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Four decades ago, my career in trucking commenced. I joined Cargo Transporters in 1986 as a driver supervisor at a western North Carolina company with three dozen trucks. Today, Cargo Transporters has expanded to more than 500 trucks, operates in the 48 contiguous states and employs 600 people.

I am blessed to have grown alongside this family-run business, which believed in me and gave me tools to succeed. I have benefited enormously from the guidance of my mentors and forged enduring friendships at my company and through .

I also have profound appreciation for our incredible industry. That appreciation stems from my admiration for the men and women who keep our country moving. I firmly believe that our people are our greatest resource; their talent, ingenuity, compassion and — above all — capacity for hard, honest work define our industry.

Over the past year, I have felt deep gratitude and pride representing America’s 8.4 million truckers as ATA’s 80th chairman. It has been among the most rewarding and memorable experiences of my career.

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My tenure was defined by seismic shifts in the political and regulatory landscapes. Just weeks after the 2024 Management Conference & Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn., voters delivered a clear mandate that altered our country’s trajectory. With new leadership installed in Washington, ATA renewed our case for policymakers to eliminate regulatory roadblocks and tackle the most pressing challenges our industry faces.

During inauguration week, I testified on Capitol Hill to lay out trucking’s priorities. As Congress began discussing long-term funding for the nation’s surface transportation programs, I put our requests front and center. I advocated for substantial investments in our transportation network and our workforce.

In the following months, trucking scored notable legislative and regulatory victories. First was the defeat of unachievable, prohibitively expensive electric truck mandates. Congress ended California’s detached-from-reality rulemakings that would have imposed devastating economic consequences on American businesses and families. I was proud to be at the White House when President Donald Trump signed this legislation. Soon after, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin rolled back the Phase 3 greenhouse gas rule, restoring common sense to national emissions standards.

These actions enabled our industry to resume our environmental progress, which has resulted in modern trucks producing 99% fewer nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions than those on the road decades ago. Today, 60 trucks emit what just one truck did in 1988.

A second victory was passage of the landmark Big Beautiful Bill. ATA helped shape this pro-business, pro-growth reform to tax policy, which includes permanently lowered corporate and individual tax rates, restoration of 100% bonus depreciation for new equipment, alternative fuel tax credits, and flexibility for 529 plans and Pell Grants to be used for CDL and technician training. These provisions will help trucking companies plan ahead.

These accomplishments and many more are compelling reminders of what trucking is capable of when we work together. Our strength — and our success — can be attributed to our unity.

Over the past year, I was privileged to address trucking groups from Anchorage, Alaska, to Key West, Fla. I joined my fellow North Carolinians on Capitol Hill for ATA’s Call on Washington. I even traveled across the Atlantic to meet with the European Commission, European Parliament and the International Road Transport Union. I was reminded of the vast diversity of trucking; despite our differences, we share a goal of moving freight safely and efficiently.

For many in trucking, the past few years have been exceedingly difficult. As a word of encouragement to those struggling, I would say you are not alone. Lean on your colleagues. Get involved in your state trucking associations and ATA. Make your voice heard.

I know firsthand the opportunities trucking gives individuals to provide for their families and attain the American dream. By supporting one another, drawing on the capabilities of our people and combining the power of our advocacy, we can influence the future of our industry and ensure it remains strong for the next generation.

is president and CEO of Claremont, N.C.-based .