TEAM Safe Trucking End of the Year President’s Message
“Strong Times Create Weak Men, Tough Times Create Strong Men”
Greetings all,
I hope this holiday season finds everyone well. We at TEAM Safe Trucking realize it’s been a tough year for most in the forest products industry. With mill closures and slowdowns, rising insurance and fuel costs, and the lack of good help, we have all felt some part of the struggle. Although we do not know when this downward trend in our line of work will change, we have to keep in mind how cyclical our economy and industry are. I believe that if we stick together, we will get through this and come out stronger.
TEAM Safe Trucking has also had a challenging year, but we have successfully overcome several obstacles that were holding us back. We hired a new Special Projects Coordinator and restructured TST to be more stable in the future. Our website has also been updated to make it easier to navigate. One of our goals is to help with an expense of concern for many of us…trucking insurance. We have all seen the cost of our premiums steadily increase, but some don’t realize that driver training can help alleviate some of this burden. By watching and learning from our training videos, drivers can improve their safety while on the road, which in turn will help improve your Safer Score with FMCSA. This score directly affects the cost of your trucking insurance.
If we, as business owners and leaders in our industry, don’t take charge of our destiny, who knows what the future will hold? Remember, it cannot and will not happen overnight – it will take time to change, but all good things take time. With the help of TEAM Safe Trucking, I feel we can all work together to change the tide and start to bring these premiums down. There is strength in numbers, as our name says “Together Everyone Accomplishes More (TEAM)”. If you have not already done so, please consider joining TST (admin@teamsafetrucking.com) and making us your “go-to” for forest products transportation safety training. With your support and commitment, we will continually work to improve our course offerings and your safety ratings. Safety costs money now but pays dividends later, so why not make an investment in your future today?
Wrapping up, I would like to sincerely thank all of the members and users of TEAM Safe Trucking, our Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee for all of your help with the restructuring this past year. We have come a long way and are ready to drive forward even stronger. I also want to extend a huge thank you to one of my right hands, Wendy Harrell, the Special Projects Coordinator for all of your hard work.
I wish you all a blessed and healthy holiday season and look forward to a great 2024!
Sincerely,
