2014 Symposium: Agents Advisory Board Briefs
Bennett Motor Express
In conjunction with the 2014 Symposium held March 7 – 9 at Château Élan Winery and Resort, several advisory boards kicked off the event with Friday morning meetings to discuss topics that are crucial to each division.
Bennett Motor Express met in the Nice Room at Château Élan. About 30 agents gathered to be a part of the discussion facilitated by Len Johnson, president of Bennett Motor Express.
During the meeting the group discussed open forum topics such as technology issues, brokerage contracts, driver issues, CSA scores, updating the Driversig website, and the best way to quote credit card fees.
Other subjects that were also discussed included inviting a couple of Ace Doran agents to join the Advisory Board, a review of the hiring criteria for drivers, the need for a securement training program, and the threshold for CSA scores.
In addition, the group decided to form a subcommittee of three board members to review and address ongoing “hot button” issues such as credit card, brokerage, TMS, and Agentsig in between the regularly scheduled advisory board meetings. The subcommittee plans to meet monthly or quarterly via telephone conference along with someone from the home office.
Dave Sharp, who is an agent in Kansas and chairman of the Agent Advisory Board, said during the break that he thought the board meeting was going well.
“I think everybody is coming together a lot better in the last year and a half,” Sharp said. “We’re going to get resolution and this is why the board is here. If we can’t get resolution, if we can’t get answers, if we can’t work together, there’s no need to have a board.”
Sharp said in order to build trust, the goal as a board is to get the answers and to get them published so the agents are better informed about what’s going on.
Sharp has been an agent with Bennett for about seven years, and he said so far, he likes it.
“Technology has gone a lot farther,” he said. “And we’re getting along as a board. I don’t have any complaints at this point. We just want resolution, and I think now that I have the opportunity to do that and have John McGahee as a point man on this, we’re going to get it done.”
Bennett Truck Transport
Also during that time, Bennett Truck Transport advisory board members came together for the first time in the Cannes room of the Château Élan Winery and Resort to discuss topics specific to BTT.
The first order of business was to recognize the By-Laws established by Marcia Taylor, president and chief operating officer, in the early 1990s for the purpose to bring ideas and to discuss concerns while helping to provide solutions in order to make Bennett the best trucking company in the industry.
The group also established the rules and the terms for board members and elected the first officers. Brenda Fields was elected chairperson for the BTT Advisory Board. Carol Byrd will serve as vice president, and Debbie Nixon will take on the duties of secretary.
A financial presentation was made by Dan MacNeil, president of BTT, who, sadly passed away unexpectedly shortly after this year’s symposium. Randall Vernon, director of safety, addressed the BTT Advisory Board about CSA. And finally, Tim Hadden, chief information officer at Bennett, spoke to the board about the Driversig mobile app and how it can help reduce time for drivers and agents by transmitting important information such as logs, trip reports, and fuel receipts electronically.
There was a brief discussion about the driver load board and the potential problems it may create by giving drivers the ability to see what loads are available, and about how agents may benefit from a preview into Driversig and training on electronic logs.
March 8, 2018
(MCDONOUGH, GA., March 8, 2018) –Violet Helferich of Bennett Motor Express/Ace Doran Hauling & Rigging has received the Driver of the Year Award from the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) at the 2018 Specialized Transportation Symposium, Feb. 27-March 2 in St. Louis, MO. SC&RA is an international organization comprised of more than 1,350 members from 46 nations.
At Bennett, we believe it’s our patriotic duty to assure success of the US Military and our government. The government is one of our top customers, and we continue to prove how reliable and trustworthy we are through our expertise and service. In order to do this, we recruit and employ stellar owner operator teams who directly contribute to our success daily.
January 24, 2018
We believe Bennett drivers are the cream of the crop, and we take pride in celebrating them any chance we get. Every year at Bennett’s Annual Symposium, we honor those drivers and name our Driver of the Year. Last year, Jimmy James, who lives in Houston, received some news he was not expecting. His dispatcher gave him a call and told him he was being named Bennett’s 2016 Driver of the Year. His first reaction was simply, “Wow.”
January 16, 2018
In the transportation industry, there are often small differences between carriers. One may offer slightly different pay percentages, while another may offer a sign-on bonus. In the short term, differences in pay and benefits may seem important, but what happens when your truck breaks down? If you have a medical issue, will the company you are leased to be sympathetic to your situation? What about the sense of loneliness you feel every day on the road away from your family? So many of the real issues that arise in trucking can only be addressed by people that truly care for your needs and are led by a higher purpose. Before making the switch to another carrier, it’s beneficial for you and your family to test a trucking company’s core values.
July 13, 2016
After 32 years Len Johnson, president of Bennett Motor Express, is hanging up his cowboy hat and retiring. On Dec. 15 a reception was held in his honor at the Hilton Garden Inn in McDonough.
March 3, 2016
Wine Tasting, networking, tailgating, Dale Carnegie Sales Training, and the annual awards banquet were among the highlights at Bennett International Group’s 36th Annual Symposium held Feb. 4 through 7 at the Chậteau Élan Winery and Resort. More than 400 Bennett agents and employees participated in the three-day event.
September 30, 2015
The American Trucking Association designates one week per year as National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Bennett International Group, LLC celebrated along with the rest of the country by holding Drivers Appreciation Week festivities throughout the third week of September. Staff and leaders at the company spent the days celebrating those who sacrifice so much to keep freight moving on the open road.
July 22, 2015
As a professional driver, have you ever had an officer of the Motor Carrier Compliance Division share with you firsthand what to expect during a level one, roadside inspection? On July 10, Joseph Teet, an officer with the Motor Carrier Compliance Division, paid a visit to Bennett International Group’s corporate office in McDonough, Georgia and did just that.
July 15, 2015
The week of September 14 -20 is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week and drivers at Bennett will celebrate all week long at various Bennett locations.
June 29, 2015
Bennett International Group was invited to attend Locust Grove Elementary career day May 7th, 2015. Hundreds of kindergarten, first graders and second graders toured one of our step-deck trailers and learned some valuable information about trucking from our Owner Operator, Carl Nelson and Dispatcher, J.R. Rushing. Check out the exciting video below and take some time to read the “thank you” notes from all of the amazing kids. The future of trucking looks bright!
October 9, 2014
Aug. 31, 2014 was a hot, steamy day in South Georgia and the loud hum of the motors reached a deafening crescendo as the cars raced around the 1.54 mile quad oval track. Edgar Strader and his wife, Linda, sat in the stands mesmerized as the drivers whizzed by. Just seeing the cars and knowing that inside at the wheel sat some of the best and well-known drivers of our time only added to their excitement. The Straders watched as Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Danica Patrick, and Linda’s favorite driver, Kevin Harvick, took to the track, and they felt the exhilarating rush from the speed of the cars and the noise of the crowd around them.
August 7, 2014
Harold (Griff) Griffith served in the U.S. Army for nine years, from 1980 to 1989. Stationed in Germany. A portion of his time was spent serving as a combat engineer building bridges and using explosives to tear them down, and his secondary job was in transportation where he spent time as a 64Charlie, now called an 88M (88Mike).
As Bennett International Group celebrates its 40th anniversary, the company wanted to have something big, something significant and lasting to mark the occasion. After 40 years in the transportation industry, perhaps there is nothing bigger and more fitting than a new Kenworth truck!
What do you want to be when you grow up? That’s a question youngsters are often asked, but seldom do they ponder it for long. Usually by an early age many already have an idea what they want to be, and the sky is the limit. Perhaps some of the more popular answers include an astronaut, zooming into the darkness of space or a superhero with a special, super power used to help save the world.
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