Remembering A NAFA Pioneer: George Wilson (1921-2016)

NAFA received word that Association Co-Founder George Wilson passed away on April 4 this year. He was 95.

In an archival interview from 2012, George looked back on his early years first with the Round Table Group and then with what that group would ultimately become: NAFA Fleet Management Association. He also spoke of the Association's pioneers with whom he worked, like Walter Langseder and Jonathon Sibley, and of the conversations they had about the importance of fleet management. They also discussed the need to organize fleet professionals.

These first steps in the early 1950’s led to formation of the Round Table Group, localized initially to fleet managers in the New York/Mid-Atlantic region. While only consisting of twenty fleet managers, each member rotated responsibilities and, more importantly, pushed forward the needs that the SAE could not – sharing the information that was most pertinent to the management and maintenance issues that most affected the fleet professional. It was the place to network and to share ideas. It was also, however, quickly outgrowing the boundaries Langseder, Sibley, and Wilson had set for it.

In 1957, a pivotal moment had come where containing the Round Table Group no longer seemed like a sustainable plan. "We met with S.J. "Sam" Lee, who operated a leasing business in Detroit. He said he would have his attorneys draw up papers to establish a national association for fleet managers, so that is pretty much how it all started."

Wilson would become the Third Vice President of the Association, Chairman for the New York region, and head of the Membership Committee. Sibley took the position of Assistant Treasurer. Langseder was Chairman of the Safety Committee, served in several Vice Presidencies and later, in 1962, succeeded Lee A. Westberg as NAFA’s President.

The efforts of the nascent association were welcomed by the companies which employed its membership. "The people above me at Lever Bros. fortunately were very much involved in supporting my being with NAFA," Wilson said. "They felt we couldn’t learn enough. They always wanted us to make our fleet better than it currently was. They supported me in every way including allowing me to go to meetings, getting speakers, and things like that."

George is survived by his wife Ethel G. Wilson of Palm Bay, FL; sons Gregg (Gabrielle) of Hazlet, NJ and Bruce of Pleasanton, CA; daughter Joyce Wilson of Palm Bay; and grandchildren Alexis and Vickie.

NAFA remembers George and thanks him for starting what we have become.