California Trucking Association - Eric Sauer, President & CEO

The transcript is a conversation between Lindsey Trent from Next Gen Trucking and Eric Sauer, President and CEO of the California Trucking Association. In the first part, they discuss truck driver appreciation events and the importance of recognizing the trucking industry's contribution to the economy. They also talk about the California Trucking Association and its role as one of the largest state trucking associations in the nation. Eric shares his background and passion for the industry. They then delves into topics such as regulations, workforce development, environmental concerns, and funding initiatives for CDL training programs.

Summary:
A bill has passed the Assembly Higher Education Committee and is now in the Appropriations Committee.  The bill would provide additional funding for CDL programs in California.  Efforts have been made to address delays in scheduling drive tests with the DMV.  There is a need for more locations throughout the state for CDL training.

Diesel technician shortages are an issue, but efforts have been made to partner with schools and create opportunities for graduates.

The Truck Driving Championships in California attract hundreds of competitors and showcase the importance of trucking.  The industry should be appreciated more, as it plays a vital role in delivering goods.  Gen Z sees trucking as an essential job that makes a difference.  Technology advancements have improved driving conditions, making it easier for drivers.  Autonomous trucking shows promise but may still require human operators.  The state of California needs to focus on attracting younger generations to the industry by providing more information about opportunities, increasing pay rates, and improving exposure through education programs.

The transcript discusses the focus on workforce and reaching the next generation in the trucking industry. The conversation highlights efforts to raise awareness, create opportunities, and overcome challenges such as regulations and age restrictions. The importance of exposing young people to the industry is emphasized through events like "touch a truck" campaigns. Collaboration between different associations and companies is also mentioned in order to develop initiatives for future leaders and invest in community outreach. Overall, the goal is to change the image of trucking, attract younger individuals, and address the driver shortage issue.

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Transcript

Eric Sauer:  And we have these truck driver appreciation events throughout the year during Truck Driver Appreciation Week. And when I attend those and hand the goodie bag to the drivers, small token and appreciation, but just letting them know thank you for what you do and showing the appreciation of these people that move the economy and anything we can do to highlight that is always a good thing. It's disappointing that it's not a more appreciated industry because let's face it, almost everybody receives all of their goods by truck. 



Lindsey Trent:  Today. I'm super excited. I have the president and CEO of the California Trucking Association, Eric Sauer. And Eric, I'm super excited to have a conversation with you today, learn all about what you guys are doing in California, I would say. Are you guys the number one biggest state in the country? 



I believe we are the largest state trucking association. We have over a thousand members. We have many members. That what we call allied members that provide products and services to the trucking industry. But we also have 1000 carrier members. So we're one of the largest state trucking we are the largest state trucking association in the nation. 



Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into the trucking industry. 



Well, I officially started in 2001. So August 1, 2001, I was hired at CTA and I've been here since. But I would like to say that my experience in the industry dates before that. So when I was in fourth grade, my mom's friend was dating an executive with Viking Freight Systems, which is no longer around, but they had a truck driver rodeo and I was invited to attend. And I was just fascinated by the industry and the large trucks and the trucks moving around and just the profession of the industry was just, wow, this is really cool. I was also a big fan of the 70s genre of movies that involved trucks. Big fan of BJ and the Bear Trucking show. 



So officially I've been with the CTA almost 22 years, but I've been a huge just enamored with the trucking industry for a long time. 



Yeah, that's so interesting that you say that, and I'll ask you a few questions about that in a little bit. But tell me, what's the mission of the California Trucking Association? 



Well, we've been around for 89 years, so we're coming up on our 90 year anniversary next year. And I just was reminded that when I looked at our website, I was like, oh wow, we got to start planning some sort of celebration for 90 years. The association, we represent all segments of the industry. So we have members that haul agriculture products. We have a lot of port operators, over the road operators, less than truckload operators, heavy specialized operators. We have a group that we work on their issues for, but you name it. We represent those types of segments of the industry. We have probably our average members fleet size is 32 trucks. So we represent the large national carriers all the way down to the small and pop trucking companies. And it's been interesting seeing the evolution of the industry since I've been here. 



You see a lot of third generation family leaders in the company. Coming up. Our president this year, Ms. Devon AIDS. Her father was president about 1015 years ago and so now she's president of the organization. And that's part of the reason why I've enjoyed being with the association. And I get so excited representing the industry is I really appreciate what they do and I think they appreciate what we do. And in California, we've got our hands full. Every year there's 3000 bills introduced, or what I like to call brilliant ideas. And not all 3000 bills have anything to do with the trucking industry, but we have to make sure that those ones that do have an impact that we're advocating on behalf of our members. Highly regulated industry in California, which is weird because it's a deregulated industry, but we have all these regulations. 



Speaking of initiatives, the recent Carb Advanced Clean Fleet Rule was just passed and adopted by the Carb board on April 20. Eigth. We are very engaged on that leading up to it the last eight to ten years we've been extremely involved in that, in their efforts on transitioning to a zero emission fleet. We could spend a whole episode on it and then some, but there are so many issues with that proposal. We feel it's an unrealistic and unachievable rule. But right now, since that rule, what we're doing is we're making the rounds, educating our members on what exactly is included in that rule and making sure that they're equipped with that information. 



Wow. Part of what the next generation young people, their concerns are the environment. And so they definitely are attracted to an industry that is cognizant of what's going on in the environment and making things better. But we also have to be realistic and do things that actually can work with the infrastructure in place. So talk a little bit about that and where you see that headed in the next 1510 years in California. 



Trucking so let's back up a little bit. A few years back, California motor carriers were subject to the Carb on Road Truck and Bus rule, which mandated trucks being in compliance and meeting certain model years to be in compliance. And so what people don't realize, and what the public doesn't realize, is that the industry, following that, spent billions of dollars to clean up their fleets, invested a lot of time, money, resources in improving the air quality. And through that initiative, the industry has been able to reduce 99% or provide a 99% emissions reduction from the trucking industry in California. So here we are again a decade later looking at or having to deal with a zero emission rule. And it's one of those things where the equipment is just not there. 



The technology, it's getting there, but there's so many issues associated with that range being one of them, weight being the other one, cost of the equipment. So you're looking at the cost of a diesel truck being two to three times less than what is now. They're being mandated to transition to into a zero emission truck. The first phase of this actually hits next year for port operators. So if you operate in the port of California, if any additions to your fleet starting next year, they have to be zero emission technology. So, yeah, like, you know, we could do a few episodes on, but it's one of those things that's very problematic and it's going to be interesting. 



To see how it plays that is well, thank you for all you're doing. Know typically, right, what happens in California starts to migrate to the rest of the country. So we're all going to be faced with this challenge and you guys get to be the guinea pigs in the country and in trucking. So I think that's probably one of those things that can be a headache for you, that just makes more work. 



Happen for, you know, it's I just was in attendance at the American Trucking Association's mid year Conference in Florida. And over the last few years, it's all about California. And the running joke is I feel like I need to put on a disguise when I go into these meetings because it's always all about California. And speaking of California and other states with this rule, I believe there's 17 other states that are planning on following California's lead with this rule. So what we've been telling Know operators in other states, pay close attention to what your state's actions are in response to this. 



Yeah, those are that's good to know for Know challenges, difficulties in the way. But let's talk a little bit about workforce and the co founder of NextGen, Dave Dine. He is in the state of California and he developed one of the first high school trucking programs. And you've been really instrumental. You went and spoke with him at an event this past year a few months back. Tell us a little bit about the initiatives that you all have in terms of workforce development and reaching the next. 



You know, can we talk a little bit about Dave? 



Yeah, let's talk about know. 



Dave is a frequent presenter and visitor to our meetings and our events. He's just such a fantastic person. He's got such a great story, but he's so passionate about showing the opportunities in the industry to the younger generation. And it's no secret that there's a driver shortage. I believe there's a need of 80,000 drivers and that's supposed to double in the next decade. So a tremendous need of getting drivers into the industry. A lot of those drivers are getting up in age and so they're going to be retiring or moving on to different professions. So seeing people like Dave and your group and your efforts on getting the younger generation interested in getting into the industry and seeing the tremendous opportunities that exist there is so great to see. 



What we're doing at CTA is we understand that there is a need and a place for what we call next gen, which is similar to your organization's name. But we're bolstering up our next gen program to get the next generation of our leaders or our members children into the industry and showing them not making it kind of like this isn't your grandpa's industry anymore. This is kind of the modern there's a lot of technology involved, but getting them acclimated and interested in kind of the government affairs arena which in California there's a lot of stuff going on, but also showing know, providing them with leadership opportunities to show or to help them on maybe the steps they're taking in becoming a leader in their company or in the organization or in the industry. 



So I'm extremely excited to see groups like yours and other state associations realizing that, hey, there's a need to get the younger generation involved. Also seeing more women involved in the industry. It's a fantastic thing. So at the Ata Conference, they had women in motion. That's a campaign that they're running right now. Sat in on a panel, very exciting and informative panel of women up on the stage talking about the industry and just embracing everybody to let them know that there's tremendous opportunities in this industry is a really exciting thing to see. But it's also necessary. 



Yeah, that's right. And really exposing the trucking industry to these young people so that they can maybe be employed in our industry. And we want that. We want good, talented, diverse people in the trucking industry. And so it's an exciting time. And I see California leading the charge in that. You guys spoke at this conference Educating for Careers and you were able to be a part of the presentation. What was it like? What was the reception of the schools and the educators about the trucking industry? 



Well, first off, I followed Dave, so he set the bar extremely high and then I went after him. So big shoes to fill. But I just talked about the opportunities in California with the trucking industry. So in California, there's 893,000 trucking related jobs just in California. So I believe that equates to one out of every 20 jobs in California is somewhat related to the trucking industry. So there's a tremendous amount of opportunities for people. If maybe they don't want to be a driver or they want to get into dispatch or get into the warehouse and logistics portion of the industry, there's tremendous opportunities there for them. I just more or less talked about those opportunities. What we're kind of working on in California to tackle those issues, one that is near and dear to our hearts and also drivers is truck parking. 



And what's California doing on solving that? And unfortunately, California is always ranked one or two in least amount available truck spots in the nation. So we have a lot of work to do there. We've got many members involved in a working group task force that Caltrans has been spearheading for the last few years to identify solutions for that. But I think we have to do a good job on clearing those types of hurdles to make sure that drivers aren't impeded on, hey, we can't find a place to park or we need a place that's safe to park. Making those types of things happen for them, to make it easier for them and kind of clear those hurdles to where they don't have to really worry about that. But again, we have a long road ahead of us to get that done. 



But that is something that we've been working on. 



Yeah, we've got to make trucking better for the future of the industry. You guys have been working on some funding initiatives for CDL. Tell us a little bit about that. 



So we are the sponsor of Assembly Bill 376 and it's authored by our friend, Assembly Member Villa Boudois and it's looking to make some modifications to the Cal Grant C program which would provide financial aid to low and middle income students enrolled in an entry level driver training program. So it'd have to amend the time frame a little bit. That's currently included in the program from four months to eight weeks, which falls in line with the driver training program. So it recently passed out of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and now it passed out unanimously and now it's sitting in the Appropriations Committee. So we're extremely excited about this bill and this opportunity. So we'll definitely make sure that people update it along the way. 



Yeah. And so if this bill gets passed, then there's going to be an extra set of funding that's going to be able to go to fund CDLs. 



Yes. So people can access those to be enrolled in those programs and help pay for their cost to be enrolled in those programs. 



That's amazing. Tell me, so in California, you guys have private driving schools, you have some community colleges that do driver training. Are there any other roadblocks for CDL training around the state of California? 



Well, I think just in roadblocks in general, we've been working with the DMV to more or lessen the delays on the drive tests. And so the drive test, as you know, once they get done with the curriculum and then they have to go do the drive test. Historically there's been some significant delays with scheduling appointments with the DMV and so over the past few years, we've worked extensively with them on streamlining those making those delays come down significantly. And we're reminded by truck driving schools and drivers, hey, the delays are popping up again. And then we re engage with the DMV to come back know, hey, we need to streamline this. It's all about locations. There's a need for more locations throughout the state. 



But those are the types of issues that we've been able to partner with the DMV to address over the years. 



That is great. So tell me a little bit about diesel guys. A lot of us are facing shortages of diesel technicians. Is that the same in California? And what are you all doing with the state trucking association to really help try to bridge those gaps? 



It is something that it hasn't been brought up too much by our members, but I know it is an issue. Over the years, we've partnered with schools and kind of presented or provided a feeder program for when they're done with these technical colleges, there's opportunities for them. So that's always ongoing. We used to have, as part of our Truck Driving Championships, kind of a diesel tech competitions. I don't know why, but we got away from that. But it is something that maybe I'll get with the Truck Driving Championship steering committee and see if that's something we can resurrect not only to get them involved, but also showcase how important they are to making the trucks move on the road and keep them moving on the road. 



So to answer your question, it isn't really something that we've been getting a lot of calls about, but I know that there is a need for that throughout the state. 



Yeah, and speaking of your TDC, I think that's coming up in the next couple of weeks. Tell us a little bit about that in California and how many people typically come to your TDC. 



So we have a Southern California Truck Driving Championship that we just had the last weekend of April. We had over 500 competitors in different classes competing. And then we have the Northern California Truck Driving Championship on June 3 in West Sacramento, and then on June 4, the south and the north compete for the best of the best. This is one of those competitions, and I tip my hat to all the other state trucking associations and the Ata that does the national. But it's one of those things that you really enjoy attending and watching. Me, I wouldn't want to participate in it. I would do horrible competing in those concepts. 



But seeing the competitors there and the cheering sections from the company and their fellow employees and fellow drivers rooting them on, family members there, just cheering on mom and dad competing in this contest, and then the companies bringing in all the food, face painting stations for kids, bounce houses for kids. It's a great event. And it's one of those things that I wish there was a lot more exposure to it, but we've been doing ours for many years, and it's always one of those things that I always really like to go just check it out and just let them do their thing and highlight the winners and the competitors. But it's an awesome event. 



I can't believe so you have 500 that just compete in your Southern yeah. 



Just in Southern California we had over 500. I think we almost had over 600. But there was a glitch in the application process. So yeah, the south usually generates a lot more. We'll have a few hundred in California or for the Northern California? In West Sacramento. But it is one of those great events and seeing the big tents of know the carriers and their employees getting food and just hanging out, having a good time and then rooting their fellow drivers on is always an awesome thing to see. 



Well that's just incredible. Just all the families represented and the community just being able to be a part of such an amazing event. And that's what it's about, building pride for the industry, for the profession of trucking. And that is amazing that you guys have so many people. I'm having to think that might be one of the biggest ones in the country. 



Yeah, I think numbers wise, it probably is. I took a really good picture that I posted on LinkedIn about when I was up on the Flatbed trailer announcing some items and I just took a picture and it was just the number of drivers out in front of me. It was pretty impressive. 



That is so cool. Well, we'll have to talk about getting maybe more students to get to come to that and watch professionals. 



Our friend Dave, he's bringing up some students to volunteer on June 3 and fourth. So look forward to seeing him and meeting the students that he's bringing. But he offered to help and we said sure, come on by, so he'll be there. But it's one of those things where, unfortunately, this industry is so underappreciated and we have these truck driver appreciation events throughout the year during Truck Driver Appreciation Week. And when I attend those and hand the goodie bag to the drivers, small token and appreciation, but just letting them know thank you for what you do, and showing the appreciation of these people that move the economy, and anything we can do to highlight that is always a good thing. It's disappointing that it's not a more appreciated industry because let's face it, almost everybody receives all of their goods by truck. 



So how did it get there? By those truck drivers. So anytime that we get a chance to show appreciation is always just a great thing. 



Yeah, and one of the things that Gen Z, that attracts Gen Z to trucking is that it is an essential job and it actually makes a difference because we all learned during COVID that if we don't have truck drivers on the road, we don't have our supplies in the hospitals, we don't have food on the shelves. And so for a young person to say, I am an essential employee. And I'm a part of an industry that's bigger than a lot of other things out there that's important. And that's in a very important message for Gen Z to see, is that we are moving the country. We are providing all of the goods that you see. And so without trucking, our country really would fall apart. 



And so for you guys to be able to showcase that and for those young people to see that's huge. 



Yeah. And the other thing about the industry is how it's evolved on the technology side. And I love going many of our members have antique trucks. And so up where I live, there's always at the fairgrounds near me, they have the antique truck show. And I always like to go there and spend a full day there and walk around. And I really appreciate and admire the time these people go through to make sure that these trucks are vintage trucks look good. And you get inside the cab and it's literally two sticks to shift and the steering is tough. And so it was a tough job back then. You hop in the trucks now, they're automatic, they're comfortable, you have a nice seat to sit there, all the technology in front of you. 



And it's a lot different now, and it's a lot more you see the advancements that have been made in the trucks and what's housed in the cab as opposed to years ago, huge difference sitting in those seats. They're just really comfortable. And I'm not saying it's easy to drive a truck, but it's a lot easier when it's an automatic shift and you don't have to worry about all these other things. 



Yeah. And so in terms of autonomous trucking and taking trucking to be more of an operating job, what do you see that future to be? 



I think it has a lot of promise. I know that they have to go through some demonstrations, and in California, they're still pushing out regulations on testing, and I know it's been taking a lot of time to get those out, but you see it being demonstrated throughout the nation. I think we're a few years away on that, but it could be an opportunity down the road. 



Yeah. And I think it's going to make trucking safer. And I think in our lifetime, there's still going to be people operating unless they can get over the risk, there's still going to be people behind the wheel making sure everything's operating properly, just like in an airplane. And I really think that's going to make it even more attractive to young people to be a part of this amazing piece of machinery that they. 



Get to operate that and the technology involved in it. The generation you're talking about, they're all about technology. And there's a lot of technology advancements that are occurring in our industry. 



Yeah. So where do you all see in terms of workforce and driver shortage, diesel technician shortage, just young people in general. Where do you foresee the state of California? What direction do you guys see you headed in terms of your association and jobs and growth? 



Well, we need to get the younger generation to get them more involved, get them more aware of those opportunities that are in the trucking industry. It's a work in progress. You see, like I mentioned before, the need for drivers out there, we're going to have to fill them in some form or fashion. And the younger generation is ideally you'd like to get them involved in the industry, but we just have to do a better job on getting them more information about the industry, the opportunities that are there. Pay obviously is important and over the last few years you've seen a dramatic increase in pay, which is a great thing. And so pay is coming up, which is great, but just the technology advancements, getting job fairs, I mean everybody's hiring. So everybody's hiring and all these companies are hiring drivers. 



There's a huge need, there's a huge opportunity, the barrier to get into the industry. You don't have to go to multi year colleges and get this education. You go through the training program, obviously making sure that you're operating, it safe going through that you can get out on the road and start earning a good living after you go through the training. So I think just getting the younger generation more exposed, that's probably the word is exposed of these opportunities that are offered in our industry. 



Yeah, we've really shifted a focus of ours and not really shifted, it was always there, but just communicating. Part of our mission, part of our mission is to help create and start programs in high schools. But really a huge part of our mission is exposure, is educating about the industry, connecting those dots. And a lot of states are focusing career exploration now in middle school, so 7th and 8th grade career exploration. And I got an email today from one of my partners in Pennsylvania, and her mom works at a school system, and they're doing this whole big career exploration thing over the summer where all of these different professions are. Going to be interviewed, talk about their industry, so that when they start school in the fall, all of these industries are going to be represented. 



And there was nothing about trucking in this long list of jobs, right, police officer, firefighter surgeon, teacher, and I was looking through the list thinking there's nothing, diesel, tech, supply chain broker, truck driver, none of that. But there was beekeeper on there and I'm like, okay, hey, nothing against beekeeping, but I looked up and in the beekeeping industry, there's 16,000 employees in the beekeeping industry across the country. In trucking there's almost 8 million. And for us not even to be included in that list when we employ so many, that just means that we have a lot to do as an industry to get out in our communities. It's about building relationships with the schools in our backyard, making sure that trucking is represented in career fairs, in those career exploration classes, in field trips. 



Schools love to go on field trips, but they just need somebody to ask like, hey, we'd love for you to come on a field trip. Do you have some students that might be able to go on a field trip? So in terms of your membership and you guys have your future leaders, what kind of focus are you guys putting in terms of workforce and reaching the next generation? 



Just the various opportunities that are out there. And we've been trying to bolster up our program next gen to get more people aware and involved. But I do talking about the exposure with the schools and I think what your group is doing is extremely fantastic and it can be replicated throughout the nation, which I think it should. There's a lot of opportunities out there and we need to make sure that we're exposing people to these tremendous opportunities where it's a good paying job and then there's career advancement. I like to talk about some of our members, one in particular. Dad started with One Truck and worked tirelessly and now that company is now probably the largest family run trucking company that's left in California. But it all began with one truck. 



So you see these opportunities and you see the career advancement within these trucking companies that they climb the ladder. There's so many opportunities out there and I'm just excited about how we can get more people involved. And a lot of the things is a lot of people, the younger generation, they look at it and they say there's so many regulations. It's a highly regulated industry. The pilot program that's going on right now that's looking to see if we can lower the age down to 18 years old. I mean, everybody knows the example that in California, if you're hauling an intrastate load, you can drive from the bottom of the border or bottom of California all the way up to the top of California, but yet you can't haul a interstate load from truckee to Reno unless you're of age. 



And so I think it's extremely important, this pilot program, to identify where we can make that happen. And so it's going to be exciting to see how that unfolds. 



Yeah, and we really are hoping for more carriers to be a part of the Safe Driver Apprenticeship pilot program. And we're here as an association to help companies get involved in that program. So just want to extend that finger pointing at us. What's that? 



Are you finger pointing at us? I will do what I can to get more people. Trust me, it's definitely needed. 



Well, we're here to help if that is something that we can do to any of your members, if they're just kind of. On the fence and just want to talk about it. I can get in a meeting with them, connect them to some people that are in it and just see is that the right fit for them. It does seem daunting with all of the qualifications and the red tape, but it is doable. It is. 



Doable you offer to come and present at our June board meetings down south? 



Sure. 



Maybe we can arrange it. 



Yeah. There you'd love. I haven't been out to California in a while, so I'd love to come out to California and engage with your members. For sure. I think know kind of takes me back full circle. When you first started, when you were in fourth grade and you went to this truck rodeo and you were exposed, right. You had that moment of exposure that really kind of stayed in the back of your mind and you thought, maybe I want to do this. How do you think we as an industry can create more opportunities for that type of exposure? 



In my example, I even have the picture. It was in one of our magazines when they celebrated my 20th anniversary here. It's a picture of me with a Viking hat on and I buck teeth and a feather cut. But it's one of those things I was always fascinated with the industry and how do things get moved from here to there? How do these big structures or equipment, how do they build homes? What's the equipment that's utilized to construct those homes? And I've always just been fascinated about all of the segments of what they in the industry and what they know. Our heavy haul members, one of them hauled the space shuttle so he was the hauler of the space shuttle to the museum down south. Cool california's green initiatives with the windmill towers. 



Many of our heavy haul members are always hauling those towers that are extremely long in length and they have to go on certain routes to get there. And just all these big things that they move. And just to think that this industry moves those transformers and talking about the advanced clean fleet rule coming up and the need for expanding California's infrastructure to charge vehicles. How are those power transformers going to get moved? Well, they're going to get moved by the truck industry. So just going back and just looking at those and how things are getting transported was always kind of something that I was always interested in. I'm not saying everybody else is like that, but I do think that people do. They appreciate the industry showing that the opportunities are there and just getting them acclimated on. 



A lot of our members do the touch a truck campaigns and always seeing the younger generation coming out there and getting up in the cab and seeing what's in the cab and walking around the truck. I always think those are really cool events to get the younger generation exposed to it and not saying it's going to lead to them wanting to be in the industry, but they're going to remember that day when they are touching the truck and seeing what it takes to move stuff. 



Yeah, that's right. And we are promoting all of these things as an association. And so definitely be on the lookout because we are creating different resources that we'll have on our website soon that will showcase how to do these types of events easily. I'm actually in the process right now of creating some coloring pages so you can go onto our website, print those out and make 100 copies and when you go to an event, have a stack of coloring pages about trucking. So any type of exposure to young people is what it's all about. And it's about planning the seed. I like to tell people too, we're a long term investment, right. Somebody told me once, oh well, I need 50 drivers tomorrow. And I'm like, well, that's not what we're about. 



We're about changing the problem at the root of the problem and really starting that exposure, creating these programs, training young people. And we feel like if we get young people interested and excited about our industry as opposed to plumbing or welding, then we are going to help change the image of trucking. We're going to get people excited and choosing trucking as their first career choice and not their fourth career choice. And so we really have to start planting those seeds and creating these programs and creating these career pathways for young people to get in our industry and employed on our industry. So is there any last things before we go that you'd like to share? 



Well, I actually wanted to hijack the interview and turn it around and ask how did you get your group started? What led to your group getting started? 



Yeah, honestly, we're really grassroots movement. So I have been in Trucking twelve years now and I started off doing driver staffing. I'm in Kentucky. I opened up our branch in Kentucky and got business. But at that point I was really falling in love with trucking. I loved the fact that one day I'd be in a paper plant, the next day I'd be at a granite, a warehouse that housed all this granite. The next day I'd be at a lumber mill. That was really cool to me. It hits every type of industry, but the biggest problem was always the driver shortage, the aging workforce, and part of that as well as I got involved with the Kentucky Trucking Association and I sit on their board of directors and everybody is facing these problems, right. And these are the conversations that we have constantly. 



And then I went to work for Ryder. Well, add to the mix, we need more diesel technicians. Rider is always trying to hire diesel technicians and they have so many employees that work for their company for 40 years as a diesel technician, as those very valuable employees retire, who are we putting in to backfill those positions? And so, as a part of both of those organizations, I started helping a community college start their CDL program in the state of Kentucky. Then I helped my local high school start their diesel tech program. So really getting interested in working with young people, it's super fun, I have to tell you. And then I was having this conversation at a conference and somebody mentioned Dave Dyne, and I was like, there is answer, right? We have this problem. It's a glaring problem. 



Why isn't there like a cohesive solution, right? There's a lot of solutions here and there, but can we come together as an industry to form a cohesive solution? And Dave and I started talking and dreaming up the idea of creating the association. So we almost have been launched for two years, but we're all volunteers, so we're just doing this out of our spare time. I worked a lot of Saturdays trying to get everything off the ground. And then a little bit over a year ago, I was able to go full time with the association. And it's all about the mission. It's all about raising awareness and helping schools create these programs. And one of the funnest things that it kind of turned into is we really did create this for the industry, right, because we saw this problem. 



But what we found is that the biggest difference that this made is for that young person that found a career that they're good at, that they're succeeding, now they can see a future for themselves. And we really literally see every day these young people's lives changed because of a career in trucking and their future now their hope that they have because of the trucking industry. So it really turned into, well, yeah, we're doing this for the young person because we want them to get connected to the great careers we have to better their lives and to get them on the right path. And so that's a really long no. 



It'S a great story. And the commitment and the passion from you and Dave, it's just great. I mean, if we could just bottle that up and we'd solve this issue. But I've always been impressed with what you guys are doing there and I always appreciate when we're able to collaborate on things. 



Yeah. And that's why I'm thinking, like, your next gen leaders, I'd love to have a virtual meeting with them and think of some initiatives for them to start working in reaching the next generation because they're the future leaders. This next generation is going to be their future employees, right? And so trying to spark that passion with your leaders and another thing that we've been doing is creating internal next gen committees at companies. So, for instance, I met with FedEx today and it was their recruiting managers over their four districts and what markets can we target to create next gen initiatives for your company? And this isn't about us next gen, it's about their next gen initiatives. 



What are they going to do to invest in their communities and invest in these young people to expose them to the careers that they can offer them, whether that's a field trip, touch a truck event, career fair that their employees are involved in. It really is about the community outreach and really selling this as a community outreach, as giving back. It's not like, hey, this is all about me as an employee poyer. It's about what can I do to give back? And I really think workforce development is where it's at. And I think that there's a lot of great things about cancer research and how we can give as an industry to those great causes, but this is also a great cause. Bettering our state, bettering our country, bettering our industry by investing in young people. 



Well said. No, it's one of those things that getting people exposed, providing them with a pathway. That's what it's all about. And talking about the industry, our members, every year, I think collectively, through raising money, they always raise around $3,000 for various charities. And it's one of the things that has kept me excited to still be with these members, is just they're good people. They're employers, they're job creators, they provide a lot of jobs and they're very supportive of their communities. And so that's kind of how I was raised. And I think it's just been a natural fit for me in this association. 



Yeah, that's another thing that I have fallen in love with trucking for, is the people. The people are really down to earth, salt of the earth people who care about what they do and want to give back and want to make the industry and their area just better. And so it's exciting to talk with you today and to learn a little bit more of California and what your initiatives are. And your members, they're super lucky to have you as their leader and all the great things that you're doing and continue to do for the state of California and for oh, thank you. 



Thanks for having me. 



Yeah, thanks for being on this show and looking forward to connecting. 



Thanks. Take care.