Snead Guides MC&E to Record Attendance

SAN DIEGO — There were many familiar facets to the Management Conference & Exhibition here that ended Oct. 7: ATA President Bill Graves gave his assessment of the industry, Chief Economist Bob Costello talked about the economy, former chairmen wore red jackets and old friends rubbed elbows in a convention center filled with more people than ever.

But there was a significant change in the Command Center: Dan Snead was the ATA vice president in charge.

Snead was the long-time assistant to Rebecca Driver, vice president of convention and meeting services, who died at 67 in December. She had worked on MC&Es since 1987, becoming a VP in 1999. Now it’s Snead.

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“He knows how to use the resources of this new department to get the most out of everyone,” said Karla Hulett, ATA chief operating officer, of Snead.

“Dan’s a stellar meeting planner,” she said. “He is so patient and a good problem-solver.”

Snead was wrapping up obligations and details for the meeting on Oct. 8 and declined to comment. He’s now leading a staff of meeting planners who had previously been scattered throughout American Trucking Associations.

Kathleen Prem, who retired from ATA earlier this year after serving as Graves’ executive assistant, remembered her friend and colleague Driver while attending the meeting as a guest.

“She wrote all the scripts for people when they were speaking on the podium. She rehearsed the chairmen and made sure the rooms were all set up,” Prem said of Driver.

“Rebecca was sort of like a duck. She appeared smooth and calm on top of the water, but underneath the surface she was paddling furiously. She was a good woman and I miss her.”