The National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC) just celebrated the 25th anniversary of its annual conference last week in Nashville, Tennessee and BigRoad was extremely excited to be a part of the event this year – having been a strong supporter of the association since we became a company back in 2012.
If you are a small trucking company and haven’t heard of NASTC, you should check them out. Led by President David Owen, the NASTC team has been acting as an advocate for small trucking companies since 1989.
Leading a strong lobbying effort, NASTC serves as a source for collective buying power for its member companies. NASTC exists to help its member companies control their costs so they can grow, prosper and remain a significant force in the transportation industry.
Currently representing over 5,000+ full truckload, long haul, irregular route, for-hire carriers in 48 states, NASTC is committed to safety, compliance and technological advancements that improve – and simplify – small fleet transportation needs.
And that commitment adds up to 60,000+ power units and drivers in that group. No small task when the competitive edge for small trucking companies has all but eroded over the last few years.
Enter BigRoad. Partnering for the last 4 years, NASTC and BigRoad have worked together to ensure that member companies have access to safety and compliance technology that assists with hours of service regulation while delivering business efficiencies to the bottom line.
And for the 4th year in a row, BigRoad was honored to exhibit our electronic logging solutions at the annual NASTC event as well as headline two key breakout sessions led by CEO and Co-founder Terry Frey. Along with Jeff Davis, President of Fleet Safety Services LLC, their presentation on Hours of Service Technology was standing room only!
Even though we were super busy at the booth, it wasn’t all business for BigRoad at the 25th annual NASTC event! The BigRoad team in attendance in Nashville got to meet some amazing folks during the luncheons, dinners and cocktail hours.
One exciting industry pioneer we met was Ellen Voie, President and CEO of Women In Trucking (WIT), a non-profit formed to promote the employment of women in the trucking industry. BigRoad is now a proud member of WIT and is very much looking forward to how we can help Ellen with her drive to get more women in trucking.
And we can’t forget about the fantastic keynote speakers during this great event. One man that stood out for me was Dan Baker, a nationally known speaker, teacher and consultant to the trucking industry. Dan’s message was clear ‘ if you are in the trucking business, you are in the people business – and don’t ever forget it.’ With much humor, Dan celebrated the accomplishments of the truckers to date and noted how this current crop of road warriors is paving the way for the next generation and their technology-driven mindset.
Following in this vein, another inspiring keynote speaker was Dr. Gerald Bell, of the Bell Leadership Institute.
Highlighting the trailblazing efforts of the trucking community, particularly poignant was Dr. Bell’s acknowledgement of the twelve NASTC Drivers of the Year.
These men – and one woman – embody the very leadership qualities that make the trucking industry so extraordinary. Having accumulated upwards of 44M accident-free miles and over 400 years of driving experience – no small feat!
As NASTC President David Owen noted, ‘that’s 184 trips to the moon and 1,763 trips around the world. A better safety record than NASA and a thousand times farther than Magellan!’
And in the spirit of making miles and running on long trips, the BigRoad crew did what it does best – we drove the BigRoad truck from our office in Canada across the border in Detroit and down through 4 beautiful states to reach the NASTC event in Nashville. And we did it all using the BigRoad engine-connected DashLink logging solution.
With four BigRoad’ers in the bright orange Dodge Ram, we had our own little version of team driving and engine-connected hours of service logging! We even had two newbies onboard – breaking them in and showing them how it’s done.
BigRoad had a wonderful time at the 25th Annual NASTC Conference and is looking forward to the 2016 event already.
It was such a successful event, we’re back in Nashville meeting up with NASTC for more collaboration and follow up from all the interest BigRoad got at the show.
If you are a small trucking company and need some help and guidance managing some of the challenging industry changes, don’t hesitate to connect with your friends at NASTC today.
Looking to try BigRoad out and see what all the fuss is about? Download our free trial and join the elog fun!
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