Great Memories at NAFA

It’s hard to believe I&E 2018 is over. After a full year of planning, several weeks of high-level stress leading up to the event, then five days of flat-out sprinting for 18 hours a day, it came and went so fast! I’ve already been back in the office for nearly a full week.

After I&E, I typically need a couple days to recuperate and rest my feet. This year, though, is different. Yes, I came home tired but also energized by the many personal and emotional experiences at I&E. Couple those experiences with all the accolades (well-intentioned, but a bit misplaced*) for a job well done, and it’s easy to understand why the only thing hurting more than my feet right now, are my cheeks, from all the smiling I’ve been doing over the past two weeks.

Here are some of my reflections on I&E - from an “operational” perspective - that make me smile:

• We likely set an attendance record with more than 1,100 fleet professionals registered for the conference (We’ll know final numbers in a few weeks)
• Conference and expo attendance was up 4.5 percent from last year
• Fleet manager expo-only attendance was up eight percent from last year
• Four-day conference attendance was up nine percent from last year
• We met or exceeded all of our budgeted revenue goals
• We left Anaheim with 74 percent of next year’s Expo floor in Louisville sold to returning exhibitors
• Every general session room was packed to standing-room capacity
• The mobility pre-conference event was, by far, the best content on the subject matter anywhere
• We scored quite a coup by getting Steven Choi from Uber to provide the keynote at the mobility conference
• We had an equally impressive feat of securing Microsoft as an I&E sponsor

On a more personal level, I will never forget NAFA President Bryan Flansburg’s emotional and vulnerable thank you message to his NAFA family for their show of love and support during the loss of his son late last year.

I will always remember how the hair on my arms stood up when I saw more than 400 people move en masse, with no questions asked and no hesitation, to participate in the Rise Against Hunger work project. Those of you who participated in that project created yet another historic moment for NAFA by helping make 40,176 meals in one hour. The feeling of love and camaraderie and the energy in the room was palpable among everyone working to help the less fortunate. It made me proud to be part of the NAFA family!

Thank you for creating these great memories of NAFA. It really is true that YOU are NAFA.

For another expression of my biggest takeaways from NAFA, please check out this video from Fleet Management Weekly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=4PAE8eI3WrI

Sincerely,

 

Phil

*I say “misplaced” because the real thanks for making I&E a success should go to the dozens of people who created the content, who delivered the sessions, and who planned and carried out the details. The list is long, and I mean no disrespect by not naming everyone, but I especially want to thank Tina Mercardo, NAFA’s Director of Meetings & Events; Kate Vigneau, CAFM, NAFA’s Director of Professional Development; Scot Blum, NAFA’s Senior Marketing Manager; Oleg Cytowicz, Chair of the I&E Curriculum Committee; Heidi DiAngelo, Chair of the IFA Planning Committee; and Tony Orta, Chair of the I&E Arrangements Committee.