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Behind The Freight

Greatest Hits - You Won’t Believe How Toby Young Built Trucking’s Biggest Show From a Family Legacy

Behind The Freight · 2025-05-13 · 44 min

Episode notes

What happens when a high schooler working at a trade show becomes the leader of one of trucking’s most iconic events? In this Greatest Hits episode of Freight Nation: A Trucking Podcast, Brent Hutto is joined by Toby Young, President of Exhibit Management Associates and the man behind the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS). Toby shares the full-circle journey of his family’s role in founding MATS in 1972 and how the show grew into a 1 million-square-foot gathering place for the entire trucking industry. From working with his father and grandfather to transforming the show’s focus on education and business growth, together, they explore the highs and tensions of leading a family business and the mindset shifts Toby took to lead effectively. This episode goes behind the scenes of what it takes to keep a live event relevant year after year, and how MATS became the cultural homecoming for drivers, fleets, suppliers, and innovators alike.

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