Spelunking: Ben Caldwell

Ben Caldwell has lived all over the world. His father was in the Air Force, and he was in the Army before settling with our BAT team as an account executive in January.

When he is not at BAT or finishing his education at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Ben stays busy helping in the community and enjoying the outdoors. He volunteers with the American Red Cross, the Nebraska Humane Society and at a local pet foster/shelter. His love of animals extends to his home, where he has three dogs and a bird.

In the next month, his free time will get a little busier. His wife is expecting a baby girl.

Spelunking: Ann Turner

Ann Turner, Administrative Assistant for Accounting, may be the oldest member of our team, but can still relate to the younger team members.

It could be because she's moved so much in her life. It could be her love of camping that keeps her young. Or, it could just be what life has taught her.

"The older I get, the more I realize I'm just like the next guy and have the same problems as anyone else," she said. "Sometimes, when I think my issues are worse than anyone could imagine, I meet someone who has it worse."

She started as a temp in July, and fit in so well that she "permanently" joined the team in October.

Ann is an avid reader, calling her love of reading an addiction. Her favorite book series is a set of murder mysteries by Nevada Barr.

Spelunking: BAT Celebrates Sixth Year With Spirit Week

Can you believe BAT is now six years old? To celebrate our anniversary, we held our First Annual BAT Spirit Week. Each day had a special theme for which we could dress up for prizes.

Monday was Best Team Spirit, Tuesday was Hat Day, Wednesday was Pajama Day and Thursday was Crazy Hair Day. Today was BAT Spirit Day, and we were treated to a professional massage!

Our daily winners were Charlie on Monday, Katy on Tuesday, Anthony on Wednesday, Joe on Thursday and Charles on Friday.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Spelunking: Moreno Completes First Half Marathon

Cindy Moreno shows off her medal.

This weekend, BAT Director of Sales Cindy Moreno donned a crown and pink tutu to run in the Disney Princess Half Marathon at Disney World in Florida. It was her first time running in a half marathon, and she finished 14,772 out of 19,000 runners.

For those who don't know, a half marathon is 13.1 miles. She finished it in 3 hours and 29 minutes. Since it was her first time, her goal was to finish and not be the last one across the finish line.

"It was hard work, but so much fun at the same time," Moreno said. "I will be doing this again, and my goal next time will be to finish under three hours."

For more information about the event, visit the Run Disney website.

Echo: More Regulations Coming For Trucks

Earlier this week, President Obama announced plans to improve the fuel efficiency of trucks. He told the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to propose the new regulations by March 2015.

The White House has released a fact sheet with details on the announcement. Truckinginfo.com has article explaining the announcement and what is already on the way, including reactions from the trucking industry.

Echo: Intermodal Continues to Grow

There are some bright spots besides the reflection of light off the tons of snow we've seen this year-- intermodal traffic has been growing over last year's numbers, with a year-to-date increase of 1.1 percent, according to the American Association of Railroads.

The report, ending Feb. 8, showed the commodity with the highest increase was farm and food products, followed by grain.

For more information, read the AAR's report.

Spelunking: If We Could Be Olympians...

Every four years, the Winter Olympics inspires the young- at least for a month- to train for a winter sport. Sometimes, though, even adults have dreams of standing on a podium as the National Anthem plays. So, if we could, which sports would some of our BAT team members compete in?

Steve Coenen: I have been an avid curler for about 8 years now. Haven’t made it to the Olympics yet, but it is a dream! I’ve got a few kinks to work out, but I will make it. I know I will.

Krysten Parrish: Skiing. I have only been skiing a few times in my life and I loved the rush it gave me. But I’m also an adrenaline junkie.

Steve Barnes: This isn’t close. Who wouldn’t want to be on a bobsled team? First of all, John Candy is a coach. And Doug E. Doug is awesome. Whatever happened to Doug E. Doug…

Cindy Moreno: I wish I could compete in downhill skiing, I love skiing and the thrill of going that fast and still being in control is exciting.