WOMEN IN TRUCKING Ellen Voie
Membership Has its Privileges In the late eighties, American Express trademarked the slogan, “membership has its privileges.” In those days you had to pay a fee to carry their card, so they wanted you to feel as if you were a part of a preferred group. This adage applies to trade and professional organizations as well, as the focus is on acquiring and keeping members. People often ask us how we “make money” as a non-profit association. We are supported by our members who pay dues and in exchange, they expect something of value in return. What they value might vary from one person or one company to the next. Some members join for the networking and learning opportunities. Some join because they want the resources we provide and others join for discounts on products and services, which includes our annual conference. We encourage members to join because they believe in and support our mission. At the Women In Trucking Association our mission is simply to encourage more women to enter and succeed in careers in the supply chain. Every decision we make is related to that goal. We believe our high renewal rate reflects the importance in what we offer to anyone who joins. 10 • OVER THE ROAD
When times are tough, we need to regroup. Now it’s more important than ever for us to maintain your support and provide you with the value you deserve when you pay your dues. Last January, before we knew that a pandemic would forever change our industry (and the world!), we initiated some programs to advance our mission in the coming years. Your support will help us move these activities forward in the coming months. Because of the pandemic, our drivers were experiencing both physical and emotional challenges on the road. We partnered with ESPYR to offer our driver members free 24/7 access to mental health counsellors and health coaches to keep them safe and healthy while alleviating some of the stresses they were experiencing. Amazon and Total Transportation of Mississippi graciously funded these services. We were encouraged by the success stories. Since our goal is to promote gender diversity in the trucking industry, we knew we had to find a way to measure desired outcomes and provide best practices for companies looking for greater diversity. We partnered with Carriers Edge to create a Diversity and Inclusion Index to measure and to set benchmarks for all areas of inclusion. This
MARCH 2021
