[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 62 (Thursday, April 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN RECOGNITION OF O&S TRUCKING ON BEING RECOGNIZED AS 2010 INNOVATOR OF 
                                THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 29, 2010

  Mr. BLUNT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to O&S Trucking 
of Springfield, Missouri, on being recognized as 2010 Innovator of the 
Year by Commercial Carrier Journal.
  In 1981, Jim O'Neal and partner Keith Stever teamed to form Ozarks 
Truck Brokerage with two customers and no equipment. Two years later 
the pioneering pair launched the company that would become O&S 
Trucking. Throughout the 1990s O&S Trucking grew quickly and by 2000 
had executed an employee stock ownership program to completely overhaul 
the company as employee owned. This approach led to more ownership from 
drivers and workers to give O&S Trucking a steady platform for growth 
and success.
  Nearly twenty years later, O&S Trucking provides transportation 
services to customers throughout the United States and Canada, offering 
opportunities for owner operators, drivers, small fleet owners and 
outside carriers. O&S Trucking continually encourages their leaders to 
generate innovative and engaging opportunities for their company. For 
example, they created an interactive Trucker's Challenge board game to 
help over 350 truck owners learn the responsibility and business skills 
to become a better owner-operator. In 2007, O&S Trucking launched the 
MegaTruck program to take full advantage of capacity and create an 
environmentally sensitive truck to haul more freight while reducing 
their carbon footprint.
  The MegaTruck program was created to address fuel efficiency, driver 
availability and sustainability concerns for both refrigerated and dry 
van transportation. The MegaTruck is able to maximize product weight 
per truck without losing revenue and, in fact, the equipment operated 
under the MegaTruck program averages more miles per week than regular 
over-the-road trucks. This approach to business is the reason O&S 
Trucking is one of the few trucking companies to have grown since 2000 
and this success should be seen as a bright vision as Missouri looks 
for new ways to improve our ever changing economy.
  Taken together, the Trucker's Challenge and the MegaTruck Program 
have made O&S Trucking the first company Commercial Carrier Journal has 
recognized as Innovator of the Year. In addition, Jim O'Neal, President 
of O&S Trucking, serves as Mayor of Missouri's third largest city, 
Springfield, Missouri.
  To Mayor and President Jim O'Neal, Chief Executive Officer David 
Corsaut, Chief Operating Officer Rick Johnson and the rest of the team 
at O&S Trucking, I offer my congratulations on being recognized as the 
2010 Innovator of Year.

                          ____________________