Van Hayes

The other day one of my friends asked me “How much longer are you going to work?” Since then I have given this question much thought and I still do not have a firm answer for him. His question has however caused me to reflect back on a working career of over 40 years. In doing so I now see that no matter how much we plan out the details of our lives, we are never in full control. Looking back I find it is the small things (small at the time) that determine the turning points in our careers. Some call these points “being in the right place at the right time”, “plain luck”, or “divine intervention”.

As a youngster growing up in a working class family I knew I wanted to work with and around trucks, trains, and boats. Later in high school I set my eyes on a career in the transportation field and have never looked back. First it was a BS Degree with a major in Transportation, followed nine years later by an MBA. During this time I also managed to work for one truck line, three railroads and a barge line. On a resume this is called “getting on the job experience”. By this time I had a good job with a great company working in their Transportation Department. But as I looked around at the other bright young people working in the same department, I did not have in myself the confidence and satisfaction I wanted.

During this time the American Society of Traffic and Transportation (later changed to American Society of Transportation and Logistics) was going strong so I decided to look into their certification program. At the time the only way to be certified was to take their exams and write an original research paper. To my surprise, the program was not easy and I found myself studying for each exam. I was one happy guy when in February 1975 I received a letter from AST&L advising me I had “completed all of the requirements for Certified Membership”.

Being accepted as a certified member in an association of true transportation professionals gave me a great sense of achievement and provided me with the confidence I needed to move forward. I truly look back and see this as the point in time when I became a professional myself.

The question I often hear is “Will certification help me get a better job? My answer is “It sure helped me”. Twenty-five years ago I got a call from a AST&L member whom I had known for years. He was looking to retire and wanted to know if I would be interested in changing jobs. The answer was “yes”. Without the certification from AST&L, I would never have been considered for the job. With it I had both the background and confidence needed. As they say “the rest is history”.

Today I believe certification in our field is more important than ever. This belief was my driving force when, in 2002 as Chairman of The National Industrial Transportation League, I worked for the agreement whereby AST&L became a separate entity of NITL. AST&L’s future is bright and I advise anyone interested in the field of transportation and logistics to invest time in themselves and become a certified member. It may well be one of those turning points in your life like it was in mine.