
Our dedicated contributors bring a little of everything to the trucking industry, including long-time contributor Norma Hannigan (71), a retired nurse from Newburgh, NY. Since 2003, she has brought useful health information to our readers with her quarterly “Health & Happiness” article. Norma had wanted to be a writer in high school and was prepared to go off to college with a major in English, but in an interesting turn of events, her name was announced during her senior year of high school that she earned the regents nursing scholarship – which she hadn’t applied for! With this opportunity, her mother, having been a nurse, didn’t think she should pass up the chance. After that, Norma definitely embraced the opportunity, racking up an impressive number of educational achievements including earning her Bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1975, Master’s degree in public health in 1983, Master’s degree in nursing in 1994, and her Doctorate in 2007. She married her husband Terry in 1975, and together they have three children. Norma’s experience in the medical field is vast, including working at a clinic in Laredo, TX that provided services to truck drivers. In the early 2000s, she mailed letters to a few trucking magazines proposing a regular column, and 10-4 was the only one wanting to move forward with her idea. Her first contribution appeared in our February 2003 issue. From 2007 to 2013, Norma was a faculty member at the Columbia School of Nursing and was nominated as a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. The interesting part was her contributions to 10-4 Magazine are what sold them on this nomination because it serves as a type of community service and was well received. In 2017, Terry (who has a doctorate in counseling psychology) retired, but still runs a small practice providing therapy. In 2018, Norma retired, and as she enjoys her retirement, she works as a standardized patient at a local medical school twice per semester. Standardized patients have a script to work off of which doesn’t allow Norma to give guidance, but merely present for students to practice questioning and examinations prior to beginning clinicals (real experience in a healthcare facility). In the February 2022 issue, Norma’s husband Terry (now 73) came on board to share the quarterly contributions, splitting the duties with Norma, which has brought a different perspective with mental health topics to the column. Look for one of these features for Terry in a future issue of 10-4. Though she doesn’t have a background in trucking or have family that was in the industry, her medical expertise has enabled her to contribute beneficial health information to our readers. We are grateful for the 22 years and counting contributions from Norma (and Terry) and for having both of them as part of our 10-4 family.