Thank you to all those who attended the 2024 Annual Conference. We had such a wonderful time connecting with you and networking. For those who were unable to attend, please plan on attending next year at Dale Hallow State Lake on July 23-25, 2025. In review, below is the list of speakers and their topics. If you would like to connect with them, please reach out to Rick and he can get you connected.

Day One

• Jerry Ogle, Marvin Johnson and Associates, discussed Accident/Incident Management.

Day Two

• Dennis Dellinger, ATA Vice President and President of Cargo Transport, discussed Battery Electric Commercial Vehicles/Independent Contractors/Employee Classification.
• James Burd, Partner of Wilson Elser, discussed The Reptile Theory. 
• Billy Hill, Hill Transportation Services Inc., discussed Third-Party Billing by Fire Departments.

Day Three

• Austin Hall and Scott Binzer, Cummins Inc., discussed Cummins’ HELM Fuel Agnostic Engine Platform.
• Sujit Kunwor, McLeod Software, discussed Transforming Trucking with Artificial Intelligence.
• Travis Burgett, HHO Carbon Clean Systems, discussed The Issues Caused by Carbon Buildup and Different Strategies for Mitigating Those Issues.

Along with our amazing speakers, we were also able to honor our 2024 Fleet Safety Award winners and recognize our 2024 All Event Sponsors. 

2024 KTA & Great West Casualty Fleet Safety Awards

Industrial Safety Award

• 1 to 100 employees: Bulk First LLC
• 101 to 300 employees: Rogers Trucking Company
• 301 or more employees: Usher Transport Inc.

Less Than Truckload (LTL) Division: 0 to 10 Million Miles

• ABF Freight

Less Than Truckload (LTL) Division: Greater than 10 Million Miles

• 1st: Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.
• 2nd: FedEx Freight Inc.

Tank Truck Division

• 1st: Key Oil Company
• 2nd: Usher Transport

Truckload Division: 0 to 3 Million Miles

• 1st: Rogers Trucking Company
• 2nd: Sazerac Transportation LLC

Truckload Division Greater than 3 Million Miles

• Walmart Transportation

Flatbed Division

• 1st: Mercer Transportation
• 2nd: Hill Transportation Services Inc.

Safety Professional of the Year

• Dylan West, Key Oil Company

“Dylan West, as a fuel driver, caught my attention. He would ‘pop’ in after his hauls were done to ask questions and inquire about referrals, recruiting and other safety-related topics. All his interests were in line with self-improvement and the improvement of the company as a whole. When the Safety Training Manager position reopened in 2021, he was the first to apply. Dylan was a perfect fit for training because his credentials exceeded those of the new ELDT Regs. He got right to it: recruiting, orientation, driver observations, coaching and retraining, to the point where all locations are manned at 100%. Since 2022, his efforts have played a major role in the success of Key Oil obtaining two ‘best of’ awards from our Captive, as well as the KTA Fleet Safety Award. All trucks are manned. Hiring is at an all-time low, retention has never been higher. His vision of training in the future helped develop our in-house Mobil Training Lab; Driving Simulator. This will involve drivers in simulated risk environments so they will recognize risk as we see it,” said David Murphy, Safety Director at Keystops LLC.

Driver of the Year

• Mr. Gerald Wrinkle, Walmart Transportation

Fleet Safety Grand Champion 

• Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. 

Thank you to all our sponsors and to all who attended the KTA Annual Conference. We are excited to see you in 2025!