The Heavy Duty Repair Forum, Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA) Annual Meeting and HDA Truck Pride Annual Membership Meeting, all scheduled to occur in the coming weeks, have been postponed due to the evolving situation with the COVID-19 outbreak and efforts associated to reduce rapid spreading of the virus.
The HD Repair Forum was scheduled for March 24-25, in Fort Worth, Texas. TRALA’s Annual Meeting was initially set to occur from March 29-April 1, Bonita Springs, Fla. HDA Truck Pride intended to hold its Annual Membership Meeting April 29-May 3, in Denver.
“We apologize for any inconvenience but, under the circumstances, this is the best decision for everyone involved. The health and safety of our attendees, their families, and their colleagues is our first priority,” says Brian Nessen, president, HD Repair Forum. “We look forward to hosting the event in the coming months where we will continue the networking, collaboration, and industry progress that our sponsors and attendees have grown to expect.”
“The health, safety and well-being of the TRALA membership is our highest priority. There was a clear need to take action after reviewing reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this week’s announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a pandemic, and seeing the numerous institutional travel restrictions and ever-increasing numbers of confirmed cases,” adds TRALA President and CEO Jake Jacoby.
“The CDC has now recommended that for the next eight weeks, in-person events that consist of 50 people or more should be cancelled or postponed. The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The appropriate reaction is not to panic, and to be responsible in limiting your exposure to the virus,” says HDA Truck Pride President Tina Hubbard. “To ensure the health and safety of our Members, Supplier Partners, industry associates and employees, HDA Truck Pride is postponing our April 2020 Annual Meeting indefinitely.”
Organizers of each event are working to reschedule for later this year. More information will released about these rescheduling efforts as they are made available.
These postponements follows the announcement last week by organizers of the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) that they are cancelling the 49th annual event, which was scheduled for later this month, due to the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) in the U.S.
