TCA, GRAPEVINE, TX – The Truckload Carriers Association held its annual convention here March 23-26 with four days of committee meetings, roundtable discussions, educational seminars and camaraderie.

Shepard Dunn, president and CEO, Bestway Express Inc., was selected by TCA's board of directors to serve as chairman for the coming year.

Trucking was not Dunn's first career. He was in the travel industry when his wife's cousin, the late C.J. "Mac" McCormick, III, offered him a job in 1994 managing a dedicated operation for Bestway as an executive vice president. Despite no previous trucking experience, he excelled and was promoted to president in 2003. Mac McCormick was killed in an accident in 2006. The following year, the McCormick family selected Dunn as the company's CEO. Dunn has been active in TCA since becoming a member, serving on a number of committees and in several board positions.

Bob Baylor, Baylor Trucking, Milan, Ind., was recognized with the 2014 Past Chairmen's Award. Bob's daughter Kari Baylor, vice president of Baylor Trucking, accepted the award on behalf of her father who was unable to attend the meeting. The Past Chairmen's Award is the highest honor given by TCA. Its name does not mean the award goes to past TCA chairmen, but that past chairmen select the recipient.

Baylor joined the family-run company in 1975. He has been very active in TCA, serving on the executive committee for 15 years. He has also been an active member of the American Trucking Associations and the Indiana Motor Truck Association, which he served as chairman. The IMTA awarded him its Founders Award in 2013.

Terry Burnett, Burnett Insurance Service, Little Rock, received the PDTI Lee J. Crittenden Award, awarded each year to the person who best represents the goals and values of the Professional Truck Driver Institute. Burnett has served as PDTI's chairman since 2008.

Burnett grew up in the trucking business and followed his father's footsteps by becoming an owner operator before starting his insurance business 33 years ago.