ATA Announces 15 Members of Fourth Class of LEAD ATA Program

Third Class of Leadership Program Graduates at MCE

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Oct 02, 2016, 03:15 ET

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, American Trucking Associations named its fourth class to the LEAD ATA industry leadership program, as well as announced the graduation of the third class during the annual ATA Management Conference & Exhibition.

"An important theme of this year's MCE is 'leadership,' which is why it is gratifying to see this energetic and engaged group stepping up as our association's and our industry's future leaders," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.

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.Trucking Moves America Forward.

Sponsored by PeopleNet, the program provides exclusive education opportunities to up-and-coming trucking industry professionals highlighting how the regulatory and legislative process affects the trucking industry and the important role ATA plays in influencing those processes. LEAD ATA also exposes its participants to the many tools available to industry executives through ATA.

"When we first came up with the idea for LEAD ATA, we were hoping to bring in some of the best and brightest in trucking and provide them with the tools to direct our industry and ATA into the future," said Kevin Burch, incoming ATA chairman and president of Jet Express, Dayton, Ohio. "So far, the graduates of this program have exceeded our expectations, and we are looking forward to what this new group of leaders can do."

"Getting to work so closely with the previous LEAD ATA class, I am excited to get to know these future industry leaders," said Dave Manning, ATA first vice chairman and chairman of TCW Inc., Nashville, Tenn. "The energy and enthusiasm these young people exhibit is good for both our industry and our association."

"Leadership is very difficult to come by, but even more challenging to maintain and pass down from generation to generation. From the moment that we heard about LEAD ATA, we felt an instant affinity to the mission and ideals of this innovative program," said PeopleNet General Manager Mark Kessler. "Witnessing the thought leadership that the past graduating classes are doing by engaging in committees and taking on our industry's toughest challenges, makes us even more proud of the legacy that LEAD ATA will leave behind. With every graduating class of LEAD ATA, our industry's future gets brighter and PeopleNet is thrilled to be a part of this process."

The 2016 LEAD ATA Class includes: Aaron Brown, NFI Industries; Wesley Davis, Big M Transportation Inc.; Jeffrey First, FedEx Freight; Nelson Gonzalez, California Multimodal LLC; Jonathan Gravell, Pressure Systems International; Todd Hahn, Brown Integrated Logistics Inc.; Daniel Horvath, TransForce Inc.; Jason Hunter, UPS; Colton Lawrence, Equinox Business Solutions LLC; John Michell, Daseke Inc.; Jake Rinehart, Celadon Group Inc.; Andrew Schilling, Fraley and Schilling Inc.; Andrew Walker, TransLand; Collins White, Alabama Motor Express Inc. and James Daniel Wright, Wright Transportation Inc.

2015 LEAD ATA Graduates:
Elise Chianelli, PeopleNet; JJ Clemmons, Summerford Truck Line Inc.; Jordan Culver, Q Carriers; Jonathan Doss, Celadon Trucking; Melanie Feeley, K-Limited Carrier Ltd.; Shawn Goad, Ruan Transportation; Mack "Dutch" Guest, LAD Truck Lines, Inc.; Megan Melichar, Fed Ex Ground Package Systems; Dan Olivier, USF Holland Inc.; Thomas Putnam, FedEx Freight Inc.; Jeff Reed, Skyline Transportation Inc.

For more on LEAD ATA click here.

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

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SOURCE American Trucking Associations