A change in management at the Truck Writers of North America is prompting a reevaluation of the group’s operations and programs, and causing a temporary shutdown of the group’s phone number and website, its chairperson announced in a letter to members on Wednesday.

Effective Aug. 11, TWNA’s board of directors accepted the resignation of Tom Kelley, who was executive director, said Jami Jones, the group’s chairperson and managing editor of Land Line magazine.

“On behalf of the TWNA board and the TWNA membership, we wish Tom well in his future endeavors,” said Jones in a supplemental statement. “The board is turning our attention and efforts toward the future of the organization. We look forward to working closely with the membership to guide the organization into one that meets the needs and goals of the membership. 

“TWNA will continue to build on its mission to serve as viable resource to those within and outside of our industry when it comes to credible commercial vehicle-related information.”

A transition plan includes acquiring and transferring all of TWNA’s property from its former offices in North Carolina to another site. Its annual writing-awards competition is under review, as is the format of its annual banquet held during the Mid-America Trucking Show, Jones said.

Members and the trucking public can still get in touch with the organization via email, admin@twna.org. The group’s eCommerce site, the tool for membership dues and any sponsorship payments at store.twna.org, remains fully operational, she added.  

The annual TWNA Technical Achievement Award, given since 1990, was run by a separate group of editor-members, and is likely to continue as is, Jones said.

TWNA was founded in 1988 as a professional organization for editors, reporters and press-relations professionals, and now has more than 120 members in the United States and Canada.