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July 14, 1999 11:30 AM, EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa — At a July 6 lunch with a small group of current and prospective members of American Trucking Associations, John Wren put down his ham sandwich and uttered what has become his mantra since October.

“Our goal is to increase trucking’s political clout by increasing the number of ATA members,” Wren told the executives in his soft-spoken, straight-forward manner over soup and sandwiches at the Des Moines Club on the 33rd floor of the Ruan Center. The lunch was hosted by Gary Alvord, vice chairman of Ruan Transportation Management Systems.

Wren, chairman of ATA, and more than 100 of the organization’s members are traveling the country, pitching membership in trucking’s largest trade group.

The Iowa luncheon was the first stop on a swing by Wren and ATA President Walter B. McCormick Jr. through three Midwest states. Before the week was out, Wren and McCormick had breakfast with carriers in Springdale, Ark., held one-on-one sessions with executives in Missouri, and attended group sessions with prospective members in Springfield and Kansas City, Mo.

The lunches and private meetings are being organized nationwide by carriers hoping to boost the association’s membership.

For the full story, see the July 12 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.