I like to think of myself more as a consensus builder than a guy who tells people what to do. So I hope you will indulge me this one time when I get a little more demanding than usual.
I have been on the road at meetings a lot these last few months. In fact, the whole NACFE team has been out and about at various industry events so far this year. In 2021, NACFE team members spoke, led discussions, or were on panels at 111 events, both virtual and in person. Earlier this month I thought we were on pace to meet that number in 2022, but it turns out now I believe we are going to surpass that and hit 120 events in 2022.
While we still are doing virtual events, about two-thirds of this year’s events have been in person. Let me say that again: NACFE has led discussions in person at over 60 events already this year. I am grateful that we had platforms like Zoom, Teams, and others that allowed us to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe virtual meetings are very effective and we were able to learn and share a lot of good information from little boxes on our computer screens.
See also: The three paths to decarbonizing trucking
But having been back on the road, I can tell you there is nothing like an in-person event. Not only do we get to learn things from the speakers presenting at the events, but we get to learn from each other over coffee, meals, or cocktails. Sometimes the best discussion take place over a cold beer at the end of the day.
I know it is expensive to travel. Believe me, as the executive director of a nonprofit, I have to watch every penny, and of course there is my own natural thriftiness. Nonetheless, I am happy NACFE has been making the investment in getting our people out among other folks in the industry—even among folks we’ve never had to be in touch with before, such as utilities and charging infrastructure providers, and folks working on renewable energy.
Normally, people make resolutions at the beginning of the year in which they challenge themselves to do better and to meet new goals. But I am going to switch things up. Here as we get close to the end of the year, I want to go beyond encouraging you to make plans to get to industry events. I want to challenge each and every one of you to spend time looking at trucking industry events and commit to attending several of them in person next year.
National events are great, but there are many close to where you live, like state trucking association or COE Clean Cities events. I also challenge you to choose at least one event that you have never been to before to see what you can learn from an adjacent industry or a group that will be interacting with trucking in the zero-emission future.
I was trying to come up with a catchy name for my challenge, but the best I can come up with is The Mike Roeth Pack Your Bag Challenge. In 2023, I plan to be on the road as will other NACFE team members. I hope I see you at an event or two. Who knows, maybe I’ll even buy you that coffee or cold beer. That’s how serious I am about this challenge. See you at a convention center, cool event venue, or hotel ballroom sometime soon.
Michael Roeth has worked in the commercial vehicle industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). He serves on the second National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies and Approaches for Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles and has held various positions in engineering, quality, sales, and plant management with Navistar and Behr/Cummins.
