Lake Tahoe, Nevada - American Trucking Associations’ Trucking Association Executives Council proudly announced that Pat Thomas, current ATA chairman and senior vice president for state government affairs at UPS, has been named the 17th recipient of the J.R. “Bob” Halladay Award. “The Halladay Award recognizes individuals who have contributed to the strength and success of the ATA Federation,” said Barry “Spook” Stang, TAEC chairman and executive vice president of the Motor Carriers of Montana. “First as UPS’ liaison to the states and now as ATA chairman, I can think of no one who has done more to advance our industry’s interests at the state level than Pat.” Thomas began his career at UPS in 1985 as a delivery driver and he rose through the ranks, ultimately joining the public affairs group in 1998 where his work developing state-level policy began. “I am honored to receive the Halladay Award because I know how much it means to the state trucking associations who present it and how much those associations mean to me,” said Thomas. “The ‘S’ in American Trucking Associations is very important to me – it demonstrates that we are a unified federation of organizations, all committed to advancing a pro-safety, pro-efficiency, pro-trucking agenda in statehouses and capitols across the country.” Halladay was ATA’s senior vice president of federation relations and often considered the “Godfather of the Federation.” In 1994, he wrote a book chronicling the history of the federation. He passed away in 2012, and the Halladay Award – the most prestigious award given out by TAEC – honors his legacy of dedication to trucking and to ATA. Thomas is married to Kathy Sanford and they have three children.