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NATSO's Mission

To advance the success of truckstop and travel plaza members.

NATSO’s History

On May 20, 1960, a handful of individuals met together in Washington, D.C. to begin a process that led to the creation of a nationwide trade association for members and participants in one of the nation’s most rapidly growing industries: the truckstops along America’s roads and highways. The organization that was established by those pioneers back in 1960 was known as National Association of Truckstop Operators, and is now NATSO.

NATSO today is over a thousand members strong, and represents an industry whose annual sales run in the tens of billions of dollars and whose members alone pump a staggering ten billion gallons of fuel annually. By themselves, the restaurants in NATSO truckstops dispense more than one billion dollars in food and drink to over-the-road truckers. But in 1960, the truckstop industry was only just beginning to flex its muscles.

Of course, the truckstop was not a new idea. Ever since people saw the opportunity to profit from trade and commerce in the transport of long-distance freight, there have been roadside stations to cater to the needs of the men and women who carried the goods from city to city. In ancient times, when explorers like Marco Polo opened the way for caravans to bring precious goods from China and India to the port of Venice, history records the existence of facilities designed to supply food, water, and supplies to the overland carriers. And, in early America, the forerunners of today’s truckstops sprung up across the nation to supply staple goods to the horse-drawn teamsters of yesteryear.

By the 1950s from coast-to-coast in North America, the trucking industry had come into its own as the nation’s chief method of hauling freight. The post-World War II economic boom aided the astonishing growth of America’s cities and the creation of a network of suburbs and industrial communities. This economic expansion also led to the rapid development of national transportation infrastructure. Immediately after the war, during the Truman Administration, transportation experts suggested the creation of a national system of federally funded superhighways that would provide a quicker means of moving both goods and passengers between major cities. By the mid-1950s the Eisenhower Administration and Congress created the Highway Trust Fund and the Interstate Highway System. (Learn more about the 50th anniversary of the Interstate here).

By 1959, the interstate system was growing rapidly, and it was evident in virtually every state in the union. Hardly a month went by without one state or another staging the opening ceremony for a brand new freeway or throughway. The modern concept of the truckstop had its origin in the late 1920s and early 1930s, when a small number of 24-hour roadside facilities, designed to provide fuel and a complete range of services to the trucker, sprung up independently across the country. This was, of course, long before the modern interstate system, when highways such as the legendary U.S. Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles and U.S. 1 along the East Coast were the arteries that carried America’s truckers from farms and factories to the consumer. By the 1950s, however, companies such as Pure Oil, Amoco and Skelly began to develop divisions particularly oriented toward the truckstop segment of the marketing departments. During a series of exploratory meetings in 1960, the idea to create a national association of truckstops was born.

The first recorded such meeting occurred on May 20, in Washington, D.C. Included in that first session were Oran V. Jarrrell of Jarrell’s and Glancy in Hewlett, Virginia; Frank Cherry of Cherry’s Truckstop in Savannah, Tenn.; J.J. McKenna of the Sohio Truckstop in North Lima, Ohio; John Sorentino of Soroco Inc., North Bergen, N.J.; and Jeff Isbell of National Truckers Service Inc. (NTS). Dave White and Tom Leader, publishers of the brand new process of putting together a nationwide directory of truckstops to be used by truckers and trucking firms, were asked by participants in the May 20 meeting to formulate plans for “a new and separate organization to unite all truckstops throughout the 48 states.”

On August 15, 1960 another meeting was held in Washington, with the addition of several new participants. After some discussion, a by-laws committee was created. Truck Stop magazine was designated as the official publication for the association called “National Association of Truck Stop Operators.”

According to the minutes of that meeting, NATSO was established with three purposes in mind. First and foremost was “to secure cooperative action in advancing the common purposes of truckstop operators.”

In addition, NATSO would provide financial ratings of trucking firms seeking credit, assistance in collection of delinquent accounts and bad checks, group insurance, legislative analysis and lobbying, business analysis, and an annual convention “to exchange information and ideas.” Also, the group would produce a monthly publication about the truckstop industry. NATSO’s mission has evolved to advance the diverse truckstop industry by: serving as the official source of information on travel plazas, acting as the voice of the industry with government, and conducting the industry’s only national convention and exposition. Today, NATSO’s government affairs operations have helped stave off threats of rest area commercialization and have continued to push the industry’s legislative agenda forward on Capitol Hill. The membership department has a sharp focus on providing members with real value membership opportunities and the future is a bright one.

Founded in 1989, The NATSO Foundation, an affiliated charitable organization, is the research, education and public subsidiary of the travel plaza and truckstop industry. In partnership with NATSO members across the country, the foundation’s pursuits have not only armed the industry with the research necessary to remain competitive and informed, they have changed the lives of countless people across the nation. The NATSO Foundation’s Drive to Save Lives Program has collected over 40,000 gallons of blood, which is enough to have saved 120,000 lives. In its 12th year, the Bill Moon Scholarship Program has awarded over $250,000 in scholarships.

The seven individuals that gathered over 40 years ago likely had no doubt they were creating what would become a major national association serving as the preeminent voice of the truckstop and travel plaza industry. That voice rings as loud and true today as it did then. NATSO is an association on target and on message – ready, willing and able to meet the needs of its diverse membership base every step of the way.