Freshman Orientation

Hyatt Regency Miami

Join Us on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency Miami in Miami, FL. 

About

Take a Day to Align Your Business and Go the Extra Mile

Join us in Miami, FL for Freshman Orientation on Jan. 31, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency Miami.
This one-day course is a packed day addressing the needs of new linehaul contractors. Our instructors represent years of experience in the contracted trucking industry. Learn from the experts how to avoid pitfalls and maximize your revenue as you embark on your linehaul journey.

Event Schedule

** Registration includes admission to the Linehaul News Regional Conference on February 1, 2024
If you have already registered for the Conference you can receive a credit to be used for your Freshman Orientation Registration. **

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

9:00 am – 1:00 pm 

Freshman Orientation (separate registration)

** Orientation Students to Flow into Seminars for the Afternoon- all seminars are included with FO registration**

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Seminar | Safety

2:45 pm – 4:15 pm

Seminar | FADV

4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Seminar | Evaluating Linehaul Listings

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Regional Conference Welcome Cocktail Hour

When and Where

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency Miami in Miami, FL. 

Attendees are responsible for booking their own accommodations. We have negotiated a special group rate at the event hotel. The rate is good until Jan. 9, 2024. We anticipate the block will fill quickly, so book today. Click here to book your room. 

Who

Contractors just getting started or about to get started, new suppliers, and managers/BCs new to linehaul.

Registration

Registration for Freshman Orientation is $750 per person. Registration includes the full day course & materials, lunch, breaks, and admission to the Linehaul News Regional Conference.

Students also get access to an in-depth online study guide and video series to prepare them for the course. Additionally, all students and instructors are added to our online classroom on Linehaul University to discuss, network, and learn.

 

Team

Faculty

Mitch Adams

Mitch Adams

CEO- M3Traffic

M3Traffic is a leading digital marketing agency specializing in lead generation for logistics companies. With 7 years of expertise in social media advertising, Mitch is a pioneer of using targeted campaigns on social platforms to access the entire driver pool, not just the ones looking for a job. 

Working with many of the largest FedEx contractors, we have generated over 65,000 driver leads. Beyond leads, we are bringing innovative technologies to the space which streamline recruitment and enhance lead management. 

Outside of work, you can find Mitch with his 4 kids and wife or riding dirt bikes and enjoying the great outdoors of Southern Utah. 

Richard J. Brown

Richard J. Brown

J&R Logistics

Experienced and distinguished senior leader with ~22 years of business experience within the financial services, management consulting, telecommunications, healthcare and logistics industries at some of the most prestigious companies in the world such as: My professional experience(s) has provided me with the necessary knowledge, unique skills and diverse business acumen where I have learned, implemented, and shared industry best practices and processes such as:

 

Jonathan Cooper

Jonathan Cooper

President- True Transport

Jonathan, along with his wife Courtney and 5 children, live in sunny Southern Indiana.  They enjoy sports of all types, church activities, traveling, and camping together.  The kids definitely keep things interesting around the house, but life would be dull without all of them.

Jonathan has a finance degree and was a commercial banker prior to partnering with FedEx in 2016 with the purchase of True Transport.  He and his team grew the business organically from 4 trucks to over 50 by 2020.  Jonathan’s passion is the thrill of starting and growing a new venture.  He also enjoys consulting others to do the same.  He is thrilled to be a part of Freshman Orientation and the Linehaul Summit.

David Cooper

David Cooper

President - HaldiTech Services

David has been an entrepreneur longer than he’s been driving, owning and operating various businesses before turning to logistics in 2016.

David’s a graduate of Purdue University and lives in Southern Indiana with his three children and his dog. When he’s not working you’ll find him chasing his kids or a little white ball around a course.

Steve Crawford

Steve Crawford

HaldiTech Services

Steve is a 50+ year veteran of the trucking industry. Recently, he passed the 35-year mark with FedEx/RPS. Steve started his career in South Dakota, working for his father’s trucking company. He spent that time learning all aspects of the business, including dock work, driving, administration, and sales.

Steve moved to the St Louis area in 1988, working with Roberts Express (now FedEx Custom Critical) as a recruiter. He left corporate employment in 1991 to begin his company. Starting with RPS in 1995, Steve grew the business in several markets, experiencing both organic growth and expansion by acquisition.

Steve’s passion is to see others succeed and to bring new ideas, concepts, and perspectives to our industry.

John Davis

John Davis

Linehaul Central

John Davis is the safety director for multiple linehaul contractors. His career spans 33 years in safety and risk management. John owns several businesses providing safety and compliance services to motor carriers inside and outside the FXG linehaul network.

John leads a dedicated team of professionals handling linehaul contractors’ safety and compliance programs and creates customized safety training programs and solutions for drivers, lead drivers, and BC managers.

Johns’ team focuses on reducing accidents, roadside violations, and VEDR events through training and one-on-one driver coaching. Safety Beyond All Else requires constant monitoring of the safety program, frequent adjustments, and daily driver coaching.

Becky Dockter

Becky Dockter

Linehaul Central

I am the fractional CFO/Controller for  several companies in a range of industries  including trucking and FXG linehaul. I have over 30 years of experience helping businesses grow to their full potential.

We have a dedicated accounting team that is focused on helping contractors get the most out of their financials by developing a standard profit and loss statement that highlights the areas that are most
important to contractors.

Kenneth Eichenberger

Kenneth Eichenberger

APS Logistics Management

From my 2002 graduation in Electrical Engineering Technology from Purdue University, I jumped into sales and engineering automation in North Carolina before returning back to the southern Indiana area in 2005.   I have a wonderful wife, 4 amazing children, a very large and supportive family, and a terrific work team.  My personal motto is lead by example, try not to accept “NO”, and rid your known definitions of the word “Can’t”.  Delighted to be on the faculty and to serve the FedEx Ground Linehaul community with the idea that we can all work together to make life smoother and end results more fun to obtain.

John Haldi

John Haldi

HaldiTech

John first got into the linehaul space nine years ago when a friend bought a linehaul business and asked for his help making sense of the info he was getting from FXG.  A few years later another contractor saw the software he’d built, and HaldiTech was born.

John’s a graduate of Duke and lives in Atlanta with his wife and two dogs.  When he’s not working you’ll find him on the golf course or flying a small plane just for fun.

Jessica Meadows

Jessica Meadows

Square One Recruiting

My name is Jessica Meadows.

You know the cliché saying “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”? Well, that’s recruiting for me. I come from a sales background and never really enjoyed selling objects that weren’t a necessity to the customer. Don’t get me wrong, I was good at my job, but I wanted to do more. 

Enter recruiting. I was presented with the opportunity to work for a contractor in Nashville, TN, as the Director of Recruiting and instantly fell in love with the job. I was selling careers to those in need and ultimately bettering the lives of them and their families. Over the past 8 years of recruiting within the FedEx network, I have created a system that works, every time. Thus, the idea for Square One Recruiting was born. 

Keely Muse

Keely Muse

Tread Transportation

Keely has been a linehaul contractor for FedEx Ground since 2016.  She started her operation with 2 tractors and grew to over 50 trucks within a few years.  Having operated various run types across several market areas, Keely gained valuable insight on how different FedEx locations operate, and what impact locations can have on business operations and profitability.  Keely has used her experience to provide operational tools and services to assist both new and existing linehaul contractors navigate the FedEx Ground system.

Keely is proponent of educating new contractors and believes that forming relationships with others in the space, and discussing best practices, will help to make all of our businesses better.

While not running her FedEx operation or providing consulting support, Keely spends her time on a few acres in Texas with her husband, 2 kids, dog, chickens, cows, kittens and goats!

Tyler Tattum

Tyler Tattum

REL

 Tyler enjoyed a 17-year career at FedEx Ground from early 1991 through 2007 in various operations roles including LH/Hub Manager and Managing Director within FedEx Ground. Tyler spent an additional 13 years in 2 national trucking firms with leadership roles in asset and fuel procurement, recruiting, maintenance and lease purchase programs before starting REL with partner Pat McKay.

Tyler is passionate about relentless support and providing an Industry best experience through REL, our vendor partners and the services we provide.

Dave Tomasch

Dave Tomasch

Square One Recruiting / DTI

Dave started driving trucks in Florida when he was eighteen years old.  After spending 4 years in the Navy, he worked in various capacities on racing teams. At the end of 2002, the racing world was in a big decline, and Dave decided it was time to look for new opportunities.  Now 20 years later with 130 employees and 95 semi tractors we have been blessed more than I deserve. I have an awesome team of drivers and staff that do an amazing job everyday providing excellent service to FedEx Ground in Indiana, Florida and Dallas, Texas. My wife Denise and our kids live in Indianapolis.

Registration Open

For questions, sponsorship opportunities, or to become more involved in Freshman Orientation please contact us at

info@linehaulnews.com

Linehaul News is not endorsed by and is not recommended by Federal Express Corporation or any other carrier. Further, Linehaul News is not sponsored by, is not approved by, is not associated with, and has no connection whatsoever with Federal Express Corporation or any other carrier.