Oklahoma Wrecker Owners Association

 

August, 2000 Newsletter

 

 

Dear Fellow Wrecker Owners:

 

The legislative session is over.  As you now know, we do have a rate increase and it became effective July 1st.  Every member received a copy of the rate increase and the fees that are now allowable by law.  Members also received a letter explaining the changes to the law that relates to insurance companies and releasing vehicles as discussed by the insurance lobbyists.  These are important changes and knowledge of the changes is important to every wrecker owner that is on a rotation log.  If you are not a member, the changes are listed on the Oklahoma Legislature web page.  You may download a copy from the website.

 

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be in Cushing on Tuesday, August 8th.  We will be at the Steer Inn located at 1340 E. Main in Cushing.  The topic will be certification testing.  We are now a licensee for the TRAA certification test for class 1 & 2 Certification.  The next test date will be at the Texas Tow Show and the Texas Towing and Storage Association has allowed us to share in the testing costs and fees for Oklahoma wrecker owners that wish to become certified towers.  I hope all wrecker owners will choose to become certified, but this is not a requirement.  This is an elective decision much like the ASE test for auto repair technicians.  Jim Wilson of Jim’s Truck Center in Cushing has the study booklets and the applications for the test.  If you have any questions about Certification, contact Jim at (918) 225-1013.  

 

Election of Officers/Board Members

The September meeting (9/12) will be in Oklahoma City.  This will be our official election for officers for the coming year.  As described in our bylaws, I have selected 5 members to be on the election committee.  These members will set up a slate of nominees for each office and board member position.  I hope this committee will have time to meet in Cushing but if they don’t they may be able to hold the meeting over the phone or at a mutually acceptable place.  After the slate is decided, we will print ballots.  All members in good standing (dues paid to date) that are present at the meeting will decide who our officers will be.  You must be present to vote.  One vote per wrecker service (membership) is allowed.  There will also be a line for any nominations from the floor.  Any current member may make a nomination from the floor for any office as long as the nominee is a member in good standing.  Any current member may be selected to the Board.  Only a member in good standing for the last 3 consecutive years is eligible for an officer’s position.  Any member or potential member may request a copy of the bylaws from me by email (cpuckett1@mmcable.com), fax (405 631-3460), mail (314 S.W. 29th, OKC, OK 73109-6793), or phone (405 632-4401).    

 

If you would like to hold an office or be on the board, contact some one on the nominating committee and I am sure they will be glad to enter your name on the ballot.  There are a lot of new members with good ideas and this is your chance to get involved and decide what legislative tasks we need to take on this coming year.  This is how things get changed.  Whether it’s rotation, illegal wreckers, license tags, insurance requirements, or what ever, this is how it gets done.  Don’t be bashful.  We want everyone involved that wants to be involved.  Remember (all together now) this is an association of wrecker owners ran by wrecker owners.   If you don’t like something, this is your chance to change it.  You may not be alone.  This association is a democracy.  A democracy means nobody gets his or her way, its all compromise.  Just look at our rate increase, it was a compromise with the State Farm Insurance lobbyist.

 

The committee members I have selected are, Al Muzny/Arrow Wrecker (OKC - 405 943-1800); Glen Alford/Alford’s Truck Service (Lawton - 800 462-7683); Earl Finch/E & J Auto Center (Shawnee - 405 275-8016); Dewey Farrington/Farrington’s (OKC – 405 239-7586 or OWOA number); Chuck Sittler/Wrecker Service of Okla. (Tulsa – 918 447-1234). 

 

There are several current officers and board members that have decided to not accept office any longer to allow someone else a chance.  I want to thank all current officers for a great job.  It was very frightening when we started without Rose and Odell to guide us.  But I guess we’re gonna’ make it.  We owe a great thanks to all current officers and directors.  I understand how some officers and directors would like to step back and let others take a turn.  We really do have many new members with great ideas and it is time to allow “new blood” to become involved.  Please step up to the plate and get involved.  This association just put more money in your pocket on each and every tow at a time when gasoline prices soared.  How about helping out?

 

Trooper Cadet Wrecker School

Wednesday evening Andy Eidt of Midwest Customs received a call from Lt Russ Maples at the Robert Lester Training Center.  He was in a position that he wanted to show the 44 cadets how wreckers work while he was in the accident investigation portion of their training.  He wanted us to show up Friday at 4:00 PM to feed us and then start the “show” around 6:00 PM.  We had very short notice but once again, Oklahoma Wrecker Owners are ready for anything/anytime.  I emailed everyone that I have an email address for and called a few members that participated last year.  Since it was such short notice, we contacted members near Oklahoma City.  Not everyone was able to attend.  We were able to muster up 14 wreckers of all sizes and kinds from 10 wrecker services.  I hope to have a few photos in the next newsletter.  

 

Hats off to Dewey Farrington for the loan of his semi tractor and trailer training rig.  But I especially want to thank Terry Moore of Moore Towing in El Reno.  Terry volunteered to drive to Tulsa to pick up Dewey’s training rig and bring it to the DPS Training Center for an air bag demo.  Terry also furnished the air bags.  The cadets were very impressed and asked several questions.  They got a good idea how air bags work and why it takes some time to upright a rig.

 

Thanks to AAAA Wrecker, we were also able to demonstrate a recovery on a very well used station wagon.  (AAAA brought 2 large wreckers, a rollback and a regular wrecker plus the demo vehicle.)  We then let the cadets roam around the other vehicles and look at equipment and rigs.  We also demonstrated dollies and the advantages of wheel lifts as opposed to slings.  They were interested enough that several cadets climbed up in the cabs of the big wreckers for a look around.  We also had a handout for each cadet that showed a DPS number, copy of a DPS license, the sticker on the lower corner of the windshield and the infamous “W” tag.  The cadets were very interested to know what makes a wrecker legal and what it takes to identify a legal wrecker.  I suggest every wrecker owner make sure they have a copy of the DPS license in each vehicle when these cadets hit the highway.

 

Lt Russ Maples invited the wrecker owners to attend the graduation when the time comes.  I will try to keep everyone posted as to when this will occur.  I didn’t realize that the Trooper cadets are required to live at the training center during training.  This is military training.  I was extremely impressed with the entire operation.  I had no idea how intense the training is for a Trooper.  I, for one, have an even deeper respect for anyone wearing an Oklahoma State Trooper uniform.  These are truly dedicated individuals.

 

$100.00 Rollback Wrecker

The Friends of Towing are once again having a raffle for a rollback wrecker.  This is to support and pay off the mortgage on the Towing Museum.  Dewey Farrington has the raffle tickets and will be glad to furnish the chance for a $100.00 donation.  This is an extremely good cause and will help promote the image of our industry.  And just think, you might get a brand-new rollback wrecker for $100.00.  It could happen.  It happened to a wrecker owner last year.  He was also gracious enough to commit to a 3 year $1,000.00 per year donation to the Towing Museum.  Contact Dewey Farrington at the OWOA phone number or (405) 239-7586.  Remember, you can’t win if your not in. 

 

TRAA Membership

Congratulations to each OWOA member.  You are now also a member in the TRAA.  The last board meeting the officers and directors decided to join the TRAA to help with the National Legislative effort to help support laws for the wrecker industry.  As you may have heard, the DOT is planning hours of service laws that wouldn’t be very beneficial to most wrecker services.  The rules, if passed, are going to be very hard to live with.  Please keep abreast of this situation and contact your Congressman and let him know your opinion. 

 

Election Year

Once again, I want to point out that this is an election year.  This is the year to contact your local Representative and Senator and let him/her know you appreciate the support from the last legislative session.  Let him/her know how much you appreciate the rate increase in light of the soaring fuel prices.  Tell them how much it has helped.  If it didn’t help enough, tell them that and why.  Let him/her know you want to help in their re-election any way you can.  You could offer to make phone calls, put up signs, stuff envelopes, and/or donate some dollars to help in their campaign.  These individuals decided to become lawmakers to make things better for their communities and constituents.  Guess what?  You are their constituent.  They want to hear from you, to know what you want and how they can help you.  They have no idea about your business.  They don’t know and will never know if you don’t tell them.  They do want to listen and learn.  I promise.

 

Web page

If you have access to a computer, we now have the beginnings of a web page.  Visit it at www.okwoa.org.  We weren’t able to use OWOA since it was already taken.  This is just the beginning and there will be improvements as we go along.  If you have any ideas, please let me know. 

 

Next Meeting – Tuesday, August 8th, 2000 – Cushing, OK.

Meal at 7:00 PM and meeting starts at 8:00 PM.

Buffet and “Dutch” treat. 

Steer Inn – 1340 E Main, Cushing, OK