It’s Not Goodbye

Twelve years ago, to the month, I wrote Today’s Trucking editorial number one. That makes this number… well, I’m not counting, but it’s over 100 by now. It’s also my last.

It’s not that I’m going anywhere, at least not very far, but I’m handing over the reins of this magazine to my very capable friend and colleague, Stephen Petit. Even if I weren’t taking on a new challenge, as they say, it’s time for him to be in the driver’s seat.

As any of you who have read his work will agree, Stephen’s earned it. He’s as committed to this industry as I am, and just as anxious to serve you well.

As for me, I’ll still be much involved with Today’s Trucking as editorial director, and I’ll continue contributing articles regularly.

Among other things, I’ll be writing a new column that’s slated to appear in the space occupied by Stan Kimberley for so many years. Not that I-or anyone else-can replace Stan, because he was truly one of a kind. But the spot’s open, and I’m looking forward to taking a different look at Canadian trucking than I could do in the main editorial.

There’s a little more leeway at the back of the book, and I like leeway a lot.

Most of my time will be devoted to our new offering, roadStar Canada, which will be launched in late August with the September issue. I’ll be editing that new magazine, aimed at company drivers and owner-operators alike, with the very able help of managing editor Jim Park. I’ve hired well there, too, haven’t I?

For those of you who don’t know Jim, let me explain that he spent 20 years as both driver and owner-operator before discovering an affinity for the editorial keyboard a couple of years ago. I first met Jim when I helped choose the inaugural Ontario Trucking Association Road Knights team, where he did a fine job as a trucking ambassador.

And I continue to be impressed, especially by his wish to end the isolation so many drivers feel by being kept out of the information loop. We’ll fix that, in large part because Jim brings experience earned at the sharp end.

It’s an understatement to say I’m keen to get roadStar rolling. It’s almost like going back to my roots, because my very first magazine was the long-lost Canadian Driver-Owner, followed by the equally lost Trucking Canada. Lest you think I led them to their graves, let me say quickly that they bit the dust long after I’d left!

In any case, while I feel a passion for trucking at large, I do have a special attachment to the people at the wheel.

And as drivers take on an ever larger role in this industry, as they become the focus of ever more attention, it’s an opportune time to be launching a magazine for them alone.

We’re going to have some fun with roadStar, and I honestly think we can make a difference in how drivers manage both their working and personal lives.

As it happens, I’ve spent a lot of time recently talking to and about the nation’s truck drivers, and I’ve been impressed on several fronts.

For instance, I moderated a session at the recent Driver Training Symposium sponsored by the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council where Stan Dunford was one of my panelists. Having started as a driver, Stan now owns Contrans Corp., which in turn owns Laidlaw Carriers and Brookville Carriers among others.

Big fleet, but Stan runs it with down-to-earth ideas.

“This business is so simple it’s ridiculous,” Stan told the audience. “What’s an owner/operator really looking for? He wants to work for a company that doesn’t screw with his pay, that treats him as a human being, that understands how hard his job is. Concentrate on these things and you really don’t have a turnover problem.”

A week later, I spent an hour or so with a couple of students at the Transportation Career Development Centre in Saskatoon, the driver-training school run co-operatively by several major fleets. Bright young guys, and likely to be assets to our industry.

What do they expect of the carrier that ultimately hires them? “Fairness and respect,” they both said.

The solution to many of our challenges really is that simple, and I’ll leave this space with the suggestion that we all keep that thought in mind.

See you at the back of the book. s