Forward Thinking

As a business magazine, we always try to help readers pay attention to their bottom line, but in fact, our publication is about something that’s closer to readers’ hearts than their pocketbooks. If there’s one thing I’ve come to appreciate in this job is that people are passionate about trucking, and want to share that passion.

Shortly after I was hired here nine years ago, I went to one of the local summer truck shows. I had with me a freshly printed business card that said Today’s Trucking and a handful of stories from a driver-training program I’d finished the week before. Other than that, there was little to connect me to the trucking industry or to the people I was going to be writing for.

At first, the event was like spending a Sunday morning at someone else’s church-the strong sense of community you feel comes from being so obviously not part of it. As I was fishing though my camera bag I hauled out a copy of our latest issue, and a woman saw it and said something wonderful that put me immediately at ease. It was something I’d hear often that afternoon, and time and time again over the next nine years: “Great magazine,” she said, and then added, “Do you know Rolf Lockwood?”

She began to tell me stories about the small trucking business she ran with her husband. She talked about how her father was a truck driver, a fuel hauler. She told me in detail what her company’s problems were, what the industry’s problems were, and the types of stories we needed to cover.

She said she liked the tone of the magazine, and Rolf especially, whose remarkable work I can only describe as a mix of authority, conviction, wit, and common sense.
There wasn’t enough “business” in the trucking business, she said. She liked a magazine that carried itself with as much professionalism and pride as she did.

For us, her words make for a simple mission statement.
This issue commemorates the 15th anniversary of Today’s Trucking. The editorial team here has tried to produce a magazine that’s worthy of your time, one you’re proud to have in your lobby or your home. Thanks for reading. I hope you’re with us 15 years down the road.