The American Trucking Associations’ fall management conference is going virtual, the organization announced in a letter to members Tuesday.
Up until the announcement, the ATA had been working to still hold the annual Management Conference & Exhibition (MCE) at a resort outside Denver from Oct. 24 to 27. More than 2,000 trucking professionals attended last year’s MCE in San Diego.
In his letter to members, Chris Spear, the ATA president and CEO, said the association has been working closely with the Gaylord Rockies Resort to make the event safe. But local officials put an end to that work as much of the nation still grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected more than 4 million and killed nearly 150,000 in the U.S.
“Unfortunately the state of Colorado and the city of Aurora have recently put additional restrictions in place that will not allow us to continue with an in-person event, and we don’t anticipate those restrictions changing much this year,” Spear wrote. “The decision was made unanimously this morning by the ATA officers to move MCE to a virtual event.”
The ATA organizers said they would be in touch with vendors and others who had booked booths or sponsorships. “While virtual events don’t provide an opportunity for one-on-one conversations, we are excited about some of the opportunities to connect our membership together,” he wrote.
“In the meantime, we are putting final touches on our virtual program, which will allow us to continue with our policy discussions, education sessions and overall great programs,” Spear added. “We plan to continue with many of the programs already in place and will address issues that can help our industry recover from the pandemic and move forward.”