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The National Truck Equipment Association was (NTEA) one of four trade associations for the specialty work truck industry that took part in the industry’s first ever Leadership Conference held in October. NTEA, which organized the event, was joined by the Truck Trailer Manufacturer’s Association (TTMA), the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) and the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA).
“We really consider this event a success,” Michael Kastner, director of government relations for NTEA told Lawn & Landscape. “I recently spoke with representatives of the other associations that were involved regarding some of the things we’d like to follow up on with NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), in terms of research and issue information we can provide for them.”
| NTEA ANNOUNCES COLIN POWELL AS KEYNOTE SPEAKER |
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – General Colin Powell (Ret.) will present the keynote address at the 42nd Annual National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) Convention held in conjunction with The Work Truck Show 2006. He will make his speech during the President’s Breakfast and NTEA Annual Meeting on the morning of Thursday, March 2, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. In the culmination of a long career in public service, Powell became the 65th secretary of state in January 2001. He had previously served as a key aide to the secretary of defense and as national security advisor to President Ronald Reagan. Powell spent 35 years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of four-star general and serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. Throughout his military career, which began in ROTC when he attended the City College of New York, Powell has received numerous military awards and decorations, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Soldier’s Medal, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. His civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the President’s Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. The President’s Breakfast and NTEA Annual Meeting is open to all show attendees by ticket only. Tickets are $45 for NTEA members and $65 for nonmembers if purchased by Jan. 9, 2006. Prices increase by $10 Jan. 10 and again Feb. 14. A ticket to the meeting is also included in the Complete Event Package (which also covers admission to all three days of the show, all educational conference sessions and the opening reception). The Complete Event Package is $235 for NTEA members and $315 for nonmembers if purchased by Jan. 9. Prices for the package increase by $30 on Jan. 10 and again on Feb. 14. The Work Truck Show runs March 1 to 3, 2006, with the Convention (including nearly 40 educational sessions) starting Feb. 28. Produced annually by the NTEA, the event brings together vocational truck fleet managers, truck buyers and maintenance personnel from throughout the Class 1 through 8 markets with hundreds of the manufacturers, distributors and upfitters that produce the trucks and equipment so critical to the work they do. In this single location, attendees check out the latest full-size work trucks and equipment while examining individual vehicle components offered by more than 400 suppliers. For details and to register, visit www.ntea.com or call 1-800-441-NTEA (6832). |
NHTSA was one of several agencies that attendees to the Leadership Conference met with during the event. The group also met at the White House with a Jess Sharp, special assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and also spoke with House Small Business Committee Chairman Dan Manzullo and members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee staff.
Among the issues discussed, Kastner says, was the early warning reporting system put in place by NHTSA, which requires reporting on consumer complaints and defects on vehicles. “It’s a data-driven regulation, which makes perfect sense for passenger cars,” Kastner says. “For instance, there are tens of thousands of Honda Accords on the roads, and if there was a problem with brakes or steering you’d be able to see a trend across that segment. However, if you’re only building one or two specialized work trucks, there’s really no data trend that can be developed, but the industry still has to report the same way as Honda would. We think there could be some changes made to that type of regulation and we’re working on finding ways to communicate with NHTSA more about how our industry works and our reasoning behind these changes.”
The Leadership Conference provided representatives of participating associations an opportunity to discuss these and other specific concerns of their industry segments at the highest levels of the federal government. The conference was also designed to strengthen the relationships these associations have established in the past with one another and with the government.
“The Leadership Conference was was really designed as an educational effort on both sides – between the government and ourselves,” Kastner says. “It’s really geared at letting various levels of governement – the administration, regulatory agencies and Congress – learn more about us and give us a chance to solicit how we can better present our issues to them. The event was successful at all levels and we hope it’s the first of many Leadership Conferences to come.”