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it wasn’t my call.
“Now it is.” AT A GlANCE
“The impressive part about know-
ing her this long, what I’ve seen is she Shannon Samples Newton
asks the smart questions and worries
less about looking smart and more BIRThDATE: Feb. 19, 1979
about being smart,” Bill Vickery says.
“She’s going to look you over and listen, hoMETowN: Benton
and she’s going to ask, ‘Now, why are CuRRENT hoME: Bryant
you doing it this way?’ She’ll ask the fAMIly: Husband, Josh; children Nash (7) and Nyla (6)
penetrating question.”
CollEGE: University of Central Arkansas, bachelor’s degrees in accounting
Beyond the Boss and computer information systems
Having grown up as a third- ouTSIDE woRk INTERESTS: “I’m a sports fan. We like the Razorbacks.
generation Bentonite and now living We watch every game on TV. I love Fantasy Football, I have two trophies
in Bryant with her husband and two in my office. I do follow the NFL more than college football …And I love
children, Newton describes herself as the horse races. I was almost born at the races. My mom went to the
“quintessentially Saline County.” Her track on Feb. 18, they had a car accident coming home and she was in
life outside the ATA office is tied up labor the next day. We’ve always gone to the races in Hot Springs. I took
with getting her kids off to school, she a personal day to go to opening day this year.”
said. A Friday night ritual, Newton says, MoRE lIkE MoM oR DAD? “Actually, I’m probably more like my
is eating as a family while running into grandmother, my dad’s mom, Ruth Samples. She was college-educated
friends at Larry’s Pizza. “It’s just about a and taught civics. If you were to draw a parallel, it comes from her, my
mile from our house.” boldness, my confidence. She always believed in me, pushed me, nothing
Her husband, Josh, is an attorney was ever ‘good enough’ for her. She and I had a special relationship. She
for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. passed in 2006.”
Their children are seven-year-old Nash
and six-year-old Nyla. “I grew up with fAVoRITE MuSIC? “Top 40 of both pop and country. I bought the new
an alliteration name, Shannon Samples. Taylor Swift CD. I still buy CDs. My two favorite channels on Pandora are
I decided I wanted my kids to have the my Taylor Swift channel and Keith Urban channel. I spend hundreds and
same kind of alliteration name. Those hundreds of hours listening to Pandora.”
were ‘N’ names that we liked,” she said. you’RE A GAMER? “yes. I’m kind of a gamer. I like to win. We play
“Whatever names we were to select had games a lot …board games, cards, Wii. I love all the strategy games. I
to sound good, as though they were could sit down and play some puzzle on my phone for 45 minutes and not
being introduced as the starting for- stop. There’s a lot of competition at the house. My husband played col-
ward for the Arkansas Razorbacks. So lege basketball at UCA and still plays competitive basketball.”
my husband would announce them very fAVoRITE TV ShowS? “I’m a big Bachelor fan and we have a weekly
animated, long drawn-out way. Those watch party. on a less embarrassing note, my husband and I watch
names passed the test.” Parenthood, The Mentalist, Person of Interest.”
An early reconciler of her own
checkbook, Newton said she went to whAT ARE youR AwAy-fRoM-woRk PlANS foR 2015?
college intent on being an accountant. “I run. I’m training for the half-marathon in the Little Rock Marathon
Before the job opened at ATA to man- [Feb. 28 – Mar. 1, 2015]. I have never run 13.1 miles. I’m up to eight miles
age the self insurers’ fund, Newton now without stopping, and that’s a long way.”
was recruited out of UCA to work in
the payroll department at Maverick
Transportation. going,” Newton said. That ritual started “I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have a
In the small office at the Victory in high school. self insurers’ fund.” Today, 56 members
Building on Capitol Avenue, the other “My life is overcommitted and pool together for that fund, she said.
office employees joke with her about her under-resourced,” she says with a laugh. The fund became a membership driver
being constantly on the go, born out by She may be the association’s presi- for the association, providing a tangible
“a well-documented fact that I leave the dent, but she still does the job she was benefit for smaller trucking companies.
house with no makeup on and put it originally hired to do, and looking back
on in the car whenever I get where I’m she calls it her “baby” while adding, 

arkansas trucking rePort | issue 1 2015 29