NAFA Committees Provide Engagement Opportunities

If you’ve always wanted to get involved in NAFA and weren’t sure how, there are two great opportunities awaiting you.  

The first is to reach out to your local chapter leader and talk to him/her about what role you can play in your chapter. Chapters provide you the opportunity to meet, network with, and learn from other fleet professionals in your geographic area. To find your chapter leader, visit the NAFA website (Click here for NAFA Chapter Boundaries) to learn which chapter you’re in and find your chapter leader’s contact information.

The second opportunity is to volunteer to be on one of NAFA’s half-dozen "open" committees that focus on a specific subject matter. These committees have open memberships that permit any Regular Member or Associate Member in good standing to be considered for inclusion on the committee. Best of all, these committees seldom, if ever, meet in person, so there is no travel or time out of the office to get involved in their work. To accomplish their work, these committees conduct regularly-scheduled conference calls and/or web meetings, and supplement their activities with emails and online updates. NAFA’s "open" committees are:

• Editorial Advisory Council
• Energy, Fuels & Technology Advisory Council
• I&E Arrangements Committee
• Law Enforcement Group
• Membership Committee
• Safety Advisory Council

Every national committee in NAFA is led by a Regular or Associate Member who is appointed by the NAFA Board of Directors to serve as Chair of that group. The Chair is assisted by two Vice Chairs (one Regular Member and one Associate Member), and a committee of Regular and Associate Members. Every Committee receives direction from the NAFA Board of Directors and develops strategies to accomplish their objectives. Every committee also has a NAFA staff member who assists the group in accomplishing its mission by implementing the operational tactics the group approves.

Following is a brief description of each of the open committees. If any of these groups sound like they do something you’re interested in, please contact the committee Chair to discuss your willingness to serve.

Editorial Advisory Council

Chair: Frank Castro, CAFM^® - Senior Manager, Snohomish County Public Utility District #1, fcastro@snopud.com

• Recommends article topics, assists in developing and/or reviewing article outlines, and recommends potential interview candidates for the association’s magazine and e-newsletters.
• Recommends benchmarking and best practice survey topics, assists in developing survey questions, assists in analyzing survey results.
• Recommends ideas for promoting greater readership of NAFA’s publications.
• Encourages Regular Members and Associate Member to submit articles and article ideas.
• Reviews magazine article manuscripts for fleet relevancy and accuracy.

Energy, Fuels & Technology Advisory Council

Chair: Michael Bisogno, CAFM^® - Director, Commonwealth of Virginia Office of Fleet Management Services, Michael.Bisogno@dgs.virginia.gov

• Identifies issues of relevance and concern to fleet managers in the areas of energy, advanced vehicle propulsion systems, fuels and technology.  Proposes programs and/or resources to address those needs and concerns.
• Brings issues of concern and importance related to energy, advanced vehicle propulsion systems, fuels and technology to NAFA’s attention, through the Education Development Committee, to ensure NAFA is continually addressing these issues and providing top quality information, resources, and programs to the membership.
• Identifies subject matter experts to assist NAFA in addressing the needs and concerns in the areas of energy, advanced vehicle propulsion systems, fuels and technology.
• Ensures NAFA’s resources and programs in the areas of energy, advanced vehicle propulsion systems, fuels, and technology are up-to-date and relevant and provide value to fleet managers.
• Working with NAFA’s Legislative Counsels and Government Affairs Committees, monitors and drafts responses, as appropriate, to energy- advanced vehicle propulsion systems-fuel- and technology-related legislation and regulations that would affect fleets.
• Suggests article ideas for publication in NAFA’s magazine and newsletter.
• Recommends content for inclusion in NAFA’s online resources.

I&E Arrangements Committee

Chair: Tony Orta, Strategy and Maintenance Operations Manager, Sempra Energy Utilities Fleet Services, aorta@semprautilities.com

• Develops and executes activities to make annual conference registrants feel welcome in host city upon arrival, including at host hotel or convention center, and airport.
• Recommends to staff entertainment ideas, décor, and menu selections for Chapter Recognition Luncheon.

Law Enforcement Group

Chair: Mario Guzman, CAFM^® – General Services Manager, City of West Palm Beach, Florida, Mfguzman@wpb.org

• Develops topics and speakers for the LEG track at the Annual Institute & Exposition to address current and future needs and concerns of police fleet managers.
• Presents concerns and recommendations of LEG to the Leadership Forum.
• Monitors legislative, regulatory and operational issues involving law enforcement fleets and advised Board of Directors on issues requiring action.
• Encourages Chapters to include programming of interest to law enforcement fleets and to utilize law enforcement representatives in Chapter presentations.
• Serves as personal resources for other law enforcement fleet managers
• Recommends information and materials to be published in NAFA’s publications and online.
• Develops recommendations for programs to further the Association’s goals and strategic plan.

NAFA Membership Committee

Chair: Tony DiBrino, National Fleet Sales Manager – Northeast, PepBoys, tony_dibrino@pepboys.com  

• When necessary, determines the proper membership classification of any person applying for membership in the association.
• Identifies Regular Members’ and Associate Members’ needs and/or concerns, bringing them to the Board of Director’s attention.
• Recommends ideas for promoting membership, increasing membership and aiding retention.
• Encourages prospective Regular Members and prospective Associate Members to join.
• Advises staff and develops recommendations of programs and services to further the association’s goals and strategic plan.
• Encourages and motivates Chapter Membership Committee Chairs and Chapter Chairs to promote membership to non-members and facilitate better membership service.

NAFA Safety Advisory Council

Chair: David Thompsen, CAFM^®, Fleet & Facilities Manager, Matanuska Telephone Assn. Inc., dthompsen@mta-telco.com

• Keeps safety in the minds of NAFA members by suggesting safety-related topics for NAFA publications and programs.
• Develops safety-related products for NAFA to market.
• Recommends safety-related sessions for the annual I&E.
• Develops outlines or possible "canned" presentations for chapter safety meetings.
• Produces annual or bi-annual Crash Data and Loss Data Surveys; analyzes survey results and helps prepare report for publication.
• Works cooperatively with chapter leaders to disseminate information about national, regional, and local safety programs.

If you’ve always wanted to get involved in NAFA, there’s no excuse not to anymore! I hope you will take advantage of this excellent opportunity to get engaged with NAFA.

Sincerely,