TUSCALOOSA, AL (June 2010) – How fleets spec, buy, use and service equipment will change dramatically in the coming decades, driven by increasing environmental and safety regulations, expanded use of telematics and more robust communication needs. During “Trucking 2020: The changing roles of OEMs, suppliers, dealers and fleets,” four key executives will explore their shifting relationships and offer insights into what the future may hold.

            Moderated by Stu MacKay, president, MacKay and Company, the panel will feature:

• Scott Kress, vice president, sales, Volvo Trucks North America
• Joe Plomin, vice president, trucks, ArvinMeritor CVS
• Rusty Rush, president and CEO, Rush Enterprises
• Jim O’Neal, president, O & S Trucking

Scheduled for Wednesday, August 25, at 4:30 p.m., the panel will be a highlight of the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference, a new event produced by Randall-Reilly and the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association. Held at the Dallas Convention Center Aug. 25-26, the day prior to, and the opening day of, the Great American Trucking Show, CVOC will provide critical information for all segments of the commercial fleet business, including fleet executives, truck OEMs, part and component suppliers, truck dealers, distributors, maintenance and repair specialists and owner-operators.

Other sessions will include:

• Outlook for freight, truck buying and parts and service activity
• The changing landscape of the capital markets
• How fleets are dealing with current and future cost and productivity challenges
• The impact of federal environmental and safety policies on trucking

Registration begins at 11 a.m., Wednesday, followed by a networking lunch. A networking reception will be held immediately following the program on Wednesday. The conference ends at noon on Thursday when the Great American Trucking Show opens. The event is sponsored by Castrol, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Utility Trailer.

For pricing and registration details visit www.hdma.org or call 919-406-8814 or e-mail info@hdma.org.

About the Great American Trucking Show

The Great American Trucking Show is an all-encompassing convention of trucking professionals, featuring nearly 400 exhibitors representing truck, trailer, engine, component and parts manufacturers, as well as services catering to the heavy- and medium-duty trucking industry. Educational opportunities include the TruckSmart Summit and sessions produced by the Texas Motor Transportation Association. More than 45,000 trucking professionals attend GATS, including fleet executives, owner-operators, safety and operation managers and suppliers.

About the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association

The Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association provides industry leadership for the NAFTA commercial vehicle component suppliers through a range of services to members, including national and international industry news; market research reports; executive forums, councils, premier conferences and industry events; advocacy and collaboration in government affairs and within the commercial vehicle industry.

For Information or to register for Custom Rigs Pride & Polish Truck Beauty Competition please call Linda Meaux at (205) 248-1361 or visit www.prideandpolish.com.

Pride & Polish is held annually at several venues across the country, including The Great American Trucking Show.

View Winners from the 2009 Pride & Polish Truck Beauty Competition 

View Winners from the 2008 Pride & Polish Truck Beauty Competition

View Winners from the 2007 Pride & Polish Truck Beauty Competition 

Custom Rigs is a truck enthusiast and customizing magazine available in Petro Stopping Centers each March, May, August and November.

Each issue highlights the nation’s most tricked-out rigs, with features detailing step-by-step makeovers done by owner-operators and the nation’s most-respected customizers. Custom Rigs also features the latest products truckers can use to build their dream trucks.

For more information on Custom Rigs check out the website www.customrigsmag.com. To subscribe to Custom Rigs click here.

Sponsors:

• Dan Sobic, executive vice president, Paccar
• Max Fuller, co-chairman, U.S. Xpress
• Rusty Rush, president and CEO, Rush Enterprises
• Jim O’Neal, president, O & S Trucking
• Eric Starks, president, FTR Associates
• Donald Broughton, managing director and senior research analyst, Avondale Partners
• Stu Mackay, president, Mackay and Company

The CVOC will provide critical information for all segments of the commercial fleet business, including fleet executives, truck OEMs, part and component suppliers, truck dealers, distributors, and maintenance and repair specialists. Sessions will include:

• Outlook for freight, truck buying and parts and service activity
• The changing landscape of the capital markets
• Trucking 2020: The changing roles of OEMs, suppliers, dealers and fleets.
• How fleets are dealing with current and future cost and productivity challenges
• The impact of federal environmental and safety policies on trucking

Presented by the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association and Randall-Reilly Business Media and Information, the CVOC will be held at the Dallas Convention Center Aug. 25-26, the day prior to and the opening day of the Great American Trucking Show. Registration begins at 11 a.m., Wednesday, followed by a networking lunch. A networking reception will be held immediately following the program on Wednesday. The conference ends at noon on Thursday when the Great American Trucking Show opens. The event is sponsored by Castrol, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Utility Trailer.

For pricing and registration details visit www.hdma.org or call 919-406-8814 or e-mail info@hdma.org.

About the Great American Trucking Show

The Great American Trucking Show is an all-encompassing convention of trucking professionals, featuring nearly 400 exhibitors representing truck, trailer, engine, component and parts manufacturers, as well as services catering to the heavy- and medium-duty trucking industry. Educational opportunities include the TruckSmart Summit and sessions produced by the Texas Motor Transportation Association. More than 45,000 trucking professionals attend GATS, including fleet executives, owner-operators, safety and operation managers and suppliers.

About the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association

The Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association provides industry leadership for the NAFTA commercial vehicle component suppliers through a range of services to members, including national and international industry news; market research reports; executive forums, councils, premier conferences and industry events; advocacy and collaboration in government affairs and within the commercial vehicle industry.

 The GATS SUPERSession has the answers!

 The 2010 GATS SuperSession will address how trucks might change in the coming decade in order to meet demands for increased fuel efficiency and safety and reduced emissions. Among other things, the session will address the Department of Energy’s so-called SuperTruck program, which will invest a quarter of a billion dollars in a bid to increase heavy truck fuel economy by 50% in the next five years.

SmartSessions
Sponsored by TMTA 

The following seminars require pre-registration as well as a fee.  Please contact the TMTA offices at 1-800-727-7135 to register for one or more of the following courses. 

How to Prepare for a Safety Audit
Pre-registration is required.
$75 TMTA Members, $95 Non-Members
Thursday, August 26, 2010    1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Friday, August 27, 2010         8:00 a.m. – Noon
Ideal for independent contractors and small fleets, will provide hands-on specifics about preparing for a safety audit by either the U.S. D.O.T. or state officials. 

Hours of Service Regulations
Pre-registration is required. 
$20 TMTA Members, $40 Non-Members
Saturday, August 28, 2010     10:00 a.m. – Noon
Learn what is taking place with the Hours of Service Regulations and what you need to do to comply with the rules. 

Are You Prepared for CSA 2010?
Pre-registration is required. 
$55 TMTA Members, $75 Non-Members
Thursday, August 26, 2010    1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Friday, August 27, 2010         8:00 a.m. – Noon
Information and recommendations will be presented relating to CSA 2010, including The Seven Basics, Managing Your Score, Driver Compliance, CSA 2010 vs. SafeStat, and CSA 2010 Strategies.

CSA 2010’s Effects on Drivers
Pre-registration is required. 
$20 All Attendees
Saturday, August 28, 2010     10:00 a.m. – Noon
Focus on CSA 2010 and what drivers will need to do to cope with upcoming changes and what to expect in the future.

The following seminars are open to all GATS attendees.  There is no fee and pre-registration is not required.

California Air Resources Board – Driving Toward a Cleaner Future: Important facts for owners of heavy duty vehicles that operate in California 
This presentation will cover several CARB clean air regulations which include the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Regulation, the Truck and Bus Regulation and the Transportation Refrigeration Unit Rule and explain what you need to know to be compliant with state laws and the funding assistance programs that are available.
Thursday, August 26, 2010                1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Friday, August 27, 2010                     10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Tire Technology To Save You Money
Find out the latest tire technology and how you can combat rising fuel costs while hauling more payload.
Thursday, August 26, 2010                2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Friday, August 27, 2010                     11:00 a.m. – Noon

Electronic Vehicle Inspection Reports
Learn how Electronic Vehicle Inspection Reports (EVIR^®) works, its benefits to carriers, how you can incorporate EVIR^® to maximize your fleet’s operational efficiencies and how EVIR^® helps you comply with CSA 2010 requirements.
Friday, August 27, 2010         10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Saturday, August 28, 2010     10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

Green Option for APUs
Find out options that are environmental friendly and meet the demands for driver comfort with regard to climate control and APUs.
Friday, August 27, 2010         11:00 a.m. – Noon

Owner/Operator Taxes 101
Learn to deal with critical issues in a down economy/freight cycle and find out when and how to interact with the IRS. 
Saturday, August 28, 2010     10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

360 Degree Owner-Operator
Find out what steps you need to take to achieve and manage a fiscally fit operation.
Saturday, August 28, 2010     11:00 a.m. – Noon

Fuel Management for Fleets/Owner-Operators
This seminar is designed to inform attendees of various options available for fuel purchase optimization and how they can work best for you.
Saturday, August 28, 2010     11:00 a.m. – Noon

Partners in Business Workshop
The Partners in Business workshop will present basic and advanced business skills to prospective and existing owner-operators. Admission is free.
Fri., Aug. 21 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Sponsored by Overdrive

* Dates and times of seminars are subject to change. Check our Web site for updates – www.gatsonline.com

Overdrive’s Partners in Business seminar at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas will give you the tools to make the right decisions. Experts from ATBS who serve thousands of owner-operators will be our presenters. ATBS provides a variety of services including accounting and bookkeeping, profit and loss statements, taxes, maintenance management and advanced learning.

 This FREE , two-hour presentation, will cover how to:
• Monitor fixed and variable costs.
• Build an emergency fund.
• Choose the best loads.
• Improve your fuel mileage.
• Stay ahead of industry trends.

Attendees receive complimentary refreshments and a free copy of the 2010 Partners in Business manual, the industry’s most comprehensive guide for owner-operators.

To learn more about Overdrive’s Partners in Business, visit their website at www.piblive.com

The concert, sponsored by Mobil Delvac, will be held Friday, August 27, 2010 and is our way of showing how much we appreciate you: the truck-driving backbone of our country.

Tickets will be available on-site at the show the morning of Friday, August 27th and are first come, first served. Below is a bio on each of the artist performing at this year’s show.

————————————————————-

Randy Houser

The passion, enthusiasm and conviction in Randy Houser’s music is utterly irresistible. One listen to his soul-drenched singing is enough to convince you that you are in the presence of a masterful performer. One scan of his deeply felt lyrics is all the proof you need to see that this is a major songwriting talent. And one meeting with this smiling, endearing, open-hearted personality is all it takes to make you believe he deserves to be a star. That indefinable something, called charisma, is all over his exceptional debut album ANYTHING GOES (Universal Records South).

Whether plunging into sadness or leaping for joy in song, Randy Houser has what all great country artists have – believability. The album is the capstone of an extraordinary run of good fortune for the singer-songwriter.

Thanks to his riveting vocal prowess, Randy received great response from both fans and radio programmers with his first single, the gripping, strikingly emotional ballad “Anything Goes” which catapulted into the Top 20 after an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman. His current hit single, “Boots On,” has positioned Randy to be among the next big artists to emerge in the genre. The record is at No. 6 and climbing at Country radio, making Randy the first new male artist with a Top 10 hit since February 2008.

As illustrated through the CD, Randy Houser is a breathtaking vocalist with fire and conviction at his core. The songs he has chosen by other Nashville writers for this album are superb showcases for the vocal side of his talent. In addition to “Anything Goes,” they include the sensual “Strange” and the ultra-cool, groove-saturated “How Many Times”–the latter featuring harmony vocals by superstar Vince Gill.

Randy grew up in central Mississippi. He was born in Jackson and raised in Lake, a small town between Jackson and Meridian. Musically, it’s a region between the Blues and R&B of the Delta and the hard-core country music of the Deep South. There was always plenty of gospel music on the radio as well.

But his true musical foundation was the artistry of his father. His parents split up when he was only seven, and thereafter Randy spent summers with the professional singer and musician. Papa Houser was a fairly well known performer in the Jackson, Mississippi nightclub scene and was also a first call studio musician in and around that area for several years. After he relocated to Biloxi, young Randy decided to follow in his footsteps.

“I started writing songs right away, at 15 and 16 years old. I was already starting, because I hated playing the ‘covers’ of the hits. I knew that if I was ever going to do anything in music, I was going to have to learn to express myself. Otherwise, it was going to be the same-old, same-old.” His father and mentor died when Randy was 21. He’d told his boy that he didn’t want to be kept alive on machines. After his father lost consciousness, this young man was put in the agonizing position of having to “pull the plug” on the mentor he idolized. That painful experience formed the basis of Randy’s emotional song “I’ll Sleep.” A few years later, Randy Houser made the big decision to move to Nashville to seek his fortune. “I can literally say that a song changed my life,” Randy reports. “I’ll tell you how I made the decision. I was sitting at home one day and thinking, ‘God, what am I doing?’ I’d been waiting around for so long and hadn’t gone and done what I always said I was going to do. And then that song ‘Life Happened’ came on the radio, and I just started bawling. And right then, I made the decision. I was gone.

“A guitar player friend from Mississippi had moved to Nashville. He said, ‘Well, come on…’ So I came up in early 2003 with an air mattress and a pile of junk in a ’92 Cougar. Two weeks later, the engine blew up in that car. I didn’t know how I was going to make a living, but knew I had to make one.”

Within two weeks of arriving, Randy ran into a woman who’d heard him perform in Mississippi. She arranged for him to sing a “demo” for a Nashville songwriter. Days later, he was getting calls to sing them all the time. Successful, Mississippi-bred songwriters Fred Knobloch and Derek George encouraged Randy. Derek took Randy to the Windswept publishing company, where Cliff Audretch, III became a booster.

Signed by Windswept in late 2003, Randy and co-writers Jamey Johnson and Dallas Davidson were on the charts with “Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk” by early 2005. Since then, Randy’s tunes have been picked up by John Michael Montgomery (“If You Ever Went Away”), Justin Moore (“Back That Thing Up”), George Canyon (“Coming From You”), among other artists. Cliff loved Randy’s own recordings of the tunes and urged producer Mark Wright to listen. Now Cliff and Mark have co-produced Randy Houser’s outstanding disc debut.

“One day, awhile back, Mark (Wright) and I were talking about singers. He said, ‘Man, the most soulful singers in history all grew up poor.’ This really rang true for me. That’s part of the reason I sound the way that I do.”

For more information, please visit www.randyhouser.com

The Grascals

Info to come soon!

Q: How do I get tickets to the free Friday night and Saturday night concerts at GATS?
A: Tickets are distributed on a first come, first serve basis. They will be distributed in the registration lobby starting at 9am the day of the concert. The concert is free to all registered attendees of the Great American Trucking Show. If you want tickets for both shows, you need to come each morning to obtain the tickets for the concert that evening.

Q: Is there Truck Parking available?
A: Yes, there is free Truck Parking available at the Reunion lot, which is located at Hotel street and Memorial Drive, at the southwest corner of the Dallas Convention Center. For maps/directions to the lot please follow the link below.

Click Here for more information on Truck Parking

Q: Parking at the Dallas Convention Center.
A: There are numerous pay-to-park lots around the Dallas Convention Center. There is also paid parking lot underneath the Dallas Convention Center.

Q: Where can I find local Hotels that are close to the Convention Center?
A: The Great American Trucking Show has partnered with Travel Planners to help plan you trip to Dallas.

For more information on booking your hotel for the Great American Trucking Show please Click Here.

Q: How do I enter my truck in the Pride and Polish Truck Beauty Competition?
A: Please call Linda Meaux at 205-248-1361 or visit www.prideandpolish.com

Q: Can I park my RV or Camper in the Truck Parking Lot next to the Dallas Convention Center?
A: The City of Dallas does not allow RV/Camper parking within the city limits. If you are planning on bring your RV, check out the Dallas Metro KOA Campground at www.koa.com. This campsite is approximately 25 miles away from the Dallas Convention Center. For more information, you can email them at dallasmetro@koa.org or give them a call at 817-277-6600.

Q: Are wheelchairs/scooters available for rent?
A: Yes, Wheelchairs and scooters will be available for rent. Visit Scootaround’s Web site at http://www.scootaround.com/rentals/g/gats/ for more information or to reserve you scooter.

Q: Can I bring my pet to the Great American Trucking Show?
A: Unfortunately, animals and pets are not permitted (with exception to guide dogs, signal dogs and other animals individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability) inside the Dallas Convention Center.