Staff & Board of Trustees

Staff

Thomas A. Balzer, CAE

President & CEO
614-653-0290
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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 of Meetings & Events
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 this role, she is responsible for the high-level planning and execution of all meetings and events including site selection, speaker management, event promotions and logistics. She also manages the association’s website and membership app.

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.

Irwin Shires, CDS

Vice President of Education & Engagement
614-633-5449

Irwin Shires, CDS is a 31-year veteran of the trucking industry, including 9 ½ years as a professional driver, racking up over one million accident-free miles during that time.

From 2000-2019, Irwin worked for Panther Premium Logistics, mainly in the areas of Safety and Government Compliance. As a trainer, driver support specialist, and, for the last 14 years, as Government Qualification Coordinator, he has educated hundreds of drivers and transportation employees on regulations regarding border crossings, hazardous materials, and shipments requiring Protective Security Services.

Irwin has conducted numerous driver sessions and chaired several roundtable discussions on driver and carrier safety processes. He has testified before Congress, the FMCSA, and The National Academies of Science on behalf of the trucking industry. Within the last five years, he has served on several boards and committees, including chairmanship of the Safety Subcommittee of the National Defense Transportation Association, as well as three terms on the Legislative Board of The Expediters Association of North America. Most recently he chaired the Protective Service and Security Committee of the American Trucking Associations’ Government Freight Conference.

Irwin is a 1988 graduate of Ashland University, with a Bachelor’s of Education degree. He is an avid bowler, with four sanctioned 300 games to his credit, and also appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy! in July 2000, where he finished a close second, with $16,800. His actual prize was a $2500 gift certificate to art.com. Irwin lives in Reynoldsburg with Susan, his wife of nearly 25 years, son Andrew, a recent college graduate, and two rescue cats named Emmett and Elliott.