American Trucking Associations

He was also a member of the Transportation Lawyers Association, where he frequently lectured at conferences and seminars.

He was elected the board of directors of the American Trucking Association and served on his executive committee as an advisor to the ATA Litigation Center.

Martin served his community as a president of the United Way of Allen County, as a board chairman of the Lutheran Hospital of Indiana, and as a adjunct professor of legal studies at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne.

A member of the Trinity English Lutheran Church, he was a former chair of the church council, member of the finance committee, and chair or member of numerous call committees and fundraising campaign committees.

let me be the first to say, I'm sure you've already heard this, Craig, but absolutely.

So the challenge we have at the American Trucking Association is that long-time head Chris Spears is no longer there.

He's left before the end of his contract, and there's still a lot of uncertainty there, but there is this gap.

There is this Craig Fuller-sized gap at the American Trucking Association Don't even

say it.

Don't tease it.

It remains the eighth most dangerous job in the country.

So it's a dangerous job, very, very low barriers to enter.

but it takes hard work to be one of the best of the best.

So, um, and, uh, it's just a real honor and privilege to be beyond the team because always like stuff that's, you know, America's truck, American trucking association, America's road team captain, you know, always like the stuff with the America in it.

So,

uh,

uh, and, um, but to be a road team captain means that I've, I've done my job well to, um, to be on this team and to, um, and to meet all the different people in the industry, you know, uh, all the people that's on the American Trucking Association get to meet all them.

And I've met, um, I've met congressmen, uh, in, uh, that's interested in you know the trucking part of the country and uh wanting to try their best to help make life better out here on the road you know so um for us drivers so but but to be on this team it's really an honor and a privilege and you know i'm humbled to be on the team

yeah yeah absolutely and you know, being on the team, you get the opportunity to speak with the public about, you know, sharing the road and, uh, you know, with the commercial vehicles and, you know, what, what is the biggest misconception that, you know, uh, being a road team captain that you try to, uh, correct.

Trump deregulation, totally different.

Because you're fighting against both the teamsters that have organized all the over-the-road truckers and the American Trucking Association, which I could never understand.

They want government off our backs.

And when you say, fine, we'll deregulate you and you can go wherever you want and haul whatever you want and charge.

You may not use diesel, but the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the other goods you buy are pretty much all transported across the country via diesel trucks, not to mention the fact that farming equipment uses diesel.

According to the American Trucking Association, nearly 73% of the nation's freight shipments are done by truck, and nearly all transport trucks use diesel gas.

Since the start of the war, diesel prices have gone from $3.76 a gallon to $5.90. That's a 57% increase.

There are estimates that this will hit $6 very soon.

However, we like to talk about is using this as strategic investment for your company.

And I know, for example, the American Trucking Association, the Virginia Trucking Association, there's so many good groups out there to be part of that...

You can't afford not to be there based on if you looked at the cost of a membership, right, compared to the ROI that you're getting.

Because, for example, let's say you wanted to hire a lobbyist to advocate on your behalf.

I'm going to emphasize for our listeners here, the traffic clubs and the transportation clubs of big cities, you will find shippers, you will find brokers, you will find rail, you will find equipment providers, you'll find technology.

They are all at these locations.

The trucking associations, the federal one, the American Trucking Associations, but also every state one.

There's the Chambers of Commerce.