When Gary Salisbury was elected chairman of the Truckload Carriers Assn. (TCA) this past March, one of his stated goals was to improve the industry’s image. The president & CEO of Fikes Truck Line launched a public image campaign and TCA set up a web page where donations to assist the campaign are accepted.
But on July 15, during TCA’s Refrigerated Division Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Tamaya Resort in Albuquerque, N.M., Salisbury and TCA received a surprise gift of help.
Mark Hazelwood, executive vice president of Pilot Flying J, wrapped up his speech on diesel fuel by announcing that his company wanted to help clean up trucking’s image as well, and to help do that, Pilot Flying J was making a $10,000 donation to the campaign.
“Image is a huge deal; it’s massive. We could just sit back and do nothing about it, but Gary is right – we need a good, strong, healthy image to put the steering wheel back in our hands. That’s why Pilot Flying J will be donating $10,000 to TCA’s extremely important public image campaign,” Hazelwood said.
TCA’s campaign has included a TV commercial, promotion of a country singer who sings about trucking, and a bi-weekly radio segment.
“We have to show the general public the wonderful things about trucking that all of us in the industry already know,” Hazelwood said. “I challenge travel centers and others who make their living through the trucking industry to match or beat Pilot Flying J’s contribution.”
