Commuterspot
Delving deeper into the lifestyle of commuters be it via road, water, air, or rail, and discussing how their commuting routes impact their everyday life.
Commuterspot
The MATS Event
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The act of networking is often viewed as awkward or forced. This episode highlights new connections formed at The mid America trucking show in Louisville Kentucky , along with acknowledging people within our organization “AAWTA” in which thrives on building solid reputable relationships. Don’t sell yourself short! “ your network is your net worth”
This episode highlights the impact, growth, and presence of women helping move the trucking industry forward.
If you are listening right now at this very moment, then you are in the commuter spot, and I'm your host, D Commuter. This show is brought to you by Golden Way Transport Services Incorporated, offering freight dispatching and consulting services. For more information, please go to www.goldenweytransport.co. Okay, so this past weekend was all about the Mid-America trucking show held in Louisville, Kentucky. It was totally amazing. It was for three days. If you missed it, try not to miss it. Next year, it was my first year, and I'd have to say I was very pleased. It was a lot of walking. If you want to get the real field of everything, and I literally came in the front door, and our booth was Otta's booth, the African American Women's Trucking Association was located at like 4046 something. And I'm thinking, okay, the ATL 404 represent. But then when I looked as I came in the front, I was like, wait a minute, this started at a thousand and something. So that means I have to go to 4,000. Like, yeah, but then I learned that I just had to drive around to the entrance I'd preferred to come in. But instead, I was walking. I didn't really, you know, get a feel for what was going on until afterwards. But I got to see a lot of vendors. That was the main goal. And I'm glad I did because otherwise, if I just stayed in that section that we were all in, because there were tons of vendors there as well, then I wouldn't have got to see all that this place had to offer. But I tell you, it was amazing. My eyes were just going all around the place because people had some amazing setups, these vendors did, and it was just a great opportunity to network. There were great full vendors indoors and outdoors. There were beautiful trucks, indoors and outdoors as well. Everybody had nice setups, and I thought, you know, it put me in mind of like car bike shows that you may go to in your city. I don't know if any of you have been can relate, but they are truly amazing because the best of the best comes out. Well, the best of the best in trucks and in trucking industry, period, showed up at this event. So whether it was the vendors, the work behind the scenes in trucking or the logistics part of trucking or the actual trucks themselves, all the best of the best were at this event. And I'm glad that I could attend. And people had their services just front and center. So you can actually see what people were doing. Just there were a lot of giveaways, a lot of um raffles where people were just getting so many amazing uh gifts, and it was a lot of people were contributing, you know, just so much to certain causes, and we're very thankful that people walked into our booth and just really felt at home, like they were welcomed, and we had a lot of people sign up for the organization, and you know, get to show off my thing as well. And it was just uh amazing to just see just a whole pot of people, you know, like you're making your favorite dish and you have to put the right seasons in it for it to all, you know, just come together and taste good. Well, it all came together at Matt's and it felt good, and it was just the right amount of agree ingredients to just really make your business take off. So, yeah, you have to check that out. I was fortunate enough to get a few great interviews with some industry voices, including our own Nicole Ward, the CEO and founder of the African American Women's Trucking Association. And when we come back, I'll play some of those. Okay, we are here at the Mid-America Trucking Show 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky. I am your host, Deep Commuter, Commuter Spock Podcast, and I have our CEO of ATA, which is the African American Women Trucking Association, and which I'm so proud to be associated with, member and a certified instructor through. So I have Nicole Ward here. Hello, she is going to tell us a little bit about why we're all here.
SPEAKER_01Nicole. Thank you, thank you. But first off, Deanna, I am so excited to have this conversation on air with you. Thank you for having me here. And thank you for being here. Um, the purpose of Audda being here is to make sure that we're able to represent. When you see African American women, you don't always think about trucking. But trucking puts you, when you see Ottawa, we want you to be put in the mind state of individuals, women that are supported with education and resources, and individuals just like yourself that are able to help you get to the next level. So this is about representation for us to be here for women that look just like us, to see us, and know that hey, we're here, we're here to support you, we're here to make sure that you're able to thrive, survive, have the resources that you need in order to take it to the next level. And that's why we're here. Representation. They don't see this. We are the only Black Women Trucking Association that are here at the Mid-America Trucking Show, and we're the only trucking association that uh supports minority women to this capacity.
SPEAKER_04And that's and it's really needed because it the industry has just been so full of everybody else and not, you know, room enough. Of course, we can get into other programs with other companies who are willing to help, but as a whole, this is what we need to drive the change that you're looking for in this, you know, part of the initiative of the uh this trucking association that I'm so proud to be a member of. So if you are in the area in Kentucky, today is the last day, but we'd love for you to stop by. Our booth is at 40460. Is that right? That's it. That's it. Okay, and we have a lot of our associates here with us members that have recently signed up. We're constantly signing people up. So if you want to find out more information, Nicole, can you tell them how to find us?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, absolutely. If you can't make it to Kentucky and you're gonna miss us at the Mid America Trucking Show, by all means, please find us on www.awta.org. Again, that is www.awta.org. We're on all social media platforms. We welcome you. Black, white, orange, butterfly. It doesn't matter what it is, we are here. However, I will tell you, we are definitely here to make sure we support the black girls that don't see themselves in trucking because we want them to see it in us. So we thank you guys. We appreciate you, Dion, not just for being here, but being a member, being a leader, and most important, being my friend.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I am I am completely honored to be your friend. So let me ask you, real before I let you go. Sure. There are there are some new projects in the works. Are there any that you can like let everybody know? Yes.
SPEAKER_01Well, well, well, let's just put a little bug in the air. I'm a little TV girly, y'all, for those that don't know. Um, and it's really important for us to bridge the gap between reality, TV, all right, education, and the industry. There's no other way to increase the representation of this industry or women in this industry without the certain level of visibility. So, yeah, we're gonna bring a little highlight to women. We're gonna let the we're coming to the big screen. Yeah, no, we're coming to the big screen, y'all. So just get ready.
SPEAKER_04Cause we're coming. All right, all right, y'all. I'm gonna let you go ahead because we're really it's really busy out here. So if you guys want to be part of all the networking, you still have time. We appreciate you. Thank you so much for having me. So I am back with you. We are at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, and I am your host, the Commuter, Commuter Spock Podcast, and I have with me Tanya Shepherd, who is the executive producer of Trucking Beavis, which is an upcoming show for Ada, African American Trucking Women's Trucking Association, in which I am an affiliate. Hello, Tanya. Thank you for joining us. Oh my gosh. So happy to have you here. Yes, can you tell us a little bit about what your the program, the project that you're on with ATTA is all about?
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. So it's uh it's gonna focus on women and trucking, specifically Nicole Ward and her mother, Donna Shepard. Um it's gonna be a sixth episode for season with, and I'm here uh gathering the corporate sponsors, um, preferably in the trekking industry, but the big brands that that want to get behind this initiative. And emerging markets are always the most exciting for brands to be a part of, and it's the reception's been amazing. Um we're looking for a fourth quarter launch, so which is everybody's biggest season, you know. Okay, um, and we're gonna we're gonna gather our sponsors and then get right into production. And um, we're just basically highlighting women in trucking and the fact that there's a place for women um at the table, and and there are more spaces now for African American women in the trucking industry.
SPEAKER_04Uh, and we're glad to see being able to connect this way to uh put it out there, you know, the beginning, how it starts, how we've worked so hard. And Nicole is the founder, Nicole Board of the African American Women's Trucking Association. So this project is based on her and her mom. And it's and how would you how would you say that's that's gonna start out?
SPEAKER_03How does that look for oh we're gonna so we're gonna talk about the the origin stories uh for for Nicole and her mom? It started with a Facebook group that um was called Trucking Diva's Rock. It was a support group, and the founder unfortunately got ill and died, and her partner was looking for someone to take it over. And and Nicole got real involved, and and her energy was exactly what she was looking for to hand off. And so she said, Do you wanna do you want to run this Facebook group? And if you know, Nicole never says no. She's like, Of course I do. And that ended up evolving into A W T A. So um, you know, it's a grassroots kind of oh gosh, it was like it was meant to be. Like Nicole got the assignment that she was a thousand percent ready for, and she has blown it up. Yes, and I dare you to watch Nicole and not fall in love with her.
SPEAKER_04She is absolutely I can agree, I can attest to that because I signed up and when I met Nicole, I I feel like it was just a union that was meant to be. So we've been I've been able to get the resources I need from my company and others. If you're looking to scale your businesses, you can uh you can join us at awta.org, and we can get all the information you need in order to be a part of this wonderful community of women truckers of all types, ages, sizes, and all beautiful, I have to say this.
SPEAKER_03So it's gonna be beautiful women, um, hopeful and positive. And I have heard from more and more people who have found the organization in Nicole and said, she just pumped hope in me and strength and community and all those things that make us better at everything we do. And the fact of the matter is, we all need each other. We do, we do, yeah. So it's gonna hit that that space in your heart, and you're gonna come back for more. You're gonna be like, Who's the next trucking dealer and who's the next one? And we have a stack of them, so you know this is season one. Awesome, and I want as many seasons as we can crank out, so that's my goal.
SPEAKER_04Well, I will be bringing you back here on the Computer Squad Podcast. We might just be a deal. We uh trucking details, absolutely. I give me an episode. I'm telling you, it's but thank you so much for sharing what the future looks like for here at ATA. Thanks to our executive producer, Tanya Shepherd, and we'll be back. Thanks, now talking with Amani, who is a member of Ada, as am I, and she's with us right now. We're all here at the Mid-America Choking Show in Louisville, Kentucky. It's the last day, but I am wanting to speak to everybody and anybody who is willing to advance their career options and education, and Ada has programs, and Amani is gonna share what those are about.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. Thank you, Dion, so much. I uh am a member of AUDA, I've been a member of AUDA for about two and a half years now. I serve on the advisory board as a secretary, and I'm also one of their certified instructors along with Ms. Dion. So, right now we offer the Driven Together Education Program. So, anybody that wants to get their CDL along with their supply chain certification or learn to be a dispatcher, this is definitely the right place to come. We are certified trainers, which means you're walking out with all the information that you need. Every one of our instructors have been doing this for years, we're not new to this. Most of them are drivers and they have not only the back office but the behind the road, too.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, see, we want to inform you. So if you are a driver and you're looking to, you know, expand your business into the dispatching, because a lot of times you don't have time for the dispatching. So if that is the case and you want to advance on a different level of knowledge about how to really make your truck or any trucks that you sign on to your company, that's what you're looking to do. We can help elevate that for you by offering you certified education programs that can get you um to doing that, to doing dispatching for anyone, including yourself. And that's what we're doing here, right? Hope that you guys would would check out um all that Auda has to offer. And if you want more information, you can go to www.awta.org. And Amani is also a dispatcher. Almani, tell us about your company that you have.
SPEAKER_02So I am the owner of Fleetology. We specialize in dispatching, compliance, and pretty much all things trucking. We want to make sure that the drivers are safe on the road, you're getting the best rates, and you are not stressing while you're driving. You focus on driving, we focus on everything else.
SPEAKER_04All right, and we have a marketplace here at Ada that will offer members a lot of opportunities to get everything you need from one spot, right? One place, like a one-stop shop. Exactly. We're becoming it. So if you're looking to grow with us, we love to have you. We tell you any and everyone.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. We want to make sure that you are able to grow your business as we grow ours. So if you have a business and you want to partner with us, please feel free to reach out to us. You can submit a form on our website, and we will definitely sit down and show you everything that Auda has to offer.
SPEAKER_04Thank you so much for talking with us. Thank you for having me. It's a busy show, y'all. Yes, all right, listeners. We are back still in Louisville, Kentucky, at Matt's Mid-America Trucking Show. And I have with me Mona Beadle, who's a part of real life trucking stories. She's featured in articles, and I'm gonna let you hear from her exactly what it is she does and how she's come to be here at uh what brings her here to Matt's.
SPEAKER_00Please tell us. Oh, okay. Um, well, my name is Chaplin Mona Beadle, and I've been in ministry for over 40 years. I started the women's uh ministry in 2014, and um reason why I had started that was I'm a truck driver of 38 years, and I saw the struggles of the you know women out there and the the uh isolation they were dealing with and not being able to be home with their family, missing out on a lot of things. And then so the Lord put it on my heart to start um before was trucking angels for Christ ministries, and now uh the Lord has advanced it to Treasure Words Outreach, which I'm gonna read it from there. That Treasure Words Outreach is a mobile ministry, and we're dedicated to uplifting truckers and the faith and their hope and spiritual encouragement. So we meet them right where they are in life.
SPEAKER_04All right, that's amazing. And so there's a lot of published books that you have to offer people that can get how they can they get this information?
SPEAKER_00Okay, um, I go to different events throughout the year, and I pass out free Bibles, free real life storybooks, and just uh different variety of things that we have to offer to help them in their spiritual walk with the Lord.
SPEAKER_04You know, um there's so much that they go through, and we just want to make it um available for them and easier to get through the uh the life trucking life because it's not easy being out there on the road and feeling alone. And and we've talked about this on a previous show that uh it is a lonely road out there, and if you know God and you have you've taken and turned it over to Him, then you would definitely want to feel that you have some material to go off because we've all of course if we're reading the Bible, there's more information out there that we that make maybe we can understand and relate to on a daily. So it's a lot of information here. Uh, books for uh lonely but never alone. Why in the world am I here? I love that one. I've got to check that one out. Who am I in Christ? So where are you in your beliefs? Yes, tell us about that one. 365 Bedtime Bible stories.
SPEAKER_00Oh, well, I love this one because you know, when the drivers come with their children to our table, I want to be able to give them God's word in bedtime story form. And so I make sure that all the kids that come by here um have this in their hand so they can know more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and all the promises that are in his word.
SPEAKER_04Awesome. And I did hear you say chaplain Mona. So do you are you practicing in some of these trucking uh stops or are you there? Are you visible anywhere for any of the truckers?
SPEAKER_00Uh I go wherever the Lord opens up. Um, I have been a co-pastor at a church down in Florida. I say I've been ministering off and on to drivers for 40 years. Rather, it's just like talking with me and you, um praying with them, going to different chapels, uh singing, you know, okay, different forms of ministry.
SPEAKER_04Okay, and she you can also find her online. She has a podcast, uh, reaching out to the communities uh in faith. So please just let our listeners know how they can reach you with that.
SPEAKER_00Oh, absolutely. Um you can find me on CTR Media Network. Uh it's it's it's really fun. So uh if the podcast is uh called Faith in Every Mile, and I have devotions that um I share on there uh probably two, three times a week. And then I also are uh I'm also going to start interviewing people uh on there to where they could tell us about their testimony, where they were, where they are with Christ now, and how other people can get involved in what they're doing as well.
SPEAKER_04Oh, awesome! Thank you. So if you're walking with Jesus, then you definitely want to talk with Ms. Mona. It's been it's been joyous. Thank you for talking with me, Mona.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_04So I know you know by now where the commuter spot was this past weekend. Louisville, Kentucky, at the Mid-America Trucking Show. And people came from all over by planes, trains, and automobiles. And let's not forget those big, beautiful trucks people rolled up in that made you wonder who that. I might not know all the names of the people and businesses in attendance, but I'd like to send a special thanks to the remarkable ladies who took the time to share with listeners who they are and what they bring to the trucking industry. Samantha Rouse with Rouseway, Omani with Fleetology, Tanya Labar, executive producer for ATA, Chaplain Mona Beadle with Treasured Words Outreach, and last but not least, founder of the African American. Women's Trucking Association Nicole Ward. Thank you so much, ladies. If you'd like to put some faces with those names, you can go to my YouTube channel at Flygirl Trucker, like and subscribe. Also, you can find some images and video clips from the past event on our Commuter Spot Facebook page. And while you're there, drop us some experience you've had in this working world of commuters. We'd love to highlight you on a future show. Till next time, you know, we're going to be able to do that.