RFA gets off to a good start from first base

Oh no - here we go again! Another Road Freight Association (RFA) conference that was obviously going to go the same way as the one held at Sun City two years ago. I mean, who in their right mind would choose an 'Island theme' as the fancy dress garb for an outdoor opening evening at a venue situated in the middle of the snow-capped Drakensberg in the middle of winter a few hours short of the middle of the night? It has got to be someone who does not think things through clearly. If this was the start, I could only begin to imagine what the rest of the events over the next few days would be like. Probably ask us to dress in polar bear suits for a groupie sauna! Eiish! I had driven all the way for this and it was only the start. Another two full days lay ahead of us. But, we're here now so let's keep an open mind and see. The problem was that the last time I had attended an RFA conference - at Sun City in June 2005 - I went away highly disillusioned at the absolute waste of time and money it had represented. Of the event, I wrote at the time: "If ever the bottom of a barrel can be reached, the Road Freight Association managed to reach it at its annual conference held at Sun City" and urged for the canning of "this useless event". Given that background, I had to force my mind to adopt an open approach to this Drakensberg event - and the Island theme wasn't helping much. However, as the evening wore on, it seemed that the chill in the air was disappearing. Global warming hadn't suddenly arrived so it must have been something else. It then hit me. It was the well-known warmth of the camaraderie and friendships that those in the trucking industry enjoy so much when they get together. That warmth manifests itself in easy conversation and easy laughter all enjoyed on common ground with common purpose. Truckers may disagree with each other but they do so without malice or malintent. It's all vigorous debate where telling it like it is becomes part of the deal. This always makes for interesting conversation where divergence of viewpoints thrives and stimulates. This only happens, of course, where you have people holding divergent views and that was the problem with the Sun City event. The majority of attendees were suppliers with only a smattering of operators. Now don't get me wrong. Suppliers do get on with each other but they're not going to argue whose product is doing the better job. Interaction with operators does that and I could see on the 'Island' that operators were present. This made a huge difference and boded well for the next two day. By the end of the evening, the winter blues had dissipated and a fine vibe of expectation for good things to come had crept in.
 

It wasn't all work and no play and the 'Night at the Opera' final dinner saw some kewl masks coming out. A bottle of wine goes to anyone who can guess whose face lies behind this mask. That's the RFA's Thandeka Mgoduso on the right but who's he? No-one in anyway linked to a certain three-pointed star is allowed to enter. That's a hint. Email you guess to The Editor at fleetwatch@pixie.co.za

The next morning the conference hall was full. Great stuff! Sure there were a few empty seats but not nearly as many as were at Sun City. Here the empty seats were hard to find. At Sun City, they dominated. Over the next two days of conferencing and interaction, my scepticism faded and although I have some reservations on the format and content of the event, my purpose was more to try get a handle on whether or not the RFA is going to get the support of the industry into the future. On this point, based on the responsiveness of delegate and their participation in the real business side of the conference rather than just the golf and other social events, I reckon it is going to get that support and is worthy of that support. What I gathered from this event is that the new folk at the RFA are serious about becoming a body of substance that gives more meaning to the word 'representative'. Sure there are challenges ahead around the 'representivity' aspect but that is not going to be overcome in a day. It will take time - especially since a host of new SMME players are entering the market, never mind the existing players who need to be attracted. In our next edition we will take a closer look at the content and happenings at the conference but in the meantime, I feel the new-look RFA has successfully got off first base towards a better future - for itself and for the industry. FleetWatch's vote is a 'yes' for the revamped and revitalised RFA.