Las Vegas — American Trucking Associations named its fourth class to the LEAD ATA industry leadership program and also announced the graduation of its third class during the ATA Management Conference & Exhibition.

“When we first came up with the idea for LEAD ATA, we were hoping to bring in some of the best and brightest in trucking and provide them with the tools to direct our industry and ATA into the future,” said Kevin Burch, incoming ATA chairman and president of Jet Express, Dayton, Ohio. “So far, the graduates of this program have exceeded our expectations, and we are looking forward to what this new group of leaders can do.”

The program provides exclusive education opportunities to up-and-coming trucking industry professionals highlighting how the regulatory and legislative process affects the trucking industry and the role ATA plays in influencing those processes. LEAD also makes participants aware of tools available to industry executives through the ATA. The program is sponsored by PeopleNet.

“Leadership is very difficult to come by, but even more challenging to maintain and pass down from generation to generation,” said Mark Kessler, PeopleNet general manager. “Witnessing the thought leadership that the past graduating classes are doing by engaging in committees and taking on our industry’s toughest challenges, makes us even more proud of the legacy that LEAD ATA will leave behind.”

The 2016 LEAD ATA Class includes:

• Aaron Brown, NFI Industries

• Wesley Davis, Big M Transportation Inc.

• Jeffrey First, FedEx Freight

• Nelson Gonzalez, California Multimodal LLC

• Jonathan Gravell, Pressure Systems International

• Todd Hahn, Brown Integrated Logistics Inc.

• Daniel Horvath, TransForce Inc.; Jason Hunter, UPS

• Colton Lawrence, Equinox Business Solutions LLC

• John Michell, Daseke Inc.

• Jake Rinehart, Celadon Group Inc.

• Andrew Schilling, Fraley and Schilling Inc.

• Andrew Walker, TransLand

• Collins White, Alabama Motor Express Inc.

• James Daniel Wright, Wright Transportation Inc.

2015 LEAD ATA Graduates:

• Elise Chianelli, PeopleNet

• JJ Clemmons, Summerford Truck Line Inc.

• Jordan Culver, Q Carriers

• Jonathan Doss, Celadon Trucking

• Melanie Feeley, K-Limited Carrier Ltd.

• Shawn Goad, Ruan Transportation

• Mack "Dutch" Guest, LAD Truck Lines, Inc.

• Megan Melichar, Fed Ex Ground Package Systems

• Dan Olivier, USF Holland Inc.

• Thomas Putnam, FedEx Freight Inc.

• Jeff Reed, Skyline Transportation Inc.