Grain Valley, MO, Oct. 13, 2008 – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) was honored with two silver awards from the Greater Kansas City Public Relations Society of America (GKC-PRSA). One was given for the “Truckers for Troops Telethon” and another for a project challenging the Department of Transportation’s cross border trucking pilot program.

The GKC-PRSA is a local chapter of the national public relations association, which hosts an award celebration each fall to praise outstanding campaigns and materials created by companies and organizations in the Kansas City metro area. The awards given to OOIDA represent the second year of recognition the Association has received from GKC-PRSA.

The work acknowledged was carried out by many departments of the Association including radio, magazine, government affairs, marketing, membership and various individuals from other departments. The categories of awards given to OOIDA were:

Fundraising-Truckers for Troops Telethon

Government and Public Affairs-Cross Border Trucking Challenge

Norita Taylor, media affairs coordinator at OOIDA, said “It’s rewarding to see that what we do for our members translates into solid, noteworthy public relations programs.”

The “Truckers for Troops Telethon” raised more than $40,000 for care packages that were sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program received local coverage on KMBC-TV (Click here for video). The “Cross Border Trucking Challenge” is an ongoing effort by the Association in challenging the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, MO, area. The Association currently has more than 159,000 members from all 50 states and Canada.