Out To The Ballgame With NAFA's Philly, NJ, And NY-InterCounty Chapters

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The NAFA Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York-InterCounty Chapters held their first annual tri-state chapter meeting on Monday, August 11 at Citizens Bank Park. The meeting was a great success with 135 attendees on a beautiful, sunny day. The event was sponsored by 28 business suppliers and their tremendous support was truly appreciated.

The sponsors for this event were: Amerifleet, ARI, Auto Truck Group, BMW, CEI, Chrysler, Enterprise Holdings, Fleet Response, Fleet Street Remarketing, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Kia, Knapheide, Morgan Olson, PARS, PHH, Runzheimer International, Ryder, Subaru, Supreme, Transport Solutions of America, Truescreen, Toyota, Utilimaster, Volkswagen, WEX, and Wheels, Inc.

The day was filled with good food and networking, as well as the ball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.

The origins of this event started during the 2012 NAFA I&E in St. Louis as a conversation between current Philadelphia Chapter Chair David Hayward and now-previous Chapter Chairs Frank Memolo (New Jersey) and Kevin Fisher, CAFM (Pennsylvania). Kevin kept the momentum going with a conversation about doing a ball game during the BOG meeting in Arizona with New York-InterCounty Chapter Chair Jim Reinish and current New Jersey Vice Chair Wendy Kupper. All agreed and that was the beginning of what was to be a great meeting. After that, all three chapters had several conference calls together and all agree that it has been great working with and getting to know people from the other chapters.


Philadelphia Chapter's Mike Freidel (ARAMARK) did a great job taking the lead in planning the food, tickets, name tags, giveaways, and communications. Mike sent emails out asking for sponsors to support this exciting event and the response was amazing. Kurstan Sexton (Volkswagen) handled the sponsor’s donations and provided receipts.

Ray Breault and Jim McCarthy

Thanks to the many sponsors who helped make this event possible, the cost to attend was kept low at $35 for NAFA members and $40 for associates. This price included food for two hours, tickets to the game, and a bus ride for those who preferred not to drive. The three chapters split the cost of the bus and plan to do the same next year. The Siemens headquarters seemed to be a central location for the New York and New Jersey members to get the bus, as it is also near Metro Park Train Station, so permission was secured from building security to use the lot. The U.S. Coachway bus arrived on time and everyone had an enjoyable ride to and from the game while networking and snacking.  

Mike Freidel and Tom Lubas

ARAMARK kindly provided the traditional ballpark fare like hot dogs, cheese steak, chips and, pretzels (not to mention the hummus and veggie sandwiches for the healthy crowd)! This was the perfect time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones before the game.  

Jim Reinish, Mike Freidel, and Wendy Kupper

This year, the Mets beat the Phillies 5-3, but the Phillies will have a chance to redeem themselves at next year’s game. No matter which side you were routing for, all agreed that it was a fun successful event. All three chapters are looking forward to seeing everyone again next year; this time in New York!

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Special thanks to New Jersey Chapter Chair Wendy Kupper for material in this article.

 

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