative and Regulatory updates from Washington DC. Michelle and I were able to collaborate with many others during the conference, which always provides value. We were able to learn some things about how our neighboring associations operate, as well as talk with some of the vendors who provide services to you and your businesses. Many of the carriers were sharing stories and learning from each other’s experiences. South Dakota was well represented with many of you in attendance. Thank you for your commitment to safety. In total, there were 115 people registered. The response amongst the attendees was really good. Our goal is to co-host this annually in the future. Please be sure to get those registrations in for the upcoming SDTA Cliff Tjaden Fishing Event (registration form on page 11) as well as the Truck Driving Championships (forms available HERE) www.southdakotatrucking.com. Check out all the other events the are planned for the year (page 24). As always, do not hesitate to reach out to our office. Onward,

Christine M. Erickson

President, South Dakota Trucking Association