Page 48 - ATR 3 2022 digital

Kenworth in Little Rock, Ark., will fill
one of two 2-year allied positions. Brad
Hicks will replace Craig Harper, who
has represented J.B. Hunt Transport
Services on the ATA board of directors
since 2009.
American Trucking Associations’
Chairman Harold Sumerford, CEO of
J&M Tank Lines, took the stage for the
first forum sharing his experience as
“Trucking’s Team Captain.” Sumerford
talked about the issues on trucking’s
radar and which ones the national
trucking group has prioritized during  Author Ken Gronbach (KGC Direct LLC)
his tenure. Sumerford also talked about
his personal experience with grow-
ing cybersecurity threats. In 2019, his
company was attacked twice. After get-
ting his main systems back online and
working with the FBI, his cybersecurity  ATA’s Shannon Newton
budget went from $0 to $85,000 annu- welcomes attendees to the 2022
ally. The attacks cost him $325,000 in Annual Business Conference &
downtime and other complications. He Vendor Showcase
now encourages carriers to invest in
securing their operations.
Then, demographer Ken Gronbach
presented insights from his most recent
book Upside: Profiting from the Profound  American Trucking Associations’
Demographic Shifts Ahead about the Chairman Harold Sumerford (J&M Tank
populations around the world, why the Lines)
U.S. is positioned for cultural and eco-  Dr. Alex Leslie (American
nomic excellence and how workforces Transportation Research Institute)
are changing. At the conclusion of his
presentation, Gronbach met attendees
for the Happy Hour Huddle to answer  Tyler Majors (PAM Transport), Mike
questions and autograph books. McNutt (Distribution Solutions, Inc.), Al
This year’s event was made possible Heringer IV (Star Transportation), Mark
Morris (Morris Transportation Services),
by 16 gold sponsors and 20 silver spon- Joe Vitiritto (PAM Transport) and Alan
sors. An exclusive Gold Sponsor recep- Riels (Dedicated Logistics)
tion was held Wednesday night at The
Reserve — once the iconic W.C. Brown
House, a former private mansion and
national heritage landmark, that has
been restored and operates as a bou-
tique hotel overlooking Oaklawn.
Silver sponsors hosted Thursday
morning’s Breakfast of Champions,
where attendees fueled up before the
Day 2 forums.
In the first three forums of the day,
the stage was set for calculations from a
roster of expert speakers.
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48 Issue 3 2022 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT