If you look at the Open Forum conference list, you will see the History of Expediting Workgroup has been added. For those who were concerned that the history of expediting project would not be done under the EO banner, I trust this will relieve your concerns. As stated elsewhere, copyright rights to the completed book will belong to EO.
As I review the time period we will cover - 1980 to present - I am struck by the number of changes that have occurred and pace at which they happened. Roberts Express emerged in 1980; before IBM introduced its personal computer, before the space shuttle made its first flight, before USA Today introduced a full-color newspaper, before "internet" was a household word, before the final episode of MASH aired on TV, and before the VCR had been invented to record the show.
I'm also struck by how historians tend to focus on the rich and powerful, and relegate the little guys and gals to the statistics. While they write about the prime rate reaching 21.5% and two years later unemployment being the highest since the Great Depression, they say very little about how ordinary people were affected by and coped with those numbers.
I am so looking forward to writing a history of expediting from the expediters' point of view. When interest rates rise or fall, it's not about the rates, it's about whether or not a truck could be purchased. When outsourcing came into vogue, it's not about global economic trends, it's about the fears Betsy felt when her husband said he could end his unemployment by getting into an expediting truck with a friend. When terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001, it's not about world history, it's about how Joe Expediter awoke that morning not to the news, but to a Qualcomm beep that brought him into the event.
The expediting community is a treasure trove of personal stories that illustrate not just the life and times of our industry, but American history as well; everything from trucks that have more computing power in them today than Apollo spacecrafts had then, to drivers getting back on the road shortly after kidney stones were treated with sound waves, to the frustration some drivers feel when they can't find English-speaking workers at loading docks.
History team volunteers will soon start to gather expediting facts and figures. More importantly, they will also solicit expediter stories, recollections, and views that will help readers understand the human side of expediting (including the boredom of waiting for freight, irritation of canceled loads, and other negative events).
If you have a story to tell or industry information to share, the history team will be very interested. More to follow soon.
As I review the time period we will cover - 1980 to present - I am struck by the number of changes that have occurred and pace at which they happened. Roberts Express emerged in 1980; before IBM introduced its personal computer, before the space shuttle made its first flight, before USA Today introduced a full-color newspaper, before "internet" was a household word, before the final episode of MASH aired on TV, and before the VCR had been invented to record the show.
I'm also struck by how historians tend to focus on the rich and powerful, and relegate the little guys and gals to the statistics. While they write about the prime rate reaching 21.5% and two years later unemployment being the highest since the Great Depression, they say very little about how ordinary people were affected by and coped with those numbers.
I am so looking forward to writing a history of expediting from the expediters' point of view. When interest rates rise or fall, it's not about the rates, it's about whether or not a truck could be purchased. When outsourcing came into vogue, it's not about global economic trends, it's about the fears Betsy felt when her husband said he could end his unemployment by getting into an expediting truck with a friend. When terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001, it's not about world history, it's about how Joe Expediter awoke that morning not to the news, but to a Qualcomm beep that brought him into the event.
The expediting community is a treasure trove of personal stories that illustrate not just the life and times of our industry, but American history as well; everything from trucks that have more computing power in them today than Apollo spacecrafts had then, to drivers getting back on the road shortly after kidney stones were treated with sound waves, to the frustration some drivers feel when they can't find English-speaking workers at loading docks.
History team volunteers will soon start to gather expediting facts and figures. More importantly, they will also solicit expediter stories, recollections, and views that will help readers understand the human side of expediting (including the boredom of waiting for freight, irritation of canceled loads, and other negative events).
If you have a story to tell or industry information to share, the history team will be very interested. More to follow soon.
