While I like to think I feel grateful throughout the year, I am not sure I always do a great job of expressing my gratitude. Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate time for me to share the many things for which I am grateful.

Most of what I am grateful for has to do with people. The trucking industry is filled with so many wonderful people who overwhelmingly prefer to collaborate rather than bicker to solve problems and make our industry better. I am not saying we don’t disagree among the various industry players, but I continue to be amazed at how often the various sides of an issue sit down together to come up with a workable solution that is best for fleets and for the customers they serve. This has been especially true in the zero-emission vehicle space as we are seeing long-time industry participants and new tech startups working together to see that EV deployment scales quickly.

This year I am particularly grateful to the fleets and OEMs that participated in Run on Less— Electric. Electric truck development is in its early stages and yet these early adopters were willing to give the entire industry an inside look at what they are doing with EVs—warts and all. No new technology is 100% perfect coming out of the box and EVs are no different. But these 13 fleets and their OEM partners were willing to share the benefits and challenges of deploying EVs for the good of the industry. I am also grateful to the many companies that step up to help sponsor the Run; we could not have done it without their support.

I am also grateful for the support of the NACFE board of directors, advisory board and our technical advisory committee for their insights that help me steer NACFE’s work in the right direction. It is hard to put a dollar value on their advice and counsel and I am grateful that they take time from their busy lives to help guide NACFE as we navigate the messy middle.

I am also grateful and humbled to have been named an industry influencer by FleetOwner. Over the last 11 years, the NACFE team has worked very hard to spread the fuel efficiency gospel and extend the scope of NACFE into emerging technologies like EVs and autonomous vehicles. Being told that we walk the talk of improving freight efficiency is something I am proud of and grateful that our efforts have been recognized.

See also: FleetOwner's top industry influencers

I am also grateful that the NACFE team is once again able to be out and about attending industry events and speaking face-to-face (with proper social distancing and masks as required) the industry stakeholders. We learn so much when we have the opportunity to talk to you over a cup of coffee, a soda or an adult beverage. We get to learn more about your real-world challenges to improving efficiency and we use that information in the work we do throughout the year. The COVID-19 pandemic made us realize just how important industry gatherings are to us.

As you can see, I have a lot to be grateful for and I suspect each of you does as well. Take a moment this Thanksgiving to reflect on what you are grateful for and share that gratitude with those around you.

Michael Roeth has worked in the commercial vehicle industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. He currently serves on the second National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies and Approaches for Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles and has held various positions in engineering, quality, sales and plant management with Navistar and Behr/Cummins.