As we cross into the second half of the year, now is a great time to stop and reflect on all that the NATSO Foundation is doing in 2018 to help advance the educational needs of the truckstop and travel plaza industry.
I hope that many of you, like me, are still reflecting on all you learned at NATSO Connect earlier this year and are taking advantage of the many connections made during the annual event. This year, the NATSO Foundation brought several educational opportunities in a new format, creating what ultimately turned out to be one of the most exciting and vibrant events in NATSO history.
Thanks to the NATSO Foundation, NATSO Connect brought us several incredible keynote speakers, including Bob Costello, chief economist for American Trucking Associations, and global futurist Jack Uldrich, as well as amazing formats for idea sharing and networking.
Continuing that focus on education, the NATSO Foundation currently is reviewing its most recent batch of Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship applications. This year we had more than 100 applications from students all across the country, each of whom has ties to our industry and the potential to one day be our industry’s next generation of leaders. The foundation will review and award those scholarships later this year so that five individuals can continue their studies and prepare for their futures.
The scholarship program represents just one of many educational opportunities offered by the NATSO Foundation.
The foundation continues to support industry education by producing this bimonthly magazine, Stop Watch, the daily newsletter Biz Brief, and through its extensive truckstop and travel plaza training manual.
Furthermore, the foundation offers the How Truckstops Help People Training Tool, an online training tool designed to help teach members of the truckstop and travel plaza industry how to respond to requests for help from people in need of assistance in various scenarios.
It is through this training module that the industry continues to teach members of the truckstop and travel plaza community how to identify and report the signs of human trafficking as well as how to help members of the homeless community who frequently come to our locations seeking help.
These represent just a few of the many educational opportunities offered through the NATSO Foundation. As we move through the second half of 2018, I encourage each of you to take full advantage of all that NATSO and the NATSO Foundation have to offer to ensure a bright future for you, your employees and your customers. And, remember, the foundation is possible because of generosity of fellow operators. If you would like to consider a gift please contact a NATSO staff member.
I’ll see you at NATSO Connect 2019!
Subscribe to Updates
NATSO provides a breadth of information created to strengthen travel plazas’ ability to meet the needs of the travelling public in an age of disruption. This includes knowledge filled blog posts, articles and publications. If you would like to receive a digest of blog post and articles directly in your inbox, please provide your name, email and the frequency of the updates you want to receive the email digest.
