Kansas Gov. Bill Graves will take over the reins of the American Trucking Associations in 2003, with the current interim president becoming the official president until then.

It will be more than a year before Graves actually picks up the reins at ATA, starting in January 2003 after he finishes his term as governor. The ATA Executive Committee removed the "interim" designation from the title of ATA's current leader, William Canary, who will continue at the helm of the trade group until Graves comes aboard.
The official announcements were made this morning at ATA’s annual conference in Nashville, Tenn., and at a later press briefing in Topeka, Kan.
Graves, a moderate Republican, has ties to trucking through a company that used to be owned by his family, Graves Truck Line in Salina. He worked at the company before winning the governorship in 1994.
The decision ends months of speculation about who would take the slot vacated last July by former ATA President Walter B. McCormick. McCormick, who left to run the U.S. Telecom Assn., joined ATA in 1998, replacing former CEO Thomas J. Donohue. Canary has been interim president since McCormick left.

For a biography of Graves, go to ATA's website.