DC Velocity - December 2013

BY MARK B. SOLOMON, SENIOR EDITOR

THE DC VELOCITY Q&A

thoughtleaders

LANA R. BATTS AND TRUCKING ARE JOINED AT the axle. Reared in a Montana trucking family, Batts came east 40 years ago to take a job with the American Trucking Associations (ATA). She spent 20 years there, rising to the post of senior vice president for government affairs. Batts helped guide the industry through an unprecedented multiyear transition to deregulation, becoming the voice of the profession in the process. Her legacy at ATA remains unmatched despite her being gone since 1994.

Batts has been involved in numerous endeavors over the past two decades. Today, she is co-president of Driver iQ, a Tulsa, Okla.-based company that conducts background screenings of drivers. She spoke recently with Senior Editor Mark B. Solomon about her work and the industry’s outlook, peppering her comments with the sharp wit and candor that has long endeared her to the folks behind the wheel.

QHow did you get involved in the trucking industry?
A I’ve been involved in trucking my whole life. My father owned a livestock trucking business
in Billings, Mont. My first “real” job was with the
American Trucking Associations. My husband was
in the Air Force at the time and was assigned to
Washington, D.C., after a tour of duty in the
Philippines. I couldn’t find a job so I called my
father, who was an officer in what is now the
Truckload Carriers Association. He called ATA and I
was offered a job as a junior analyst. I was the high-
est-paid female and the lowest-paid professional.

My first real break came after three weeks on the job. The energy crisis of 1973 broke and ATA was looking for someone on the staff who could spell diesel. I remembered “i” before “e” except after “c,” volunteered, and got the job. It was great because no one knew any more than I did. It became a high-pro-file job with no one second-guessing my decisions, and it launched my career. From then on, all the right people died or retired at the right time.

QThis has long been a male-dominated field. However, women have made inroads in recent years. Where has the most progress been made, and in what areas does progress have yet to be made?

A Women who have made inroads have not been afraid to volunteer for tough jobs. But the surest way for women to make progress is to work in areas such as sales that have measurable goals. Too