Staff & Board of Trustees
Staff

Thomas A. Balzer, CAE
President & CEO
614-653-0290
Thomas A. Balzer, CAE is the president & CEO of the Ohio Trucking Association a position he has held for over seven years. Tom has over 25 years of experience as an association executive. During his tenure, the Ohio Trucking Association has seen some significant changes and logged some significant legislative wins. Including a 1,400% increase in assets, greater transparency and membership engagement, increased donations to the Political Action Committee and a heightened presence in Ohio politics.
Prior the Ohio Trucking Association Tom served as the director of administration at Midwest Motor Express, an LTL carrier with 32 terminals in 16 states, and a board member with Midnite Express, a truckload carrier that served 48 states and Canada. Tom has his CDL and drove linehaul during some of the busier times.
For over six years Tom was the executive vice president of the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association. During his tenure with the Association membership increased by 35% to the highest levels in organizational history, he returned the organization to profitability after over ten years of losses, and expanded its trucking education program offerings, including the nation’s only conference specifically for oilfield trucking operations.
Tom currently serves on the board of American Trucking Associations’s TruckPAC and the past chair of the Ohio Society of Association Executives. He also served on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Household Goods Consumer Protection Working Group and serves on a variety of policy committees for the American Trucking Associations.
Tom was born and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota, received his M.B.A. from the University of Mary and his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Dakota.

Bradie Berry
Vice President
614-519-6462
Bradie Berry is an experienced association professional possessing more than 20 years of industry experience. In 2018, she joined the Ohio Trucking Association (OTA) as the Vice President of Meetings & Events. In 2022, she was promoted to Vice President. In this role, she is responsible for the high-level planning and execution of all meetings and events, growing the education programs portfolio, reboot of the Ohio Trucking Safety Council and manages the execution of the Association's strategic plan by staff.
Prior to joining OTA, Bradie worked for the Ohio Restaurant Association (ORA) for more than 15 years where she progressed through a series of promotions, culminating as the Director of Major Events, a role in which she oversaw the organization’s Mid-America Restaurant Expo, a multi-day annual education and trade show exposition.
She holds a dual Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Organizational Communications from Otterbein University. Bradie resides in Marysville with her husband and their two children.

Della Hole
Office Manager
614-753-5125
Della M. Hole is the Office Manager. She joined the Ohio Trucking Association (OTA) July 2021. She brings experience in office management, property management, finance/bookkeeping, human resources, and organizational management. In her role as office manager she will be responsible for coordinating meetings, maintaining the operations of the office, and keeping things running smoothly.
Prior to joining the OTA, she was employed in healthcare, both in the hospital corporate setting and long-term care. Responsibilities in these roles ranged from finance to recruitment and retention.
Della comes from Urbana, OH where most of her family still resides. She has two adult children Travis and Kelli, and is also the mom to two fur babies, Pepper Jo and Bella Rose. In her free time, she is an avid baker (focusing on creating new cheesecakes) and reader. She prides herself in being a lifelong learner.

Debra Seiple
Director of Business Development
614-653-1991
Debra Seiple (Deb) is an association management and sales professional with over 30 years of experience in membership growth, team development, membership and sponsorship sales, and executing customer service at the highest level. In March 2022, she joined the Ohio Trucking Association as the Director of Business Development. In this role, she is responsible for growing membership by sharing knowledge about the Ohio Trucking Association’s mission, benefits, and sponsorship opportunities with carriers, movers, and associated companies who serve Ohio’s trucking industry.
Prior positions held include Membership Manager, Membership Director, Sales Manager, Business Development Director and, more recently, Trade Show Manager for the Ohio Restaurant Association (ORA). For the past 7 years, Deb held the position of Trade Show Manager where she managed booth and sponsorship sales, and handled all vendor relations and logistics for their yearly, multi-day, trade show event. Deb also held the position of Membership Specialist, where she brought new members into the association.
Deb has two married sons, two grandchildren, and one grand-dog. Originally from Atlanta, GA, she has resided in Dublin, OH for 31 years with her husband, Steve. She loves the Buckeyes, is a big NASCAR and NTT IndyCar Series racing fan, and is very active. She enjoys hiking, traveling, biking, the beach, spending time with family, reading, and riding their Harley.

Michelle Finney
Marketing & Events Coordinator
216-632-9029
Michelle Finney is the Marketing & Events Coordinator. She is in charge of marketing plans for all association events and educational activities, management of the association website, all social media, and creation and distribution of the Ohio Transportation Weekly.
Michelle is from the Cleveland, Ohio area. She enjoys spending time with family and playing with her two dogs, Maisie & Dexter.
Lobbyists - Governmental Policy Group

Brooke Cheney
Chairman of the Board

Victor Hipsley
President & CEO

Matthew Whitehead
Vice President
![image001[96] image001[96]](https://growthzonesitesprod.azureedge.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/796/2023/04/image00196.jpg)
Michael Guastella
Director of Public Affairs
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Ronnie Romito
Director of Legislative Affairs

Sydney Sanders
Manager of Policy & Communications

Aubrey Spencer
Manager of Operations

Kelsey Woolard
Director of Government Affairs
Officers

Chair
Tony Tomase
Owner
GetGo Transportation Co., LLC
Milbury, OH

First Vice Chair
Jonathan Gaupp
General Transportation Manager
Walmart Transportation

Treasurer
Jay Sewell
President and CEO
Sewell Motor Express

Secretary
Rebecca Pohl Liette
Vice President of Marketing
Pohl Transportation, Inc.

Immediate Past Chair
Glenn Fehribach
CFO
ContainerPort Group
Cleveland, OH

ATA VP from Ohio
Dean Kaplan
CEO & Executive Vice President
K-Limited Carrier, Ltd.
Toledo, OH
Trustees

Mathew Birdsall
EASE Expedited

Chris Bobbitt
Sanborn, Brandon, Duvall & Bobbitt

Sherri Garner Brumbaugh
Garner Trucking, Inc.

Kevin Burch
Martin Transportation Systems of Northern Ohio, LLC

Mark Carrocce Sr.
R&J Trucking Inc.

Tim Cowen
Cowen Truck Line, Inc.

Richard M. Crockett
Capital Transportation, Inc.

Ed Donovan
Marvin Johnson & Associates

Willy Jennings
Gateway Distribution, LLC

Alex Karcher
Roetzel & Andress

Joseph Kerola
P I & I Motor Express

Tracy Lawrence
Pilot Company

Kevin Mast
Mast Trucking, Inc.

Scott Pauchnik
FedEx

Jerold Richards
Classic Carriers, Inc.

Ryan Richards
JRayl Transport, Inc.

Stacy Sadar
Geotab

Matt Selby
Frantz Ward LLP

Doug Sosko
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Kiera Sullivan
Continental Express Inc.

Ashley Von Derau
Rush Transportation & Logistics
OTA Past Chairmen
2021-2022
Glenn Fehribach
2020-2021
Ed Nagle
2019-2020
Jim Subler
2018-2019
Dean Kaplan
2016-2018
Doug Sibila
2014-2016
Daniel Doran
2012-2014
Paul Williams
2010-2012
Suzie Schindewolf
2008-2010
John N. Hofstetter
2006-2008
Richard E. Durst
2004-2006
Keith A. Tuttle
2002-2004
Daniel E. Hennessey
2000-2002
Vernon E. Garner
1998-2000
Robert A. Barnes
1996-1998
James W. Bates
1994-1996
Steven D. Walker
1992-1994
A. Roger Atkinson
1990-1992
Jay L. Kaplan
1988-1990
Edward E. Ross
1986-1988
William G. Verst
1984-1986
Daniel E. Fuhrman
1981-1984
Philip E. Lattavo
1980-1981
Charles H. McCreary
1979-1980
Milton H. Bortz
1977-1979
John E. LeFevre
1975-1977
Carl W. Reagan
1973-1975
Ronald R. Sibila
1971-1973
Ralph E. Hennessey
1969-1971
R.R. Johnstone
1967-1969
O.M. Lattavo
1965-1967
Don E. Blancett
1963-1965
Howard E. LeFevre
1961-1963
J. Otis Ford
1959-1961
Samual J. Tutt
1957-1959
Jesse W. Sentle
1955-1957
Clarence A. Kelley
1953-1955
C.E. Williams
1951-1953
Kenneth Herriott
1949-1951
William Burbank
1947-1949
Frank Egner
1945-1947
Enry De Maria
1943-1945
John Ernsthausen
1941-1943
H.B. Franks
1939-1941
Ed Lee
1937-1939
L.J. Hughes
1935-1937
Merle Fullerton
1932-1935
Glenn R. Ward
1931-1932
Paul J. Herbert
1929-1931
Ray Wagner
1926-1929
Thomas Heil, Jr.
1923-1926
Frank Schmidt