NAFA’s first trip to Western Canada for a Fleet Management Seminar was highly successful. Held in Calgary, Alberta, September 14-15, the Canadian Fleet Management Seminar (CFMS) had more than 40 attendees including 95 percent who said they would like to attend an Advanced Fleet Management Seminar (AFMS) in Canada sometime.
"This seminar may have been the best yet," said instructor Katherine Vigneau, CAFM. "We had an excellent mix of Fleet Managers and Affiliates with a range of expertise from five days to 30-plus years. We had a number of people attending the seminar for a second time, and four attending to review for their CAFS or CAFM exams. The hospitality of the Western Canada Chapter made this seminar memorable!"
To mark the first CFMS in Western Canada, the Western Chapter hosted a dinner on September 13 and invited all seminar attendees. Katherine Vigneau spoke about NAFA’s Professional Development activities and attendees enjoyed participating in karaoke. One of the highlights was when Melissa, the lone attendee from America, led everyone in a rendition of "YMCA" but to the letters N-A-F-A.
Previous Canadian Fleet Management Seminars had taken place in eastern cities (Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto). A survey of the Canadian Membership, conducted earlier in the year, found a strong market in Western Canada, which was backed up by the attendance numbers for the FMS.
Instructors for the Canadian FMS included Katherine Vigneau, CAFM; Julie Furlotte, CAFM; Ray Brisby, CAFM; and Marcie Smith, CAFM.