Thanks to our members

Following the election of CTA’s new officers = at the Annual Management Conference, the elected Officers meet with staff to plan = out the coming year.  This meeting occurs over a three day weekend in February.  During this meeting CTA staff cove= rs the significant events of the past year and identify the many challenges that l= ie in the year ahead.

At this year’s planning meeting, the 2010 challenges that were identified included the sustainability of the current number of CTA members and the development of new members and the resulting higher dues revenues; the possibility of alternative sources of revenue including new “Member Service Partners” and new Sponsors for CTA’s many events; continued cost containment; anticipated resolution= of a wide variety of policy issues including Meal and Rest Period, Premier Carri= er Plan, improvements in BIT, and more expedited processes with the DMV, CHP a= nd Caltrans; the expected flood of new legislation that occurs every election = year and the focus on the fall federal and state elections; and the expanded need for member training, including for the new CSA2010 requirements.

A particular focus of CTA’s efforts in 2010 w= ill be on identifying and training our future leaders.  Formal training courses and target= ed meetings at the Unit level will be developed and delivered to the membershi= p.

Another area of focus will be on increasing the use= of technology in CTA’s day to day business as well as its increased use = at meetings and training sessions.  Paperless meetings and greater use of conference bridges and Webinars (as opposed to traveling by car and plane) will be utilized on a much broad= er scale.

As we begin to focus on the year ahead, we cannot l= ose sight of the year that we just completed.&= nbsp; The list of last year’s achievements was provided several weeks ago, but it is important to once again acknowledge the fact that we are a member driven association and without the tremendous input and help that CTA staff receive virtually every day, the accomplishments of the past and the plans for the future would never be possible.

There are members who may doubt my next comment, bu= t I continue to look forward to the input that members provide to me and the re= st of CTA’s staff about everything that we do and additional things that= you want us to do.  This even appl= ies to those who characterize themselves as “a royal pain in the xxx of CTA”.  You know who you = are, but I sincerely hope that you continue to push CTA to become even better th= an we are at delivering to the membership a wide variety of services and continuing to work for and with the members.

CTA took a minor hit (down 6% in dues) during 2009,= but we didn’t just survive the last year.  The level and breadth of services = that we provide to members have increased significantly.  We are involved in more issues, at= a much higher level, and the number of partner benefits and training programs= are up significantly from the level just a year ago.

Thanks again for the continued strong support that = you provide to your association.  Members’ provision of thousands of hours and thousands of doll= ars in support of CTA is appreciated by the entire California trucking industry (yes, even by those who aren’t members but who receive the benefit of CTA’s efforts, like the $14,000,000+ savings in VLF charges).

I look forward to visiting with members as I travel throughout California over the next several months.  I look forward to your continuing = involvement and the hospitality that you extend at the dozens of events (from Lamb Frie= s to golf events to air shows to motorcycle runs to scale events to Truck Driving Championships to the many Awards programs and the many other CTA events).  Yes, I even look forward to your comments and suggestions for improvement.

Thanks to you, CTA’s members, for all that you do for the California trucking industry.