America’s Road Team, assembled by American Trucking Associations, is a team whose work, efforts and outreach symbolize our country’s 3.6 million professional truck drivers. This week, a new team of 24 professional drivers was announced as the 2024-2025 America’s Road Team. These drivers, called Captains, will spend the coming years serving as industry ambassadors, traveling the country to spread messages of safe driving, while teaching others about the industry and vast opportunities in the field.

This year, one of Tyson Foods’ veteran driverscan be found on the roster—Dennis Hall. Dennis has been a professional truck driver for 24 years and has accumulated over 3.2 million safe driving miles. With previous awards such as “Tyson Foods Driver of the Year” and “Arkansas State Truck Driving Championship Grand Champion” under his belt, it’s no wonder Dennis has been named to this elite group of individuals in the transportation field. 

The process of being named to America’s Road Team is arduous. Selection events made up of a personal interview, a mock media interview and a personal speech are all judged by an independent panel of trucking industry professionals and trade media. All drivers in the running were judged on their ability to express knowledge of the industry, their skills in effective communication about safety and transportation and their overall safe driving record.

In Dennis’ personal speech, he addressed which significant issue and regulation he faces as a professional driver—one of the two topics posed to each candidate. Dennis touched on the shortage of truck parking spaces. This critical issue was supported by facts such as there is only one parking space for every 11 drivers on the road, and that 98% of drivers report problems in finding safe parking. His suggestion to problem-solve? For starters, an increase in funding to support commercial vehicle parking through the Department of Transportation. Another solution is to use technology, for example adding smart solutions, parking apps or digital signage to provide real-time parking information for our professional drivers. His take on this widespread issue in the industry and his proposed solutions to increase efficiency and safety were just part of how Dennis was selected in this rigorous process. 

But what’s next for the newly appointed Road Team? Dennis and his fellow Captains will immediately begin work on improving public perception of the trucking industry. Safety, professionalism, and opportunity are what these Captains advocate for as they travel and showcase their dedication to the field. To learn more about the 2024-2025 America’s Road Team, visit the official America’s Road Team webpage, or follow the team’s two-year journey on America’s Road Team Facebook and X pages.

Interested in a driving career? To learn more about joining the Tyson Foods commercial driving team, visit our Transportation Website’s Careers Page.