The
History of National Transportation Week
National
Transportation Week is the result of efforts begun by a remarkable
lady named Charlotte Jones Woods.
In
1952, as the 1st Educational Chairman of the newly formed Women’s
Transportation Club of Houston, an educational program was set
up in the amount of $500 which was designated to go to a scholarship
program at the University of Houston for their degree course
in transportation subjects.
Guess
what... no one applied! The college reported they had
not been able to interest anyone in becoming a truck driver
or a policeman. That’s when Charlotte and the Women’s
Transportation Club decided "We’re in trouble. The
University of Houston knows as much about the field of Transportation
as the students... nothing!"
Not
wanting the project to fail, the Club made inquiries to see
if a day, week or month was set aside to honor the Transportation
Industry. Nothing was found. So the Club decided to change
that themselves and have a Houston observance of Transportation
Week! The first Houston observance came about the week
of March 29 to April 4, 1953.
Contacting
other Texas towns, nine additional cities were set up for the
observance of Texas Transportation Week in 1954. In collaboration
with attorney Frank Norton of Dallas and the Texas Motor Transportation
Association, the interested parties put together a 50 page book
which addressed itself to the How’s, Why’s and Where’s
for Transportation Week. The book was sent out across
Texas and to Clubs in other states where a similar interest
was found.
At
the 1954 Educational Congress of Traffic Clubs International,
the members from Texas gave evidence to the success story of
two years experience in promoting the Transportation Industry.
Charlotte Woods was elected to her first term as Director
of TCI and sold TCI on the National Sponsorship of National
Transportation Week. A National Chairman was appointed
for 1955.
Immediate
efforts were unsuccessful toward a set date to be proclaimed
by the President of the United States. A great many people
spent long hours in Washington and other areas trying to accomplish
this end. It is not known how many "out of pocket
dollars" were used by those dedicated TCI Officers, the
management of the industry and various carriers themselves before
they even began to approach success. Year after year a
bill would get through the United States House of Representatives,
then the U.S. Senate, for a Presidential Proclamation only to
have it amended before passing... for that specific year only!
In
1962, President John F. Kennedy declared a permanent date and
from that day forth it will always be the week in May which
contains the third Friday (National Defense Transportation Day),
with the Maritime Day on the following Saturday.
To
quote Charlotte Woods, "Who is to say that a failure is
the end of the line? I contend that failure is, and should be,
the fire that goes on to reap success. Yes, success in the field
of Educational Scholarships and of bringing the Transportation
Industry into the forceful and immediate attention of the public
who would surely perish without it."
Charlotte
Jones Woods
08/13/14 - 07/03/77
If
the need arises to communicate via courier service or the U.S.
Postal Service, our snail-mail address is:
Transportation
Clubs International
P.O. Box 2223
Ocean Shores, WA 98569
