Media Advisory: Trucking Executives, Professional Drivers to Visit White House

ATA Leaders and America's Road Team Captains to Meet with President

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Mar 22, 2017, 23:45 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., March 22, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tomorrow afternoon, leaders of the American Trucking Associations and members of ATA's elite team of professional drivers, America's Road Team, are scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the trucking industry and health care.

"It is an honor to be invited to the White House and to meet with the president," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "We look forward to telling our story – a story of how trucks move 70% of our nation's freight safely and efficiently, touching every aspect of our economy, including our health care system. This is a tremendous opportunity for our members and drivers to talk about how the health care debate impacts them and their ability to move America's goods."

Joining Spear at the meeting are 10 leading ATA members:

ATA Chairman Kevin Burch, president, Jet Express Inc., Dayton, Ohio;
Jim Burg, president and CEO, James Burg Trucking Co., Warren, Mich.;
David Congdon, CEO, Old Dominion Freight Line, Thomasville, N.C.;
Mike Ducker, president and CEO, FedEx Freight, Memphis, Tenn.;
Eric Fuller, CEO, U.S. Xpress Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn.;
Neal Kedzie, president, Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association, Madison, Wisc.;
Rich McArdle, president, UPS Freight, Richmond, Va.;
Dennis Nash, CEO, Kenan Advantage Group, North Canton, Ohio;
Tonn Ostergard, president and CEO, Crete Carrier Corp., Lincoln, Neb. and
John Smith, chairman, CRST International Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

In addition, ATA is privileged to be bringing its Image Truck – Interstate One – and a trailer provided by Jet Express featuring a Trucking Moves America Forward wrap, hauled by ATA's Share the Road Truck. These trucks are being driven and escorted by 12 professional drivers with a combined 319 years of driving experience and 29.4 million accident-free miles:

Steve Fields, Independence, Mo., (YRC Freight);
Ralph Garcia, Albuquerque, N.M., (ABF Freight System);
David Green, Hot Springs, Ark., (Werner Enterprises);
Rhonda Hartman, Des Moines, Iowa, (Old Dominion Freight Line);
John Lex, Monroe, Ga., (Walmart Transportation);
David Livingston, Springfield, Ga., (TCW Inc.);
Don Logan, Eskridge, Kan., (FedEx Freight);
Charlton Paul Jr., Chester, N.Y., (UPS Freight);
Russell Simpson, South Vienna, Ohio, (Holland Inc.);
Todd Stine, Altoona, Pa., (Carbon Express);
Barney Earl Taylor, Orlando, Fla., (Penske) and
Derrick Whittle, Fieldale, Va., (Cargo Transporters Inc.)

"Trucking is a vital part of the American economy," Burch said. "We are looking forward to meeting with President Trump and talking to him about how we can ease regulatory burdens on our industry, reform our tax system and rebuild America's infrastructure. I'm very excited to bring two trucks, trucks we use to convey a message of safety and essentiality around the country, to the White House."

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward

SOURCE American Trucking Associations