In an effort to unite the industry, FASTPORT joined Hiring Our Heroes and the American Trucking Associations in a Roundtable Discussion about Veterans in trucking on March 17, 2015.

Eric Eversole, Vice-President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of Hiring Our Heroes, and Governor Bill Graves, President of the American Trucking Associations, kicked off the event with their remarks that drew parallels between the qualities of U.S. military service members and the men and women of the U.S. trucking industry. The clear display of how military service primes Veterans for successful careers in trucking set up FASTPORT Co-Founder Jim Ray’s talk that introduced a way to educate and inspire them into trucking: the Trucking Track Mentoring Program.

The Trucking Track began as a joint program between FASTPORT and HIring Our Heroes in 2014. Since last year, FASTPORT has worked to motivate America’s transitioning military service members to consider careers in trucking by positioning the role of a commercial driver as an essential one that is responsible since they are responsible for the safety and security of America’s highways and roadways, and that the trucking industry helps feed, clothe, build, move and heal America.  Jim emphasized that this message has been a powerful inspiration to attract transitioning Veterans into commercial driving careers because most Veterans still want to serve our Nation. That message in combination with the educational materials, job postings, and expert industry mentors has placed the Trucking Track as one of the trucking industry’s leaders in Veteran hiring initiatives.

After Jim’s talk, FASTPORT CEO Bill McLennan spoke on the panel “Educating Veterans on Trucking Opportunities” to drive the point home about the benefits of (and need to) educate military service members in order to hire them into trucking. Other panelists throughout the day included:

• Dr. Susan Kelly, Department of Defense
• Curt Coy, Department of Veterans Affairs
• Terry Gerton, Department of Labor
• Dave Renfrew, YRC Freight
• Lisa Black, FedEx Freight
• Dave Harrison, J.B. Hunt
• Don Lefeve, Commercial Vehicle Training Association
• Al Hanley, Troops Into Transportation (The CDL School)
• LTC Will Johnson, Soldier for Life

America’s Road Team Captain Alphonso Lewis closed the discussion with his call to action for employers to take the rountable’s messages and apply them to their Veteran hiring initiatives. If you are an employer who would like to learn more about how to accomplish that goal, visit http://fastport.com/veterans.html or call the FASTPORT team at 978-877-4300.