Oregon Trucking Association

3 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 8 THE OREGON TRUCKING ASSOCIAT ION Headquartered in Oak Grove, the Oregon Trucking Association (OTA) has been in existence for more than 80 years. We recently spoke with Jana Jarvis, its president and chief executive officer. She told us more about all the Oregon Trucking Association does for its members and the myriad impacts upon modern trucking. Jarvis says her group had its origins as the Oregon Motor Transport Association in 1939. Six years prior, the American Trucking Association formed, and of course, the OTA’s Evergreen State corresponding group, the Washington Trucking Association, formed back in the 1920s. There was then a great deal of discussion, vis-à-vis the regulation of trucking. “The interest was to come together as a coalition, primarily from a perspective of advocacy,” Jarvis informs. “Because we were a regulated industry until the 1980s, there was some value in members coming together and having that perspective. We’ve grown as an organization, in terms of what we do and what we offer.” In 1954, the group changed its name to the Oregon Trucking Associations—plural—as it was a combination of like groups and interests. Just this past year, the OTA’s board voted to drop the “S,” so that it might go forward as a single entity working in favor of Oregon’s trucking interests, says Jarvis. “We’ve had a bit of an evolution over the years,” she adds, citing the OTA’s advocacy for a variety of trucking interests, from logging trucks to parcel delivery, “and just about everything else in between. We have a lot of private carriers.” The latter group spans everything from small businesses, such as bakeries with their fleets, for example, all the way to over-the-road for-hire trucking company interests. OTR trucks carry freight over interstate highways at the regional level, and they place bids on contracts for hauling the freight. Plus, a number of the OTA’s members transport freight all across the United States, as Jarvis informs. A variety of approaches Jarvis continues that her organization offers a variety of approaches to help truckers, not the least of which is training. “We have a very large training program,” she says. “I have a gentleman who spearheads that effort.” That would be Adam Williamson. According to the OTA, in his current role, Williamson provides safety training and consulting services on behalf of the OTA to association and industry members. Jarvis adds that many state and federal regulations govern how the Oregon Trucking Association conducts its advocacy, training, education, and other efforts. Sharing its expertise, and being able to help fellow truckers, is what the OTA is all about. “We offer a lot of services there to keep our members educated and informed,” she adds, “so they can do business the best way possible.” There are also networking events, which are likewise geared to be educational opportunities.