A History of Expediting

[ATeam]

In a recent post, David Mayfield (DavidWMayfield) spoke of creating an expediting Hall of Fame. That post led to talk of people who should be included and to talk of the history of expediting. See:

http://www.expeditersonline.com/cgi...read&om=3869&forum=DCForumID1&viewmode=all#18

I want to credit Mr. Mayfield with initiating the conversation that inspired ExpeditersOnline to create and publish a history of expediting.

This project is in its very early stages now. It will take months and perhaps more than a year to complete. It will involve extensive industry research to collect information, photos, and personal accounts from a wide variety of sources, including carriers, industry writers, vendors and expediters.

Helpful information and content suggestions have already been received from a number of EO Open Forum members. We'll be looking for much more of the same as we shape this project.

If you are interested in contributing to this effort in any way, please send your name and contact info to me by private message.

At present, we are simply gathering information in an informal way. Whatever facts and recollections people offer, we're dumping them into a basket to be sorted out later.

As that activity proceeds, and as content suggestions continue to come in, I will formulate a project plan and task list, with tasks to be assigned to people on the team. Tasks like identify vendors, organize photos, survey long-time expediters, research industry publications, proof reading, fact checking, and acquiring copies of charter documents come to mind.

I will soon set up a private web site where work can be coordinated and team members can easily communicate with each other and know what is going on.

While I'm at it, let me also credit Greg Siciliano (greg334) with suggesting that EO offer the "Introduction to Expediting" piece as an online .pdf document. Having done so, we find the piece is being well received both as an online reference and a truck show and workshop handout.

Regarding Mr. Mayfield's expediter hall of fame idea, while a history of expediting and a hall of fame are two distinct concepts, no history of expediting would be complete without profiles of and stories from expediters who have been hauling freight since the early days. Identifying and gathering info from them would also be a project task.

Comments and suggestions are welcome, either here in this topic, in the topic referenced above, or by private e-mail.

Thank you for your support.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

Ateam, if you check the archives i think you will find that it was geo who first brought up the idea of a hall of fame not david mayfield.

 

[guest]

Yes, Doggie Daddy is right. Geo talked about a EO Hall of Fame back in 2004. I'm Talking about a Hall of Fame in Akron Ohio. But we both have the same Ideal and the same Goal. So I guess you could say it was Geo that got the Ball Rolling. Then I put a post up again about the a Hall of Fame and the good old days. Phil then Said "what about the history of Expediting". Phil thought of the ideal of doing something on the history of Expedinging. So I can't take credit for anything. I would be glad to work with Phil on the History of Expediting if he wants me too. I'm going to try help as much as I can because I love History.



Here is the post that Geo put up.

A post By GEO

there is a rock and roll , country hall fame, football to
and a few other's
i think we need a eo hall of fame, for the people who help start this
trade and or help it grow into what it is now
in 1992 when i started expediters were not seen as truck drivers
and nobody understood what we were doing
and when expo came along and when eo showed up at the truck show
is when we came of age

so my list is as follows
l mccord started eo and expo
jeff jensen his trusted asst
terry and rennee example everybody follows
weave for there advice and help
teacel
dan schultz, made one of the first expediters trucks and look
where they are now
bill mccloud one of the first recuiter in expediting
and many others who lead way
need help in name them

maybe every year at lou ville truck show name people who have
been chosen for the year and then at expo putem in hall fame
teacel






Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts express O/O Since 3/3/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,

 

[geo]

thanks for kind words
and this is a great idea history of expediting, i'm not a writer i collect info and pass it on , or start idea and it has taken awhile to get this to this point now we should add to it, maybe make a forum like site here as people remeber things , and they get in right order

 

[ATeam]

>Ateam, if you check the archives i think you will find that
>it was geo who first brought up the idea of a hall of fame
>not david mayfield.

Thank you, DD. This is precisely why we'll need to submit the near-completed work to a number of people for fact checking and critical review.

 

[ATeam]

>thanks for kind words
>and this is a great idea history of expediting, i'm not a
>writer i collect info and pass it on , or start idea and it
>has taken awhile to get this to this point now we should add
>to it, maybe make a forum like site here as people remeber
>things , and they get in right order

I'm working on that now, geo. I'm setting up a private web site where team members (helpers, volunteers, interested drivers, whatever you wish to call them) can participate on a regular basis and help with the work. As far as putting things in the write order and relating one development to all others, a number of timelines will need to be developed that discuss the history of:

The carriers (founding dates, individual carrier histories)
The trucks (photos please!)
The vendors (specialty truck suppliers)
The economy (general economic conditions, including fuel)
The technology (impact of cell phones, Qualcomm, internet, etc. )
The drivers (kind of people who enter industry then and now)
The customers (kind of freight shipped then and now)
The trucking industry general history
The regulatory environment

It sounds like a lot, but it's managable. All of these topics can be broken down to smaller research tasks, and many hands make light work. Geo says, "...i collect info and pass it on...." That's exactly what is needed at this point in the project. Once we have a good handle on the facts of expediting we can venture into the good stuff.

Facts have to do with the who, what, where, and when. The good stuff has to do with the why people do what they do, how they feel about it, and how they feel about what others are doing too. It also includes things like "I remember when" stories and other recollections from the road.

Thank you David and geo for volunteering. Others have responded privately. I'll be in touch all team members when our web site is up and running. In the meantime, please continue to share your thoughts and info here in the Open Forum.

 

[tallcal101]

Excellent idea.It's a very American story,and one worth being told.
I know a historian in Australia who did the same thing with the road trains that used to haul multiple trailers across the Austrailan'byte"as they refer to the early paved (and unpaved roads)across their vast country.Their gone now,as rail is more efficiant.
I would be happy to contribute in any way I can.It's interesting to note that a number of Van Lines have purchased expediter type equipment to service non household goods loads within regions.Seeing more and more running the west coast.

 

[DocRushing]

What happened to the proposal to get a separate book for vans?

 

[fastman_1]

I think the first Guy Inducted should be the one that First Hung a Sleeper on a U.D.









































Owner/Operator since 1979
Expediter since 1997
B Unit Semi Retired
Somedays are Diamonds and Somedays are Stones

 

[guest]

His name is On the list, that was Dan Schultz. He was working for Wade Ford, out of Wadsworth, Ohio. They sold Ford's and UD's Trucks.


Drive safe

Dave Mayfield
FEDExCC/Roberts express O/O Since 3/3/1995
C1847,C2045,D3397,

 

[fastman_1]

Nope I mean the Actual guy that got out the hammer and tape and a piece of sheet metal and built the first one.









































Owner/Operator since 1979
Expediter since 1997
B Unit Semi Retired
Somedays are Diamonds and Somedays are Stones

 

[greg334]

I sit here reading this thread and I see something that seems to be a little over the top. Maybe no one wants to say this, maybe no one cares or maybe I am the only one who finds some of this rather well ... slightly .... just a little bit ... self-serving. I have to say something because of my ethics.

I am seriously questioning the need for a separate ‘private’ website for this 'in depth' project, maybe it is me and my website owner/manager/developer’s ethics kicking in causing such agitation, to me EO is the perfect and only place that should be used as a central point for everyone working on the project like this. I would suggest do away with this idea of private website with private comments, private control and the efforts to keep this exclusively somewhere else in the control of one person instead of using a place that many are already familiar, at a place where they already participate and can/do readily work together. I mean as a proud member of EO and being brutally honest this takes away from the inclusive atmosphere of EO and the sharing of ideas about the profession, the history, opinions and such including any contribution to this project but to step away from EO seems to be too much. As much as I hate censorship, I also hate exclusion just as much and this private website idea reeks of exclusion.

This is not a global corporate marketing project with coordination of 1000 people who don’t speak the same language, where there are private behind the seen conversations going on and where there is a need to control things with precision to meet deadlines but a simple history that should be written as simply and briefly as possible with words from the people themselves who lived it.

There is my contribution to the history of Expediting.

 

[ATeam]

Because the volunteers will not be in the same office working together, the web will be used as the most effective means of communication available.

That in iteself is exclusive. It shuts out or hinders those who have much to add but lack computer skills, and thus the ability to easily communicate with the team. An attempt will be made to include such people in the project at a later date, but not now. We have enough knowledgable people on board already, who have computer skills, to get us started.

Because our work involves research and fact checking, the group web site will be private. I don't want people debating publicly who, for example, built the first-ever D-unit reefer truck. I want to gather the facts privately. Once we have the evidence, documentation, confirmation, etc., we'll print the truth. Before the book is published, the entire work will be presented to knowledgable people for a second round of fact checking and critical review.

The work will be done in private because volunteers should be to be able to discuss items without fear of ruffling feathers of the people we will be writing about. For example, a carrier CEO may submit an account of how and why he founded his company, but his facts may not check out. He might be lying, or just spinning things a little for his company's benefit, or he may have told the truth but his typist made a big boo boo. Dealing with such matters is the stuff of private discussion, not public.

Developing a list of the notable pioneers, not for hall of fame purposes, but for illustrating the life and times of early expediters, means developing a list. A list, by its very nature is an exclusive device. Even if we included 500 people, someone will feel hurt and left out. While that is a sad fact, it is not a reason to shy away from a list.

This is not a campfire sing-along or bar-room full of buddies talking about the good old days. Nor is it a mutual admiration exercise. This is a research project and an attempt to produce a work that will pass the test of time, academic scrutiny, critiques of industry writers, and the judgement of the expediters, carrier personnel and others who will read it.

Exclusive? Yes it is. It involves private research and private conversations about it, and it favors people who can use computers to communicate over those who cannot. We will write a fair amount about some expediters and nothing about others.

We're not getting up a cookout in a truck stop parking lot. We're not hosting an meeting-room mixer for people can get to know each other better. We're not putting on a truck show to produce oohs and aahs. We're writing a history book.

Self serving? Yes it is. For me personally, I'm having the time of my life with this. I'm in my element, banging out streams of words at the keyboard, organizing a project, solving problems, making new discoveries, marshalling the talents of volunteers around a common purpose (something I do well, see my bio), etc. Most importantly, I'm pouring my energy into something that will produce an informative and useful reference for anyone and everyone who is interested in expediting.

For others on the team, I hope it is self serving too. Whether they are coming on board out of a love of history, a desire to document and honor pioneers they respect, a belief this is a project worthy of their support, a desire to get to know their carrier or industry better, or a host of other reasons; I hope team members find the same joy and fulfillment in this project as I do. And I hope they can do so without feeling the need to justify themselves or their motives to anyone.

 

[ATeam]

This is to provide an example of the kind of tasks this project will involve and the kind of research help we seek.

As luck would have it, Diane and I deliver a load in Kansas City tomorrow morning. The OOIDA office is nearby. If we do not get dispatched out, we'll drive over there to inquire about obtaining copies of certain Land Line magazine articles.

For many years, Land Line has published year-end reviews of the trucking industry. I'm hoping to get copies of the year-in-review articles from 2005 back to the Roberts Express days and perhaps a few years before. Those articles can be used (and cited as a source, of course) to populate one or more of the timelines listed above.

I'll mail the articles to the team member(s) who agree to the task. It will take a fair amount of time and some careful reading to extract the dates and relevant names and events, type them up in time-line fashion, proof-read your work for accuracy, and add them to the mix. Perhaps the task can be divided among a few volunteers with each one taking a few year's-worth of articles.

In the same vein, Jeff Jensen's year-in-review for expediting articles will also need to be collected and similarly utilized.

 

[greg334]

Phil, a response is rather hard to write, seeing that I think you missed my point.

And I read your bio, your point?

You know I do agree with some things you are saying, but the way I see it the simplicity of the idea and what impact the information and its delivery can make is overshadowed by the problems of the project’s complexity that has been created by one’s idea of what something should be. But it is your project, your information gathering engine in play so enough said.

I don’t want to insult people who think this is a good idea, it is.

Honestly Phil I give up, I got better things to do with my time then to point out things that people don’t care about even if I see something ... well.. not going to say it.

Oh I figured out why the separate website, slick – really slick.

 

[Mudflap]

How about just an EO hall of fame to keep it simple I think that was Geo's idea if I remember? Just those involved with EO who helped out with expediting from EO's beginning I remember a lot of fellows who helped me here, and not all well actually few were FedEx or Roberts people. ATeam you sound like you want to do your project and research through this site yet have it be put on another possibly your own site you link up to what's up with that Ateam Why not do either the EO hall of fame or history thing right here at EO? A lot of people helped me here at EO, and I gather you too Ateam, why not give something back instead of doing your project elsewhere to take sole credit for?
Denny

 

[MikeC]

Boy I am new to EO but not expediting. I have operated a C truck for 5 years. I have to agree with Gregg that this a pure self serving project to build up the authors already pompous ego. I have heard many things about this individual and after joining up and reading his posts,I have to admit they are all true.

 

[highway star]

Disagreements are very common here in the Forum. I think Ateam makes a good point in wanting to keep that under control as much as possible. I don't feel excluded as I, or anyone, could simply PM Ateam with any suggestion I might have. Self serving? I doubt it. After all, it's just expediting. Best of luck Ateam.

 

[greg334]

I guess I lied that I won’t say anything else.

Highway star,

You know you make a really good point and you are right on the money, it is just expediting. You are also right it needs to be controlled to some point, but as Denny pointed out, why somewhere else.

As for exclusion, I don’t feel excluded either; actually I don’t want to be included – I have nothing to contribute. But with that said I can’t see a better person to do the work than Phil and I think he would do a great job with what he outlined – I really like his intro to expediting and do hand them out when asked about expediting.

I want to tell you two reasons I am voicing my opinion so strongly, one is what Denny pointed out and the fact that on another thread someone didn’t like what was said and wanted the thread locked or deleted. Like I said, it may be me, but something stinks.

I am also like Phil, I got websites, I write too but I am a little different about my approach to what is right and wrong. For example I have three new websites setup and the sole purpose is to give back and help others in different ways. Because of the programming of one module for one of the sites, the launching of two out of the three will be delayed until the programming is completed, the third is already live and I am writing more content while I am on the road (when ever I get on the road). The module is a result of many of your complaints and is being written to accept electronic signatures for petitions and then confirm and validate the batched data against different databases with voter registration data within a time period to ensure integrity of the data gathered - complex and boring. I am not doing this work to make a name for myself but to help everyone and I am very passionate what I have said in the past. So the two sites aren’t live yet but I have sort of mentioned them here (not the addresses) and other sites I am a member of, I have asked for permission to post the links in my signature but have not followed up to the reply and I will ‘launch†them when I feel they are ready. These sites are not competing sites for EO in anyway, shape or form; I feel that is unethical to do so, my philosophy is simple - if it’s about expediting, it belongs here at EO, period. Mind you one is about my truck, how it is equipped, what it is used for, what I sort of do for a living and what I feel is important but it asks my visitors to go to this site for the rest of the information on expediting if they want to know more.

Well now I am finished.

 

[tallcal101]

Decided I did'nt need 5 paragraphs from Greg on that suggestion.