OOIDA on the Road – June 2025
Without members, there would be no reason for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
From the organization’s start in 1973, when oil embargoes crippled trucking, its mission has been about improving the livelihoods of America’s truck drivers. That was true when the Association was working out of a travel trailer chained to a light pole in the early 1970s, and it remains true today at OOIDA’s modern office building, located in Grain Valley, Mo.
Whether it’s advocating for more truck parking or fighting against the latest “bad idea” cooked up by someone who has never set foot in a tractor-trailer, OOIDA was created with its members in mind.
Today, that membership number is approximately 150,000. Each member helps shed light on what truckers are facing. Where are the most difficult places to find truck parking? Which shippers and receivers are telling truck drivers they can’t use their restroom? Why is the latest “safety gadget” a recipe for disaster?
It’s members like you who define OOIDA’s priorities, and this is why it is so important that we hear from you.
Here are a few of the members who recently stopped by OOIDA’s tour truck, the Spirit of the American Trucker.
Jack Kapanka, a member from Kingston Springs, Tenn., is a singer-songwriter who wrote “America Moves by Truck” for the World’s Largest Convoy for Special Olympics. He is pictured with his wife, Kandace, and OOIDA’s Marty Ellis.
Eddie Ray Brooks, a member from Manchester, Iowa, has been trucking since 1981. He caught the bug for trucks at age 10, when his dad let him take a “test drive.” He now drives a 2009 Cascadia.
Bill Williams, a life member from Johnson City, Tenn., is an Army veteran who now hauls freight in a Kenworth W990. He said he appreciates OOIDA’s insurance offerings.
Peter Nijsse, a life member from Altoona, Pa., has been in trucking for 36 years. He started working in a warehouse and then filled in as a trucker. Evidently it stuck. He is also an Army veteran and now hauls train equipment.
Jay Finks, a life member from Delaware, Ohio, has been a trucker for more than 40 years. His dad also was a trucker. He said that he appreciates everything OOIDA does for the nation’s truck drivers. LL