Trucking Industry News - TCA Highway Angel Music Video Premiere

Highway Angel Lyrics Applaud The Many
Professional Truck Drivers Who Help Motorists Each Day ....

Alexandria, Virginia - The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has an important job for each and every person reading this story:  Help change the public's perception of trucking by watching Lindsay Lawler's brand new "Highway Angel" music video at youtube.com and forwarding the link to everyone you know.

Lawler, a country singer who has a strong following within the trucking community, wrote and recorded "Highway Angel" as a tribute to TCA's Highway Angel program.  The lyrics applaud the many professional truck drivers who stop each day to help motorists in trouble on the highways.

"This song sends a strong, positive message about the good people of the trucking industry and deserves to be seen and shared by all of us.  We hope everyone will share the link with their friends through Facebook and other social networking sites," said Gary Salisbury, TCA's chairman and the president and CEO of Fikes Truck Line, Inc., of Hope, Ark.  "People are always asking me what they can do to change the image of trucking.  This is something that is quick, easy to do, and doesn't cost anything.   The more people who spread the link, the more 'buzz' we can generate to help boost our industry in the eyes of the general public."

According to Salisbury, TCA's goals are to spread the video's link virally to as many people as possible before the end of 2011 and have millions of views recorded by YouTube.  It is hoped that the video's popularity will catch the notice of the country music recording industry and result in additional exposure for the song, Lindsay Lawler, and the entire trucking industry.

In conjunction with the YouTube post, TCA and Highway Angel program sponsor Internet Truckstop hosted a special launch reception for the new video December 8th in Nashville, Tenn.  Representatives from the Great American Country network, MTV, and several other music industry entities were invited, and TCA members from in and around Nashville attended.

The video will be played for the 30,000 fans in attendance at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Saturday, December 17, 2011, at 3:30 p.m. MST at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho.  During the Bowl, TCA and Internet Truckstop will recognize Marcus Beam, a driver for Epes Transport System, Inc., as TCA's 2011 Highway Angel of the Year.   Beam pulled a mother and two young children from an overturned car while others stood by, refusing to help.

"Beam's story is amazing, and I used many stories such as his to find inspiration to write this song.  The video shows a situation similar to Beam's and I, the driver, am rescued by a Highway Angel," said Lawler.  "This kind of stuff happens every day.  Highway Angels are out there helping people who may be lost, stranded, injured, or even dying.  I wanted to record a song for them, a song that truly portrays them as the Angels they are."

Source:  Layover.com

How To Land The OTR Truck Driving Job You Want

The Number One Reason Why You Should
Use An OTR Recruiter ...
Actually - There Are Two Reasons !

It's no secret that the trucking industry continually has a shortage of otr drivers across the U.S.  There are many reasons for this:  (1) new regulations making it harder for experienced drivers to remain in the business, (2) new regulations making it harder for owner-operators to make a living, (3) CSA 2010, (4) fewer companies offering CDL paid training.  And that's really just the tip of the iceberg.....

All things considered, you'd think it's relatively easy for an experienced driver to find the otr job he or she wants and get hired quickly and easily.  But it doesn't work that way .... unless you have an inside track and have lots of connections so that you know where the jobs are, it's a seek, search and maybe find process.  And it can be very tedious work trying to sort, sift and determine which companies are hiring, what their hiring policies are, what they pay, and all the other factors that go into your decision.

There Are Several Ways You
Can Search For A Truck Driving Job

Go directly to a trucking company - one at a time - and work with a company recruiter.

I received a phone call several weeks ago from an otr driver with many years of experience.  We discussed what he was looking for, and after asking him some questions and getting additional information about his objectives, I mentioned a trucking company that is among the elite of trucking companies across the U.S.  This company was perfect for him. 

Unfortunately, it turned out that he had placed an application directly with that company previously through a company recruiter.  He kept calling the recruiter and leaving messages; the recruiter didn't return his calls.  He asked if he could go through our company, and I had to tell him that we couldn't work with him as he had already gone direct and been assigned a company recruiter.  All he could do was to keep calling the company recruiter ....

Truckers for Troops: What are Designated Combat Zones?



By Land Line staff

OOIDA’s Truckers for Troops campaign has resulted in thousands of care packages sent to U.S. troops in the nation’s “Designated Combat Zones.”

While most of those packages have been sent to troops deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Arabian Peninsula) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), troops are stationed in a number of places worldwide that are considered “combat zones.”

The Truckers for Troops campaign sends care packages packed with essentials – such as socks and personal hygiene products – and fun items to the combat zones not only to assist in providing items troops may be in need of, but to also provide moments of levity.

With the publicized U.S. pullout from Iraq, many callers have wondered where packages may go in the future.

Combat zones are designated by an executive order from the president as areas in which the U.S. Armed Forces are engaging or have engaged in combat. There are currently three such combat zones, including the airspace above each.

Click here to read the complete article ....