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I read the chairman’s profile of Kevin Burch (10-10, p. 1), and quite frankly, he is a man after my own industry heart — and others should feel the same way.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week was Sept. 11–17 last year here in America. It is recognized as a time to honor and acknowledge the nation’s truck drivers for their dedication and hard work and for putting up with extraordinarily challenging working conditions throughout the year.

You don’t have to be a diesel mechanic to know that extended idling is bad for business. Frequent or prolonged idling increases emissions, wastes fuel and puts unnecessary wear on your engine. That’s why, due in large part to increasingly strict emissions standards, the trucking industry has seen a dramatic increase in idle-reduction technologies.

In truck and rail tankers and beyond, chemically bonded phosphate ceramics can stop corrosion, improve safety, extend equipment life and minimize maintenance and downtime.

In a time of business growth, trucking companies may find themselves trying to keep up with increasing demands, including fleet management needs. Regardless of whether the business grows organically or through a merger or acquisition, you need to find a way to manage the needs of your business and customers. However, simply adding more vehicles to your fleet isn’t always the right answer. Sometimes, it comes down to “addition by subtraction.”

A year ago, I stood before you in Philadelphia and accepted the title of chairman of American Trucking Associations. It has been a tremendous honor to be your chairman at such a critical time for our industry.

A few weeks ago, I was on a conference call organized by a transportation industry association. Invited on the call were woman- owned trucking companies gathered to address a Small Business Administration proposed rule change. After the call, a few people contacted me to ask why some on the call were not certified women- owned businesses nor certified Women-Owned Small Business.

One thing we’ll start to hear more about in the coming months is the next administration’s first 100 days in the Oval Office. It’s an opportunity to articulate a vision and begin executing new goals. As ATA’s new president and CEO, I’m nearing the end of my first hundred days in office and it has been an exciting time for me and our leadership team. There have been meetings to take and calls to make and all that goes into starting a new job, but we’ve hit the ground running to start securing victories for the trucking industry.

You can’t work in the trucking industry for long without realizing the interconnectedness of the trucking world — goods with communities, roads with ports, airports and railways, regulations across international and provincial borders and municipal boundaries, you name it. Another connection may not be immediately apparent: Canada’s National Trucking Week and “Jake” brakes.

As officers of American Trucking Associations, we are tasked with guiding the professional management of ATA and representing ATA at our federation partners’ meetings and industry events. In recent years, we also have assigned an officer as steward of ATA’s most prominent and important programs. For example, First Vice Chairman Kevin Burch has overseen our industry image movement, Trucking Moves America Forward, while Second Vice Chairman Dave Manning is our officer contact for LEAD ATA, our emerging leaders program. As part of this effort, I have the honor to be the officer serving as liaison to the ATA Technology & Maintenance Council, or TMC.