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| Sandi Soendker |
Sandi Soendker, editor-in-chief of Land Line Magazine,
received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Truck Writers of North America
(TWNA) at the 2013 Mid-America Trucking Show. Soendker, who has been covering the
trucking industry for 26 years, is the latest recipient of this award
celebrating a person who exhibits the highest standard of journalism or
communications within the trucking industry over a career.
“This is the highest award bestowed by TWNA, and we are
pleased to be presenting it to Sandi this year,” said TWNA Executive Director
Tom Kelley. “Her dedication to our industry is unparalleled.”
Based in Grain Valley, MO, Land Line Magazine’s editorial policy encompasses informing
truckers, the trucking industry and various government agencies about issues
related to the industry.
A reporter/editor for more than 40 years, Soendker has
worked for daily newspapers, small town weeklies and horse magazines. But
it is at Land Line where she
developed her passion for the industry and discovered the role that advocacy
journalism plays in trucking.
When interviewed for an article on What it Takes to Be a
Good Reporter Soendker explained, “I am a cause-oriented person. I always have
to have a cause, be fighting for the little dog, to right wrongs, expose bad
people, to shine a light in dark places. Trucking is full of wrongs, unjust
rules and regulations, overworked drivers and in general ugliness.”
“Advocacy journalism in this industry is a niche that is
custom-made for a person like me,” Soendker continued. “Covering this industry
from my unique corner office at OOIDA headquarters is like riding with the James
Gang. You need a fast horse and the ability to get in close, but not get shot.”
In addition to serving on the board of directors of OOIDA
and the board of directors of the St. Christopher Truckers Development and
Research Fund, Soendker is also a member of Truck Writers of North America,
Women In Trucking, Kansas City Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists,
Missouri Quarter Horse Association, and the American Quarter Horse Association.
Sandi has interviewed countless subjects over her career.
Her favorite, however, was in 1978 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, KY, with a 16-2 hands race champion – Secretariat. And he never said a single word.
Previous winners of the TWNA Lifetime Achievement Award
include Rolf Lockwood, Don Alles, David A. Kolman, Tom Berg, Mike Pennington,
Jim Winsor, Paul Abelson, RJ Taylor and Bob Deierlein.
