PLOVER, Wis. — The Women In Trucking Association Thursday named the finalists for the 5th annual Distinguished Woman in Logistics award.
The award promotes the achievements of women employed in the North American transportation industry.
Finalists include Lindsey Graves, Sunset Transportation; Michelle Halkerston, Hassett Express; Judy McReynolds, ArcBest; Sarah Ruffcorn, Trinity Logistics; and Erin Van Zeeland, Schneider. The winner will be revealed Friday, April 12, during the TIA 2019 “Capital Ideas” Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida.
WIT President and CEO Ellen Voie said the award highlights the crucial roles of leading women in the dynamic and influential field of commercial transportation and logistics, which encompasses both logistics service providers as well as motor carriers.
Finalists for the 2019 DWLA award have demonstrated superior leadership within their company as well as with other professional, educational or philanthropic organizations, she said.
Lindsey Graves is a second-generation owner and chief operating officer at Sunset Transportation, a St. Louis third party logistics company. In her 12 years with Sunset, she has grown through hands-on experience in every department; she now oversees operational and personnel growth, strategy, marketing and implementation at Sunset’s corporate headquarters in south St. Louis and five national branch offices. Graves was a Class of 2018, 40 Under 40 Recipient for the St. Louis Business Journal.
Michelle Halkerston is president, CEO and owner of Hassett Express, a full-service transportation and logistics provider specializing in time-definite services. She joined Hassett Air Express in 2001 as vice president of strategic planning, was named president in September 2003, and purchased the company in October 2013. She is involved in all facets of the business and has steered the Hassett team through significant changes in customer needs and dynamics to achieve the most successful year in company history. As a privately-held Certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE), Hassett’s success is based on commitment to its employees, customers and community and on building partnerships that provide value to both organizations.
Judy R. McReynolds is chairman, president and chief executive officer of ArcBest in Fort Smith, Arkansas. From its roots in less-than-truckload delivery, under her leadership ArcBest has transformed into a full-scale provider of end-to-end supply chain services, surpassing $3 billion in revenue last year. In 2016, McReynolds was elected as chairman of the board of ArcBest. She has 28 years of logistics and transportation industry experience, including 21 years at ArcBest. She also serves on numerous outside boards. She is the current chair of the American Transportation Research Institute board, and a member of the American Trucking Associations board of directors and executive committee.
Sarah Ruffcorn is the chief operations officer of Trinity Logistics, a 2018 “Top 50 Companies for Women to Work for in Transportation” company. In this role, she leads Trinity’s Regional Service Center brokerage offices throughout the country, the less-than-truckload division, the advanced services division which includes warehousing, expedite, drayage, international, and intermodal services, as well as the managed services division, which includes shipper TMS and fully managed solutions services. She also serves on the Trinity Logistics board of directors, is co-chair of TIA’s Women in Logistics Committee, and is a member of the TIA Technology Committee. She was awarded the 2015 Delaware Business Times “Best 40 Under 40” award for being one of the region’s “best & brightest young professionals.”
Erin Van Zeeland is group senior vice president and general manager of logistics services at Schneider, a provider of transportation, logistics and intermodal services. Schneider is a $5B (2018 annual revenue) company founded in 1935 and its foundation of operational excellence is built on service, trust and reliability. In her position, she is responsible for all aspects of the company’s logistics service offering including transportation management (brokerage), supply chain management, warehousing and port dray. Within her functional responsibilities, she ensures that over 27,000 third-party carriers and service providers are effectively utilized to meet supply chain needs, service and profitability objectives across any mode of transportation and logistics services.
Finalists were selected from an immense group of high-performing women representing third-party logistics, supply chain management, and related functional disciplines.
Members of the judging panel included Dr. Stephanie S. Ivey, director of Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute, Southeast Transportation Workforce Center, and associate professor, Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis; Nancy O’Liddy, chief of staff, TIA; Brent Hutto, chief relationship officer, Truckstop.com; and Ellen Voie, president and CEO, WIT.
Women In Trucking Association is a nonprofit association established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry.
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