Rhode Island Trucking Association Foundation

12/16/2025

And XPO professional truck driver and ATA Road Captain finalist Selwin Ramirez assists students into an Ocean State Job Lot "Sleeper" tractor as part of the truck "tour" at JA Inspire 2025 which included his sharing career experiences about life on the road.

12/16/2025

The RITA Foundation continued to deliver on its mission to 'Move Minds' and inspire the next generation of trucking professionals as it brought a group of front line drivers, technicians, industry recruiters and their equipment face to face with approximately 5000 Rhode Island 8th graders as part of this year's Junior Achievement Inspire program. This is the third year of participation by the Foundation and RITA.

Here, Penske Trucks Diesel Technician David Slade explains the technology under the hood of a Freightliner Cascadia. Slade also demonstrated the use of a tablet as a key tool in the Preventative Maintenance (PM)and diagnostic processes.

12/10/2025

Day Two of the RITA Foundation's participation in the 2025 JA Inspire Career Exploration Fair at the Convention Center finds professional drivers like William Hicks of Ocean State Job Lot and Ray Nightingale of XPO engaging with and answering the questions of students. Great job, guys!

12/03/2025

The RITA Foundation looks forward to partnering with Penske Trucks, New England Tractor Trailer Training School and Ocean State Job Lot to inform Rhode Island middle-schoolers about career paths in trucking December 9th-11th at Junior Achievement R.I.'s 2025 "JA Inspire Career Exploration Fair" at the R.I. Convention Center.

Last year, thousands of students came through the Convention Center. Hundreds "got behind the wheel" of ATA's Interstate One CDL-simulator. This year, 'Transportation Row' will feature a diesel tech demonstration using the latest maintenance technology in addition to truck driving.

09/17/2025

Delta Dental's Tim Pheland, right, congratulates his colleague Jeff Nauges for pulling the winning raffle ticket for the hospitality basket at the Aurora Club last week. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the event!

09/17/2025

Foundation Trustee and event host, Carla Manni (right), owner of Trans-Link, addresses guests at the Aurora Club event last week.

09/17/2025

Thanks very much to attendees and sponsors of the Aurora Club event last week to benefit the RITA Foundation. Our mission is to promote the interests of the trucking industry through education, image building programs, career path development and community engagement and philanthropy. Proceeds from this well-attended event will advance these initiatives.

05/07/2025

Congratulations to the 2025 Topgolf Tournament first place winner Greg Caldarone, pictured sporting the Champion's Belt! Greg is flanked by RITA Chairman Chris Maxwell, left, and RITA Foundation Chairman Steve Soares.

05/07/2025

"Keep your eye on the ball"

05/07/2025

Thanks to the sponsors and attendees who made the Foundation's first annual Topgolf Tournament a swinging success!

05/06/2025

The RITA Foundation is pleased to have participated in Johnston's Career Fair on April 25 to promote the great career opportunities in transportation and supply chain. Pictured with Chris Maxwell is Hailey Evers, in front of the image of her grandfather, NTDC Class Champion and XPO Logistics driver Joe Hicks.

04/04/2025

The Women In Trucking Foundation Spring 2025 Scholarship cycle is open now through April 15. Link below to the application portal.

Interested in applying? Click the button below to navigate to our application portal. (Note: applications will no longer be accepted via PDF or Google Forms—please use the portal to apply.)