Meet the Candidates for CVSA Secretary - Cory Ayon

CORY AYON, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Region IV

First off, I want it to be known that I am honored to be part of such a great organization. When I think of commercial motor vehicles (CMV), I do not think specifically of the vehicles themselves – I think of the people at the forefront and behind the scenes of the industry that make a difference and make things happen day in and day out. These are the safety professionals who make the conscious decisions that affect CMV safety every day.

I have been involved with CMVs for most of my life, starting as a teenager cleaning cattle pots/bull wagon trailers with a shovel, garden hose and wheelbarrow (a very humbling experience, I might add). I am also a proud U.S. Navy Seabee veteran and served as an equipment operator for seven years from 1994 to 2001. During my last two years of military service, I served as an instructor at a naval ordnance magazine on the East Coast, teaching U.S. Navy and Marine personnel how to load and transport explosives on trucks and truck tractors.

From there, as a civilian, I unloaded trucks for Home Depot before becoming a CVSA-certified inspector with the New Mexico Motor Transportation Division working at the Anthony Port of Entry in southern New Mexico in 2002, thus starting my relationship with CVSA many years ago. In my CMV enforcement career, I have had the honor of serving with the New Mexico Motor Transportation Division, Texas Department of Public Safety as a compliance review/new entrant safety auditor investigator and, currently, as the program coordinator for the New Mexico State Police CMV Bureau.

I also spent eight years in the private sector serving as a regional safety manager and fleet director for an oilfield company based in Austin, Texas. I am a proud commercial driver’s license holder, a current certified CVSA instructor, and a master instructor instructing North American Standard Inspection (NASI) Part A, NASI Part B, General Hazmat and Cargo Tank Inspection courses.

I have always believed it is not so much where you are from that matters in life, it’s where you are at. There is a reason that the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. You can’t forget where you came from, but you also can’t let it dictate your future. As the industry changes, we must change with it… or we will get left behind.

In my tenure, I have worked with the best in the industry and if elected as your CVSA secretary, I would be humbled to continue to work with and represent the best, in both the industry and enforcement sides of the aisle.

Whether serving my country, my state, my department or my community, I have always been in the service of others. I do not claim to know everyone or everything. I do, however, know folks from Canada to Mexico, and all parts in between – and I can find answers.

United as a team, we can accomplish anything. Make good choices, be safe and keep it between the ditches. If what we did was easy, everyone would do it.

Vote for CVSA Secretary

Class I Member jurisdictions and Class II Local Membership will vote for secretary at the 2024 CVSA Annual Conference and Exhibition this September in Big Sky, Montana.

Remember, when you cast your vote for secretary, you are electing a future CVSA president. The secretary position is a oneyear term, which transitions to a year as vice president, followed by a year serving as president, after which comes three years serving as past president.

Get to know this year’s candidates by reading the articles written by each candidate, which include information on their careers, philosophies on commercial motor vehicle safety and qualifications for serving as the next secretary of CVSA.