Safety Management Council

The Safety Management Council (SMC) consists of fleet safety personnel. The council sponsors a variety of activities to educate its members about new developments in safety and encourages professional driving to promote a better public image for the trucking industry.

SMC Officers

Steve Blake, Chairman
Statewide Materials Transport Leasing, LTD sblake@statewidematerials.com

Van Trimble, 1st Vice Chairman
Brookshire Grocery Co. vantrimble@brookshires.com

Steve Wilhelms, 2nd Vice Chairman
AIG - American Insurance Group, Inc. steven.wilhelms@aig.com

Kenny Ray, 3rd Vice Chairman
Marsh & McLennan Agency kenny.ray@marshmma.com

Chris Iennaco, Secretary/Treasurer
HEB Grocery Co. lennaco.christopher@heb.com

SMC SeminarS

Spring 2024 Wrap Up

TXTA Safety Management Council (SMC) helds its Spring Seminar in Waco, TX from March 27-29, 2024. With an impressive turnout of over 150 attendees, participants gained invaluable insights on various crucial topics including:

A Legislative/Regulatory Report presented by Dana Moore, TXTA VP Government Affairs
Establishing A Safety Culture, led by Scott Morris from Certus Hypercomm
Workplace Impairment Training conducted by April Harris from the National Safety Council
An OSHA update provided by Kenny Ray from Marsh & McLennan Agency
Legal Pitfalls To Avoid and Precautions To Take, addressed by Peyton Inge from Kershaw Anderson
A comprehensive Safety Update from representatives of the Texas Department of Public Safety: Major Chris Nordloh, Captain Bart Teeter, Lt. Danny Martinez, Sgt. Tim Davis, Rebecca Ramirez, and Stephanie Minor
Updates from the U.S. Department of Transportation, featuring Rodney Baumgartner, Jeff Langloss, and Ron Coleman, all from FMCSA.

Additionally, just prior to the conference commencement, candidates underwent interviews with our Safety Certification Interview Board. We are pleased to announce that the following individuals successfully completed their interviews and were granted Director Level Certification in the TXTA National Motor Transportation Safety Certification program:

Alex Ovalles from Southwestern Motor Transport, Dallas, TX
Wesley Bement from Arnold Transportation Services, Cedar Hill, TX

Thank you to all our exhbitors and sponsors!

Presenting Sponsor:
PrePass Safety Alliance

Title Sponsors:
ISAAC Instruments LLC
Great West Casualty Company
TXTA Services

Refreshment/Break Sponsors:
Troy Construction
Transafe, Inc

General Sponsors:
Troy Construction, LLC
KIMRAD Transport, LP
Council of Safety Professionals San Antonio
DFW Council of Safety Professionals
East Texas Council of Trucking Professionals
Houston Council of Safety Professionals

Fall 2023 Wrap Up

The TXTA Safety Management Council recently held their Safety Management Council (SMC) Fall Seminar in San Marcos, Texas. The more than 175 attendees had a jampacked agenda featuring key industry information and speakers including:

An 88^th Texas Legislative Session Report from TXTA President and CEO John D. Esparza and Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Dana Moore
A Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Titles & Registrations presentation from Carol Fallin, Director, Licensing & Registration, discussing upcoming permit changes, registration and apportioned tags, the multi-Year fleet program and other items
Dodging Legal Potholes with Peyton Inge, Kershaw Anderson; Ed Brady, ENR Consulting; Tom Hartman, Commercial Fleet Data Systems; and Kenny Ray, Cline Wood, a Marsh McLennan Agency
Distracted Driving, from April Harris Ramos with the National Safety Council
Updated from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol discussing commercial driver license (CDL) renewals, records and notifications, new proposed compliance, safety and accountability (CSA) scoring system, the clearinghouse, Mexican CDLs, the Texas hold’em initiative and border issues and activities.

In addition, each of the local safety councils from Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston and East Texas reported on each council’s activities throughout the year and invited attendees to be a part of one or more of the local councils.

Just prior to the beginning of the conference, five candidates appeared before our Safety Certification Interview Board. All five candidates successfully completed the interview and were granted their Director Level Certification in the TXTA National Motor Transportation Safety Certification program.

Candidates were presented their certificates during the conference. The candidates were:

Felix Beard, Sr., Carmen Pacheco Transportation
Brent McDonald, Southwestern Motor Transport
Rodney Moeller, Waterloo Insurance
John PIttmon, Select Energy Services, LLC
Rick Thomas, Webber LLC

During the awards dinner, numerous individuals were recognized for their contributions to the trucking industry, their companies, TXTA and the SMC. Award recipients were:

Robert Svoboda, Jr., with Walmart Transportation, was recognized as the TXTA 2023 Driver of the Year
Don Baldridge with Gulfmark Energy was recognized as the 2023 Distinguished Safety Award recipient
Rommel Garcia with the Houston Police Department, CVE Unit, was presented the C.H. Cheshire Safety Award
Joe Colwell with Commercial Fleet Data Systems was presented the SMC Excellence in Service Award

The seminar concluded with the closing luncheon where outgoing SMC Chairwoman Angela Lam, Cheetah Transportation, was recognized for her year as Chairwoman. Also recognized were the incoming SMC Officers for 2023-24. They are:

Chairman: Steve Blake, Statewide Transport Leasing, LTD
1^st Vice Chairman: Van Trimble, Brookshire Grocery Co.
2^nd Vice Chairman: Steve Wilhelms, TVC Pro-Driver
3^rd Vice Chairman: Kenny Ray, Cline Wood, A Marsh McLennan Agency
Secretary/Treasurer: Chris Iennaco, HEB Grocery Co

SMC Fall Seminar would not be possible without our generous sponsors—thank you!

Presenting Sponsors:

Border Trucking Compliance Group

PrePass Safety Alliance

Title Sponsors:

Great West Casualty Company

Transafe

Break Sponsor:

Transafe

Opening Reception:

Envue Telematics

Spring 2023 Wrap Up

SMC held the spring seminar on March 29–31, 2023, at the Waco Hilton. Topics included the current legislative session, understanding the jury perspective and how to avoid nuclear verdicts, driver shortage, managing safety, selecting an emergency response provider, and updates from USDOT, TxDOT and U.S. Border Patrol, including the new proposed CSA scoring system, the Clearing House, Mexican CDLs and border issues and activities. Thanks to all of our speakers: Juan R. Fuentes, The Fuentes Firm, Paul Murphy, Murphy Legal, Ed Brady, ENR Consulting, Ryan Koons, Koons Trucking, John Gusman, Mission Petroleum Carriers, Kenny Ray, Cline Wood, a Marsh McLennan Agency, Kevin Johnston, Lone Star Hazmat, Arlo De Los Santos, Border Patrol Agent, Jeff Langloss USDOT, and Captain Omar Villarreal, Sergeant Richard Reid and Rebecca Ramirez, TxDPS.

To kick off the conference, eight candidates appeared before our Safety Certification Interview Board in consideration for director-level certification. All successfully completed the interview and were granted Director Level Certification in the TXTA National Motor Transportation Safety Certification program. This was the largest group of candidates to appear before the board and each were presented their certificates during the conference. Congratulations to the following certification recipients:

Sara Beers, Genox Transportation, Inc.
James Burleson, Grace Freight, LLC
John Fleck, Jr., Williams Brothers Construction
Charlie Maloy, Pulido Transport
Joe Maple, LSP Transport, LLC
David Serach, Chalk Mountain Services
Sam Pogue, R.B. Stewart Petroleum Products Inc.
Glen Snitker, Tex-Con Oil Co.

Safety Council Chapter Meetings

Dallas/Fort Worth Council of Safety Professionals
Ryan Koons, Chairman
Meets Monthly on 2nd Tuesday, Spring Creek BBQ in Irving, 11:30 am

East Texas Council for Trucking Professionals
Micah Rodgers, Chairman 
Meets Quarterly on 2nd Tuesday (January/April/July/October), Willowbrook Country Club in Tyler, 11:30 am

Houston Council of Safety Professionals
Dylon Clark, Chairman
Meets Monthly on 2nd Friday, The Battleground Golf Course in Deer Park, 11:30 am

Council of Safety Professionals San Antonio Region
Christopher Iennaco, Chairman
Meets Monthly on Last Tuesday, Chesters Hamburgers in San Antonio, 11:45 am

National Motor Transportation Certification Program

The National Motor Transportation Certification Program for Practicing Professionals in the Transportation Industry is established under the TXTA, TXTA’s Safety Management Council, TXTA’s Fleet Maintenance Council and the University of North Texas. The purpose of the Certification Program is to implement a comprehensive plan of accreditation and certification for individuals in the fields of motor carrier safety or maintenance; to identify those individuals that have met the criteria for accreditation; and to promote the intellectual development of those individuals, organizations, and institutions involved in motor carrier safety or maintenance.

For additional information, please contact Lance Shillingburg lance@texastrucking.com

History

In 1953, member companies of Texas Motor Transportation Association (TMTA), now Texas Trucking Association (TXTA), created the TMTA Texas Council of Safety Supervisors, now TXTA Safety Management Council (SMC), as a cooperative effort to develop industry standards in safety education, driver development, image enhancement, loss prevention and other topics to strengthen quality performance within the industry. Strong safety networking was established between carrier members and participants within the council. In addition to education sessions, action programs were created that fostered cooperative work efforts among council members who worked together with the compliance enforcement bodies on projects designed to promote compliance, reduce losses, improve quality and safety, as well as enhance the public image of the trucking industry. Each year since 1962, the Safety Council Program has received the Summa Cum Laude Award, the highest safety award possible, from American Trucking Associations (ATA) in recognition of the continued involvements and accomplishments of the SMC.

Award Programs

SMC recognizes council members, law enforcement officers, companies, drivers and technicians through a variety of awards and contests. These programs reward individuals who go above and beyond to promote safety and professionalism, as well as exemplify a strong dedication to the trucking industry. SMC awards and competitions include the Distinguished Safety Award, Excellence in Service Award, TXTA Driver of the Year, Truck Driving Championships, Truck Safety Award and C.H. Cheshire Award.