Celebrating Membership Milestones
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July 2017
50 years
Jim Frank
CEO
Wheels, Inc.
Des Plaines, IL
Jim has a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and MBA from Stanford University. He is actively involved in Community affairs, serving on the Boards of: University of Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, Illinois Network of Charter Schools, The Chicago Public Education Fund, Vice Chair of the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was recently recognized as an "Honorary Fellow of the Division of Biological Sciences, and Chair of the Board of Intrinsic Network of Charter Schools.
Patrick J. Sheehan
Director of Corporate FleetBaxter Healthcare (retired)
Barrington, IL
Patrick J. Sheehan was NAFA President from 1983 to 1985. He is credited, during his tenure as NAFA President, for surpassing the total membership mark of 2,500 for the Association, a high-point for NAFA at that time.
Sheehan was also instrumental in the development of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Certified Fleet Manager Program, a precursor to what would ultimately become NAFA’s CAFM program. He was recipient of NAFA’s Distinguished Service Award in 1988.
Recalling his introduction to NAFA, Sheehan noted both he and the Association were in their formative periods. "Shortly after I joined Baxter Healthcare in 1967, the CEO suggested I might be interested in a fairly new organization for fleet administrators called NAFA. I decided he was right and became a member," Sheehan recalled. "Can you believe, back then, power options was the big issue?"
Through a steady, and relatively quick window of time, Sheehan became invaluable to NAFA as it grew. "1971 was a busy year. I became Chapter Chair in Chicago, and was asked to be NAFA Conference Chair that same year. In 1974, I became a trustee, moved along into the chairs and eventually became President in 1983; then on to the Board of Governors."
Prior to his years in fleet, Sheehan served as a ground accident investigator during the Korean War. It can be easily assumed that such an experience would lend itself to Sheehan’s warm feelings toward NAFA’s sense of camaraderie, working alongside peers who all shared the same ambitions and goals. "I am honored to have served with, and learned from, these most competent men, who were considered more than business associates, but friends."
30 Years
Walter J. Burnett, CAFM®
Macomb, ILWalter J. Burnett, CAFM®, served the public works profession for over thirty-eight years. He has worked for the Cities of Knoxville, TN; Schaumburg, IL; Beverly Hills, CA, and retired as Public Works Director of the City of Macomb, IL, where he managed a full service public works operation, water and wastewater utility, and capital improvement program.
Burnett has been active in professional associations, has served on the Board of Trustees as Trustee, Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice President for NAFA; Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network, where he served as a Founding Director, the American Public Works Association, and is a past President of the Automotive Transportation Supervisors Association. His public works construction projects have received APWA Illinois Projects of the Year Awards three times. He was a 2006 finalist for Government Fleet Magazine’s Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year Award and in 2007 received NAFA’s Excellence in Education Award. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee and is a Certified Automotive Fleet Manager. He currently works as a Project Consultant for the Jones Corporation.
David G. Robertson, CAFM®
Spring, TXDavid Robertson, CAFM®, was Assistant Director for the City of Houston Fire Department Fleet Management. Robertson was president of the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) from 2001-2003. Following his retirement, Robertson worked with Mercury Associates, Inc., a fleet management consulting company headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, as a senior associate consultant. He received NAFA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2007.
Douglas Weichman, CAFM®
DirectorCity of Gainesville
Fleet Management
Gainesville, FL
Douglas Weichman, CAFM®, served as President of NAFA Fleet Management Association 2011-2013.
Douglas has been an active Member of NAFA since 1987 and has been involved within NAFA’s educational programs, the Public Safety Group, the Fuels & Technology Committee, and the Student Advisory Task Force. His NAFA career is highlighted by the creation of NAFA Sustainable Fleet Award (formerly known as the Green Fleet Award) and the Student Advisory Task Force. His work as an instructor for NAFA’s Fleet Management Seminar and the development of several educational products has been instrumental for the Association.
Douglas currently serves as Director of Fleet Management for the City of Gainesville, Florida. Previously, he was the Director Fleet Management for Palm Beach County, Florida,1990-2017. Before that he was the Fleet Manager for Miami-Dade County for nine years and has held private sector fleet positions upon graduating from Ferris State University with a Bachelor of Science in Automotive & Heavy Equipment Technology.
In addition to NAFA, Weichman is also an active member of the Florida Association of Governmental Fleet Administrators. Among his career highlights are his appointment by the Governor of Florida to the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities initiative and his selection in 2009 as Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year.
It is the strength of our Members like Jim Frank; Patrick J. Sheehan; Walter J. Burnett, CAFM®; David G. Robertson, CAFM®; and Douglas Weichman, CAFM® that has helped make NAFA the strongest association in fleet management today.
