The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) will host a celebration Nov. 14 commemorating the 30th anniversary of the formation of the national trade association for professional truckers.

The celebration will also highlight the association’s recent milestone of surpassing 100,000 members and pay tribute to the many truckers who contributed to OOIDA’s growth and development.
OOIDA was formed in 1973 during the height of the Arab oil embargoes, which had nearly shut down the trucking industry and crippled the nation.
Determined to give professional truckers a voice in legislative and regulatory processes at federal and state levels, OOIDA is now the only national trade association dedicated to the rights of truckers.
A not-for-profit organization, OOIDA is made up of more than 102,000 owner-operators, professional drivers and small-business truckers from all 50 states and Canada. OOIDA’s membership represents more than 150,000 trucks. It is directed by three permanent executive officers and a 21-person board of directors.
The celebration will be held at OOIDA’s national headquarters in Grain Valley, Mo., east of downtown Kansas City. A number of national, state and local political figures are scheduled to attend and speak at the event, as well as OOIDA President Jim Johnston, who helped create OOIDA and has led the association for nearly its entire existence.
In addition to the 30-year and 100,000-member milestones, Johnston will use the event to dedicate the new 40,000-square-foot building expansion to the headquarters.
OOIDA employs about 230 people who coordinate its lobbying efforts and administer the member benefits it offers, such as comprehensive truck insurance, medical benefits and a variety of business services for the small-business trucker.
For more information, visit www.ooida.com.