CALGARY – In a few weeks Mayne Root will step down after nine years as the executive director of the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA).

Root (whose first name is pronounced May-nee) says his greatest achievements at AMTA included earning back the support of the industry and, with help of the late John Tessier, "getting the AMTA back on firm ground with Workers’ Compensation Board, Alberta Employment and Immigration and the industry."

Tessier, who passed away in 2009, was instrumental in bridging the Alberta Trucking Industry Safety Association (ATISA) with the Alberta Trucking Association (ATA) to form the AMTA in 2000.

Root, whose planned retirement was announced earlier this year, joined the organization shortly after its inception after a distinguished career in the commercial transport division of the Calgary Police Service.

In a Q&A interview published in the association's newsletter, Mayne says now that the AMTA is on "firm ground with our safety partners," its biggest challenge is to find the ways to move forward with membership and involvement on lobbying efforts with all three levels of government.

The industry's biggest challenge, meanwhile, "is attracting/getting sufficient qualified drivers and other transportation employees into the industry."

His only regret? "I wish that I could have spent more time meeting with industry at their shops. Those I did meet and get to know are great people and I really enjoyed getting to know them."

A reception will be held on Wed. Dec. 15 (Deerfoot Inn & Casino, Calgary from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.) to celebrate the next stage in Root's life and career.