ANCASTER, Ont. (Jan. 20, 2003) — After nearly three decades of operation, Com-Car Owner-Operators’ Association will cease operations on Jan. 31.

The association claims to have 1,700 members and offers a variety of business-related services and training. In the end, the financial support “just wasn’t there,” said association president Joanne Joosse. “I’ve given it my best shot.”

Several attempts to keep the association alive in recent months, including proposals to merge with other organizations, ultimately failed. “Naturally, at Com-Car we are crestfallen,” Joosse said in a letter to members. “Sadly, these decisions necessitate ceasing operations of our organization.”

In an interview with Today’s Trucking, Joose acknowledged that Com-Car’s death knell may have been sounded in April 2000 when her husband, longtime president Art Joosse, died of cancer. Art Joosse, a high-school teacher, guidance counsellor, and administrator, provided a voice for Com-Car members on a variety of government and industry councils, including the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council and Ontario’s Target 97 committee. In 1999, he received a National Transportation Week Award of Excellence for his efforts.

He also founded the Canadian Co-operative of Independent Truck Owner/Operators that was launched with $1.6 million from Ottawa in 1991.

In recent years, Com-Car membership was made up largely of truckers who bought insurance through National Truck League (NTL) of London, Ont. Through much of last year NTL looked at absorbing Com-Car, but those negotiations broke down last September.