Page 50 - ATR 5 2020 digital

over 19 million miles on Arkansas high-
ways with a DOT accident frequency
rate of .15 per million miles driven.
After lunch, reports were given for
ATA finances, membership, workers’
compensation, governmental affairs
and councils. Mark Morris, president
of Morris Transportation Services, was
introduced as the new chairman of
ATA’s Board of Directors. Other new
board members were also ratified:
Justin Fink of Summit Truck Group will
replace Steve Walton of Southern Tire
Mart in one of the board’s allied posi-
tions. Gabe Stephens will replace his  Jamie Porter (SmartDrive Systems)
mother Vicki Jones Stephens, represent- visits with Tracy Rainey and Logan
ing C.C. Jones, Inc. Morris (Morris Transportation Services)
Arkansas Highway Police Officers
Tim Gushing and Seth Debord were  Rep. Steve Womack
in attendance on Monday morning to
greet early guests and answer enforce-
ment questions.
This year’s event was made pos-
sible by 13 Gold Sponsors and 13 Silver
Sponsors. An exclusive Gold Sponsor
reception was held on Monday night
nearby at the Supply Chain Hall of
Fame Event Center.
Silver sponsors had an opportunity
to engage attendees in industry discus-
sion at Tuesday morning’s Silver Summit
breakfast, where a variety of industry
topics were on the menu.  Joe Quinn (Arkansas Good
Roads Foundation) on the Vote for
During Tuesday’s luncheon, ATA Roads panel
President Shannon Newton took the
stage again to laud the leaders in the
room for their hard work over the past  Michelle Hanby (Intellistop Corp.) and Sarah Sheets (ATA)
few months and to name the challenges
trucking has faced in order to keep
serving communities. Then she yielded
the spotlight to a video that traced
the industry’s heroic response to crisis
that caught the attention and praise of
citizens all over the country. Newton’s
voice narrated the headlines on the
screen and how problem-solvers mobi-
lized to keep wheels moving. She told
the story of how trucking does what it
always does — a job well done despite the
obstacles. Much like the ATA 2020 busi-
ness conference itself — a job well done
despite the obstacles. ATR

50 Issue 5 2020 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT