National Transportation Week

Sections on this page (click to select)

• Event Schedule

• TCH Speaker Honary Chairman for NTW 2008

• NTW Kick-Off

• NTW All-Club Luncheon

• History of National Transportation Week

Event Schedule

N T W  i n  H o u s t o n

                                                                                 
H o u s t o n  A r e a   T r a n s  C l u b s  K i c k - Of f  N T W  2 0 0 8

Several Houston area transportation and traffic clubs were on hand Monday, February 4th, 2008, for a National Transportation Week kick-off meeting hosted by Danny Schnautz, Clark Freight Lines and President of Transportation Club (TCH) of Houston.  Other participating clubs in attendance were ETA, NARBW, HACA, HTPA, ITMA, HCBFFA and OWIT.  In addition, the Chairman of the Board from Transportation Clubs International (TCI) was present.

L-R, Front:  Judy Colpand, Ralph Lopez, Paty Perez

L-R, Back:  Danny Schnautz, Kurt Meckfessel, Russell Powell, Gail Seaman,

Dennis Tam, Wayne Krennerech and Peter Van Etten

The meeting was conducted as an idea oriented smorgasbord to permit attendees to take ideas back to their respective clubs for review, discussion and planning.  Several outstanding ideas were entertained during the evening signaling that NTW 2008 in Houston could be one of the best ever.

All attendees left the meeting with "homework" and it was established that eMail correspondence would be the most effective way to communicate between participating clubs.

For more on National Transportation Week, visit www.ntweek.org and www.fhwa.dot.gov

"Thanks to HTPA and Denny Tam for this write up." 

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May 15, 2008 - at Brady's Landing [Info/Reg.]

Pictures from the Luncheon-click on one to enlarge

National Transportation Week Houston 2008

"Transportation makes America's way of Life Possible!"

ALL-CLUBS LUNCHEON

• Energy Traffic Association (ETA)
• Houston Air Cargo Association (HACA)
• Houston Custom Brokers and Freight Forwarders Assoc. (HCBFFA)
• Houston Transportation Professionals Association (HTPA)
• International Transportation Management Association (ITMA)
• National Association of Railway Business Women (NARBA)
• National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA)
• Propeller Club (Houston and Sabine) (PC)
• Sabine District Transportation Club (SDTC)
• Transportation Club of Houston (TCH)
• Transportation Clubs International (TCI)

Luncheon Date: Thursday, May 15, 2008, 11:30AM

Luncheon Location: Brady's Landing (on the ship channel)

8505 Cypress Street, Houston, Texas 77012

Phone: (713) 923-9488

 

Chairman NTW Committee: Danny Schnautz, Clark Freight Line

Honorary Chair: Texas Rep. Robert Talton

Keynote Address: Harris County Judge Ed Emmett

Special Program: Salute to the Troops

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May 11th - 18th

History of National Transportation Week

National Transportation Week is the result of efforts begun by a remarkable lady named Charlotte Jones Woods.

In 1952, as the 1st Educational Chairman of the newly formed Women’s Transportation Club of Houston, an educational program was set up in the amount of $500 which was designated to go to a scholarship program at the University of Houston for their degree course in transportation subjects.

Guess what... no one applied! The college reported they had not been able to interest anyone in becoming a truck driver or a policeman. That’s when Charlotte and the Women’s Transportation Club decided "We’re in trouble. The University of Houston knows as much about the field of Transportation as the students... nothing!"

Not wanting the project to fail, the Club made inquiries to see if a day, week or month was set aside to honor the Transportation Industry. Nothing was found. So the Club decided to change that themselves and have a Houston observance of Transportation Week! The first Houston observance came about the week of March 29 to April 4, 1953.

Contacting other Texas towns, nine additional cities were set up for the observance of Texas Transportation Week in 1954.  In collaboration with attorney Frank Norton of Dallas and the Texas Motor Transportation Association, the interested parties put together a 50 page book which addressed itself to the How’s, Why’s and Where’s for Transportation Week.  The book was sent out across Texas and to Clubs in other states where a similar interest was found.

At the 1954 Educational Congress of Traffic Clubs International, the members from Texas gave evidence to the success story of two years experience in promoting the Transportation Industry.  Charlotte Woods was elected to her first term as Director of TCI and sold TCI on the National Sponsorship of National Transportation Week.  A National Chairman was appointed for 1955.

Immediate efforts were unsuccessful toward a set date to be proclaimed by the President of the United States.  A great many people spent long hours in Washington and other areas trying to accomplish this end.  It is not known how many "out of pocket dollars" were used by those dedicated TCI Officers, the management of the industry and various carriers themselves before they even began to approach success.  Year after year a bill would get through the United States House of Representatives, then the U.S. Senate, for a Presidential Proclamation only to have it amended before passing... for that specific year only!

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy declared a permanent date and from that day forth it will always be the week in May which contains the third Friday (National Defense Transportation Day), with the Maritime Day on the following Saturday.

To quote Charlotte Woods, "Who is to say that a failure is the end of the line? I contend that failure is, and should be, the fire that goes on to reap success. Yes, success in the field of Educational Scholarships and of bringing the Transportation Industry into the forceful and immediate attention of the public who would surely perish without it."

Charlotte Jones Woods
08/13/14 - 07/03/77