Mike grew up on a beef farm in rural Southwestern Ontario in Huron County. Mike began his career in the Trucking Industry in 1990 at the age of 18, spending three years working for a local carrier Hauling Livestock and bulk agriculture products. At the age of 21 Mike went to work for a long Haul Refrigerated and general freight carrier and spent 5 years hauling all sorts of freight in all 48 US Mainland States and 6 Canadian Provinces. The Carrier then opened a Certified Driver Training School in 1998 and Mike came off the road and become one of the Schools first Certified Driver Trainers. In 2000 Mike Transitioned into Safety and Compliance for the Fleet, while still working part time as a Trainer for the School. In 2002 Mike moved over to a Private Fleet and became the Safety, Compliance, Maintenance and Training manger for the Hensall District Co-operative’s Commercial Trucking Fleet. Mike spent the next 12.5 years with Hensall and oversaw the Fleets as it grew from 40 Trucks in 2002 to over 140 in 2015. In January of 2015 Mike moved into the Trucking Association business and was named the President of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, where he remains in his current role.

The PMTC and its membership always look forward to this time of year as it marks our annual conference. This is one of the biggest events on the calendar each year for the Private and dedicated trucking community. This event provides un-surpassed value for the Industry. This year’s conference takes place June 15th and 16th in a brand-new venue for the PMTC, the Crowne Plaza Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The event offers educational seminars, networking opportunities and our expanded awards program, which celebrate the best of the best in our industry. Although this conference is themed towards Private Fleets, the education and networking opportunities provide great value for everyone in the industry, whether Private, for Hire, dedicated, or suppliers to the industry. Many who have attended in the past have called this one of the best values in the industry. As always, this year’s conference includes several educational seminars and celebrations.

This year’s conference will kick off with the Annual General meeting for members only at 4pm on the 14th. The conference events will kick off with the PMTC Young Leaders Group Cocktail reception from 6 to 7:30pm on the 14th. This event is open to all Young Leaders, the PMTC Board, conference speakers and sponsors.

June 15th marks the beginning of the educational and awards portion of our conference, starting at 8am with a Legal Update, followed by seminars on Using Data to Create Efficiencies, Introduction of the 2017 PMTC Canadian Benchmarking Survey, A USA Regulatory Update, the PMTC-CPC Logistics Canada Drivers Hall of Fame Award Luncheon, Policies & Procedures for Marijuana, an update on recreational usage legislation, and the Current and Future state of Autonomous Vehicle Technology. This session is sponsored by the PMTC’s Young Leaders group, and as such, this years Young Leaders Education Bursary award recipient will be introduced after the seminar. Day one events wrap up with the Chairman’s Dinner, which includes the PMTC-Aviva Fleet Safety Awards, the PMTC-KRTS Truck Driver Training Scholarship, and the Presidents award. Mixed into these events are networking and cocktail receptions in our Exhibitors showcase area.

June 16th begins with a seminar discussing the risks associated with autonomous vehicles, and what companies should do to ensure they are prepared for the technology. This is followed by a seminar on the changing landscape of motor vehicle incident protocols. The conference wraps up with the PMTC-3M Canada Vehicle Graphics Awards Luncheon. Just before the luncheon we have one more networking opportunity with a cocktail reception around our Showcase Exhibitors. If you have attended this conference before, you know the great value it provides both in education and networking, and we look forward to seeing you again. If you have not attended before, this would be a great year to attend your first event and see what all the talk is about, I assure you that you will not be disappointed. For full conference details, email Vanessa Cox at info@pmtc.ca, or visit our website at www.pmtc.ca.

About the Author
“Mike has 25 years’ of wide ranging experience in the trucking industry, performing such duties as a livestock and grain hauler for 3 years, followed by 5 years of long haul across North America hauling refrigerated and general freight. Mike was also a full time certified driver trainer for 2 years, and then transitioned into Safety and Compliance for 2 years, and then spent over 12 years as a Fleet manager for a Private Fleet. Mike is now the President of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, Canada’s only National Association that represents the views and interest of today’s Private Fleets.” Mike can be reached at trucks@pmtc.ca

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Mike grew up on a beef farm in rural Southwestern Ontario in Huron County. Mike began his career in the Trucking Industry in 1990 at the age of 18, spending three years working for a local carrier Hauling Livestock and bulk agriculture products. At the age of 21 Mike went to work for a long Haul Refrigerated and general freight carrier and spent 5 years hauling all sorts of freight in all 48 US Mainland States and 6 Canadian Provinces. The Carrier then opened a Certified Driver Training School in 1998 and Mike came off the road and become one of the Schools first Certified Driver Trainers. In 2000 Mike Transitioned into Safety and Compliance for the Fleet, while still working part time as a Trainer for the School. In 2002 Mike moved over to a Private Fleet and became the Safety, Compliance, Maintenance and Training manger for the Hensall District Co-operative’s Commercial Trucking Fleet. Mike spent the next 12.5 years with Hensall and oversaw the Fleets as it grew from 40 Trucks in 2002 to over 140 in 2015. In January of 2015 Mike moved into the Trucking Association business and was named the President of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, where he remains in his current role.