Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / One Leg Up With Zach Miller, Director of Metro Region Operations at Trucking Association of New York

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One Leg Up With Zach Miller, Director of Metro Region Operations at Trucking Association of New York · OneLegUpAlex Media

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  Here's your host, Alex Garrett, and welcome inside to this edition of the
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  One Leg Up Podcast on the Alex Garrett Podcast Network. Today we're gonna talk
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  with a man who's celebrating his birthday today, Zach Miller. Yes, you
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  might know him from the New York truck Stop family, but since we've last
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  talked to him, he's become the director of Metro Region Operations for the Trucking
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  Association of New York TA and Y And we'll talk to him in just a
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  moment. But I want to say if you click the profile for the Alex
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  Garrett Podcast Network, you'll notice some downsizing. Yes, I've been moving things
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  around because I feel like there's too much clutter on the podcast page. So
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  there's gonna be three main features, One Leg Up Adapting and the Sports Spotlight.
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  And of course we have Mario Galucci's Mister Acquittal as well as five Minute
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  Fixed and one in honor of Marty Brownstein with his book two among the Right
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  Few. So we have those podcasts stored. Everything else can be found under
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  the Alex Garrett Podcast Networks, One Leg Up Adapting or Sports Spotlight. So
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  I hope you enjoy the new and improved and slightly downsized profile page on Speaker,
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  the flagship of the Alex Garrett podcast network. Without further ado, here
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  is Zach Miller on a big awardi one from City and State. What is
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  your official title now? A few years into this friendship we got so my
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  official title right now is the Director of Metro Region Operations for the Trekking Association
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  of New York. So I basically run the New York City division of the
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  Association. So my role is a lot of government affairs, government relations advocacy,
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  as well as membership engagement, membership retention, and of course safety and
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  education training or big of what we do with the association. So with all
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  that being said, you just had an amazing award. Now are you ex
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  happing I'm a happier self or I'm happy of the association. What's going on
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  with City and State that you got awarded for recently? It's a really cool
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  question, yeah, and it is really exciting. So what City and State
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  does? So? City in State for those of you who don't know their
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  publication, they have operations in New York City and in Albany. And then
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  you know, in addition to their weekly magazine, they have a website.
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  They do the sort of morning rundown of news articles things like that, and
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  they also do the lists and awards. So they'll do like the forty under
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  forty, and they'll do like the top Rising Stars, and like they'll pick
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  an industry and they'll do like the top one hundred or so in that industry,
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  stuff like that. So one of the things that they do at the
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  end of the year is they have what they call the Responsible one hundred.
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  So these are people, you know, various fields, you have not for
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  profits, you have corporations, things like that throughout the year, and they
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  want to highlight one hundred of them who they feel really take community engagement and
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  social responsibility and important things like that really seriously and who stood out in the
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  year. So to that's sort of what the award is now to answer your
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  question, yes, so I was named to the Responsible one hundred, but
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  very much it's not like a just me thing. It very much speaks to
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  the work that the entire Trucking Association does and really the year that we've had
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  in twenty twenty three. So I personally won the award, but it was
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  done absolutely with the great work by the Tanny team. Well, let me
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  ask you this then, because obviously the Truck and Sociation New York, there
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  is a responsibility factor that you guys have to make sure your truckers are safe.
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  Right, So is that what goes into this ward that that's such a
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  great question. So we have we have both responsibilities, right. We have
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  responsibility to make sure that our members, the fleets are properly investing in the
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  safest equipment, that that they have the safe you know, the safest programs
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  possible, to make sure the drivers are safe on the road, and of
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  course to make sure that the communities that we serve, which it's trucking,
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  so is every community it is safe and that our drivers are operating safely in
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  those communities. And and one of one of the big successes that we had
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  over the past year was we got the New York City Council and I'm pretty
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  sure you and I spoke about this on another episode, to pass a truck
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  parking bill, which is incredible that that we got New York City Council.
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  And it wasn't just us, it was so many stakeholders because it's such an
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  important issue to pass a bill to mandate that they are going to be at
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  least three new truck parking facilities in New York City, and that is exactly
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  a safety issue. It is a safety issue to the neighborhoods where we see
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  trucks parked where they shouldn't be. So this is going to get them out
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  of those neighborhoods, out of those communities. Truck drivers need to get their
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  federally mandated rest. We know how terrible drowsy driving is on our roadway,
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  So this is a way so that our drivers can be safe and get the
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  rest they need. There's a way for communities to be safe so they don't
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  have large vehicles parked there overnight. It really is something that when you look
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  at social responsibility, safety advocacy, such a good blend into getting a piece
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  of legislation passed. And I think that's really when you ask, well,
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  what exactly is the responsible one hundred? What do people do throughout the year
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  to be recognized as such? It's things like that you have your beloved by
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  your side. We'll talk about that in a second, but is there a
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  way we can see you accept this award or how is that? How's that
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  going? Yeah? So there will so so December fourteenth. They're doing like
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  a luncheon awards ceremony thing, so they'll be pictures from that, but I'll
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  I'll be sure to post on social media and send to you. I'm not
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  you know, it's funny. I'm not one hundred percent sure of what the
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  award looks like. They said in the email that like it was going to
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  be a plaque, so figure, you know, a nice plaque to edit
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  the collection. Now you've I believe, one awards with the trucking New York
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  truck stops. So what's what's this mean? To add this to the mantle
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  if you will, it's it's it's it's always good, you know, to
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  to have your work recognized. I'm a big believer in the sort of intrinsic
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  awards. That's not to say, you know, things like paycheck in vacation
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  time and and those those other compensations aren't meaningful. Of course they are.
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  But but I really do like having the mementos that you know, if you're
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  having a bad day or a meeting does go great, or even if you
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  feel like, hey, I'm not pushing forward the way I want to,
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  you could look back at the mementos and to say no, you know,
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  trust the process. It's going to happen and some on time. You know,
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  these things take a while, but the work is ultimately rewarding. So
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  it is interesting though. So I have I was named back when I was
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  a member of TANNY, I won their Outstanding Service Award one year, so
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  that's one of my plaques. And then I was a graduate of their first
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  leadership class, so you know, that's another one of the plaques. And
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  the one I'm also especially proud of is a certificate signed by our friend,
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  the former Mayor Deblasio, recognizing yes, the COVID recognizing the truck drivers as
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  first responders during the COVID pandemic. You can never forget about that one,
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  Zach. You know, I love about this is that we talk about your
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  progress, and I feel like you're one of the consistent contributors to the network
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  and you love talking about your progress, and I really appreciate that. I
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  appreciate I appreciate you saying that, and I appreciate you having me on.
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  And I think, isn't that really one of the things that you're trying to
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  accomplish with your network is about growth, you know, it's about it's it's
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  about a pathway and exactly exactly and and and you know, I'm so happy
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  to be uh one of your one of your recurring guests, and and and
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  I know you're you're such an inspiration to so many people out there, to
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  so many listeners, and and you're doing such great work and such inspiring work.
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  And here we are, you know, we're we're in December. You
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  know, we're going through Honika. Now, we got Christmas a couple of
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  weeks away, New Year's a week after that. This is the season for
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  that, you know, this is the season to take stock in what you've
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  accomplished over the past year and to set your goals for the year ahead.
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  Now, on that note, before I let you go, I gotta ask
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  you a about your beloved and B isn't there a way we can find out
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  where you're speaking? A lot of speaking engagements on behalf of the association as
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  well. Right, Yes, so November was kind of the speaking tour month.
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  There are a bunch of events in the sort of metro area I spoke
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  at, and I'll be happy to let you know as those come up in
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  twenty twenty four where they're going to be but you figure the topics I genuinely
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  are am asked to talk about are things like electrification and sustainability and those initiatives
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  as it relates to medium and heavy duty vehicles, that's a lot about what
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  I talk about. Well, I know one of the heavy hits you've been
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  dealing with, I'm sure with the association and personally, because you are very
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  talkative in your own right is condestion pricing. Quickly on that before I let
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  you go today. So where we stand right now as of recording, The
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  Traffic Mobility Review Board release their recommendations to the MTA board. The MTA voted
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  on those recommendations. Those include a passenger toll of fifteen dollars and a commercial
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  vehicle toll of either twenty four dollars or thirty six dollars, depending on the
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  size of the vehicle. Unfortunately, with commercial vehicles, it's going to be
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  per trip, not per day, So that's going to cause serious economic ramifications
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  throughout New York City throughout the metropolitan region. Frankly, if that goes through
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  as planned, but there's still stuff that needs to happen from now and then
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  they they have their public review process, which is going to last sixty days.
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  They also are going to have public hearings. These are going to be
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  hybrid and so in person and virtual. And it is so so important for
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  businesses that rely on deliveries, which is all of them, to let your
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  opinions be known, make your voice heard. Tell the MTA how this is
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  going to impact you, how an extra twenty four dollars per delivery could impact
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  you. It is vital that they hear from you, the end user,
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  because they seem to think that they have ways of mitigating that economic impact,
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  and from everything that I've seen thus far, that is not the case unfortunately.
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  So please be engaged, Please be involved. The first part of twenty
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  twenty four is going to be what determines what the congestion pricing plan really does
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  look like at the end of the day. All right, for those who
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  know you could tell us about married life and engage life and all that fun
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  stuff, and what's that mean having her by your side through all of this.
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  It's actually it's been incredible, and you know you could speak to this
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  from personal experience. You're joining me in the engaged person. It's an exciting
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  place to be for sure. You know, it's funny, Alex, I'll
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  tell you it's nice to have that person just supporting you and supporting your career
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  and lifting you up and you know, being a sounding board. And of
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  course I do the same to her and as as you and Gabs do to
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  each other. And it's just it is nice, you know, I do
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  have to And you and I used to joke about this about how, particularly
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  with me, how I was just like, no, single life is great.
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  I like the single life. I don't see you know. I I
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  came around quickly to the to the partnered up lifestyle, and I really have
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  appreciated it. And you absolutely made that connection my the growth in my career
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  and sort of and my maturity has just gone up exponentially since she and I
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  have have gotten together and uh and and yeah, here we are, you
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  know, engaged life marriage on the horizon. It really is been special to
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  have that partner by my side. One last thing before I let you go,
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  any message for the Christmas season and the holidays of the truckers out there
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  that I know you'd like to instill today, Always, first and foremost,
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  thank you all so much for what you do. You make the holidays happen.
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  You know it does not happen without you, and we know that does
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  mean you have to take time away from your families to deliver for everybody else,
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  to provide that holiday cheer. So thank you, thank you so much
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  for doing that and for you listening. Please remember how the holiday got to
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  you, how those gifts got to you, how that food got to you
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  or came on the back of a truck. So as we give thanks and
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  are grateful for what we have these holiday season, please keep those truck drivers
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  and those logistics providers and your thoughts as well well. Zach Miller, thanks
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  so much. Join me once again and we'll put the full title of your
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  position with the association in the bio and description below. Awesome, Thanks Alex,
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  Happy holidays, Sarah. Good to have you back, you too,
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  sir, and we'll do a longer one in the new year. Absolutely.
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  That's Zach Miller of the New York truck New York States Trucking Association and great
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  to Haven is always on the Alex Garrap podcast Network.