History of National Transportation Week
National Transportation Week is the result of efforts
begun by a remarkable lady named Charlotte Jones Woods.
In
1952, as the 1st Educational Chairman of the newly
formed Women’s Transportation Club of Houston, an
educational program was set up in the amount of $500
which was designated to go to a scholarship program at
the University of Houston for their degree course in
transportation subjects.
Guess what... no one applied! The college reported they
had not been able to interest anyone in becoming a truck
driver or a policeman. That’s when Charlotte and the
Women’s Transportation Club decided "We’re in trouble.
The University of Houston knows as much about the field
of Transportation as the students... nothing!"
Not
wanting the project to fail, the Club made inquiries to
see if a day, week or month was set aside to honor the
Transportation Industry. Nothing was found. So the Club
decided to change that themselves and have a Houston
observance of Transportation Week! The first Houston
observance came about the week of March 29 to April 4,
1953.
Contacting other Texas towns, nine additional cities
were set up for the observance of Texas Transportation
Week in 1954. In collaboration with attorney Frank
Norton of Dallas and the Texas Motor Transportation
Association, the interested parties put together a 50
page book which addressed itself to the How’s, Why’s and
Where’s for Transportation Week. The book was sent out
across Texas and to Clubs in other states where a
similar interest was found.
At
the 1954 Educational Congress of Traffic Clubs
International, the members from Texas gave evidence to
the success story of two years experience in promoting
the Transportation Industry. Charlotte Woods was
elected to her first term as Director of TCI and sold
TCI on the National Sponsorship of National
Transportation Week. A National Chairman was appointed
for 1955.
Immediate efforts were unsuccessful toward a set date to
be proclaimed by the President of the United States. A
great many people spent long hours in Washington and
other areas trying to accomplish this end. It is not
known how many "out of pocket dollars" were used by
those dedicated TCI Officers, the management of the
industry and various carriers themselves before they
even began to approach success. Year after year a bill
would get through the United States House of
Representatives, then the U.S. Senate, for a
Presidential Proclamation only to have it amended before
passing... for that specific year only!
In
1962, President John F. Kennedy declared a permanent
date and from that day forth it will always be the week
in May which contains the third Friday (National Defense
Transportation Day), with the Maritime Day on the
following Saturday.
To
quote Charlotte Woods, "Who is to say that a failure is
the end of the line? I contend that failure is, and
should be, the fire that goes on to reap success. Yes,
success in the field of Educational Scholarships and of
bringing the Transportation Industry into the forceful
and immediate attention of the public who would surely
perish without it."
Charlotte Jones Woods
08/13/14 - 07/03/77
