On this week’s episode of Taking the Hire Road, Stormie Janzen, vice president for safety and recruiting at Total Transportation of Mississippi, sat down with Jeremy Reymer, founder of DriverReach and Project 61, to discuss the importance of being involved and engaged in the industry.
Prior to working in the freight industry, Janzen spent 10 years on Capitol Hill working with the U.S. Senate.
“One of the connections I made in Washington eventually went on to become the chief of staff at the American Trucking Associations, and he recruited me to come do speech writing,” Janzen said. “That was a passion of mine and fit with my educational background.”
After she joined the ATA, she fell in love with the people and the industry, as many others have. “I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great folks, including John Stomps, the founder of Total Transportation,” Janzen said. “He later recruited me, and here I am today.”
Total Transportation operates across North America with a brokerage arm as well as dedicated carrier services. With a fleet of just over a thousand trucks, Total has learned the value of reaching out to the public from the grassroots level to lobbying and legislation.
“I have a unique perspective on engagement,” Janzen said. “Because I worked in the Senate for 10 years, I understand the importance of staying engaged and speaking up. The senator I worked with was a lawyer, and I learned very quickly that while he was very knowledgeable about the law, he may not have known as much about things like health care, transportation, education or a variety of other sectors that we come in contact with.”
Janzen added, “When you’re dealing with high-level work, you have to have people who bring that expertise to you.”
And therein lies the importance of a trade association. Organizations like the ATA can represent their area of expertise to those who don’t necessarily know the fine details.
“Move that a step further to the company side of things,” Janzen said. “I see that even those great lobbyists we have don’t necessarily understand the day-to-day challenges that front-line employees are dealing with and how regulations actually affect us and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Being engaged at the corporate level is vitally important not just for individual companies, but for the supply chain as a whole. “You have to be able to tell every side of the story and get that information in front of the right people,” Janzen said.
“For us, it’s invaluable to stay engaged with the community and legislators,” she said.
Not only can carriers like Total learn about changes in regulations and adjust accordingly, she said, but they can also network and contribute to the community’s voice about certain issues. “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu,” Janzen said. “Not only that, but the networking opportunities are immensely important.
“As big of an industry as trucking is, it’s still very tight. People tend to do business with people they know and trust. That’s a major benefit of being active and being willing to help.”
That connectivity is especially noticeable with situations like the recent hurricanes that caused destruction across the southeastern U.S. “One of the best parts of the industry is how everyone can come together and help out in situations like the one we’re in now, with disaster relief across the region,” Janzen said. “Our driver population immediately raised their hands and asked what they could do to help. The drivers took such pride in being the ones to haul loads of goods to places like Tennessee and North Carolina where people were most affected.”
“It’s heartwarming to see. It wasn’t just Total Transportation, of course,” Janzen said. “Trucking companies all over the country came together to help out.”
Janzen hopes that the helpful and dutiful spirit of truckers and supply chain workers won’t be forgotten. “It’s the nature of trucking to be there – we’re going to do our part and keep things moving no matter what,” she said. “We’re kind of the second responders. Obviously rescue and emergency personnel do dangerous work and come in first, but keeping the supply chain moving enables the aid work to continue and keeps people fed and housed.
“I think the public is starting to understand how essential trucking is, especially after incidents like natural disasters or the COVID-19 lockdowns, when it becomes apparent how important it is to keep transporting freight.”
Book recommendation: “The Rejection that Changed my Life”
Click here to learn more about Total Transportation of Mississippi.
Sponsors: DriverReach, Lanefinder, The National Transportation Institute, Career Now Brands, Carrier Intelligence, Infinit-I Workforce Solutions, WorkHound, Asurint, Arya By Leoforce, Seiza, Drive My Way, F|Staff, Trucksafe Consulting, Seated Social, Repowr