It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend Arnold Braasch. Few people connected with the American Truck Historical Society can say they have been around since its formation in 1971. Even fewer have held a leadership position in the organization for over four decades.
"When Harris Saunders became ATHS president in 1977 the society had approximately 350 members, and each successive president took possession of the archive material that had begun to collect;' said Bill Johnson, previous ATHS executive director. "Saunders believed it was time ATHS had a headquarters office and a managing director." Saunders provided office space at his truck leasing company in Birmingham, Ala., and hired his daughter, Zoe Saunders James, to manage it. Saunders contributed nearly the entire cost of both the office rent and the director salary in those early years, Johnson noted.
'This act of generosity at a critical stage in the formative years of the ATHS was viewed so important that this award was named for Mr. Saunders and given to members who demonstrate similar dedication to the American Truck Historical Society;' he said. "Arnold has been interested in trucks and the trucking industry since the time that he rode his bicycle out to the Talbert Trailer factory to take pictures of trucks and trailers;' Johnson said. "This led to him spending his entire working career with Talbert:'
In 1970, Braasch was recruited to join the United States Truck Historical Society as a "young man" at age 40 and served as that organization's treasurer when USTHS and ATHS merged in 1972. After the merger, Braasch served as an ATHS board member and officer, rising through the chairs to serve as president and chairman of the board.
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