The First Word: Meeting With Success On A Monthly Basis

Each month, the entire NAFA staff* meets in our conference room to share news about developments in our strategic efforts, update each other on important events, and bring up potential issues to be resolved before they become problematic. The meetings are one of my ways of ensuring that everyone is informed, on the same page, and heading in the right direction. It is at these meetings that we all get to see in concrete ways the outcomes of our work and actually feel, in a very palpable way, the great momentum NAFA has built up over the past two years that continues to propel us in to the future. Our meetings are affirming and energizing and serve as great motivators to keep us going.

For this month’s column, I thought I’d give you an inside look at some of the major discussion topics at our last staff meeting so you can get an idea of how NAFA is doing and where we’re heading.

I&E conference registration is up fifteen percent from same-time last year; overall attendance is up twelve percent. NAFA hasn’t seen the likes of these numbers since 2007; if this pace continues, we will come close to eclipsing 2,500 in total attendance, which we’ve not done since the early 2000’s.
A webinar is being developed for first-time I&E attendees to help newcomers make the most of their time at I&E.
The Expo floor has been sold out since February; the waiting list is now near twenty.
I&E promotions continue at a heavy pace, with thousands of emails, letters, postcards and other messages sent out weekly to various industry segments. Advertisements continue in industry print and e-publications to help ensure I&E attendance exceeds expectations.
Membership growth continues to be spectacular. Last month alone NAFA welcomed thirty six new Members, thirty five new Affiliates, four new students, and one new International Web Subscriber.
The first round of the 2012 Potential Member and Affiliate campaign was launched to nearly 8,000 prospective members; results expected to show in the April-June timeframe. Another campaign will be launched in May to 10,000 fleet managers and suppliers.
The NAFA Mobile portal (www.NAFAmobile.org) has launched, giving members easy, smart-phone links to important news, calendar of events, FLEETSolutions magazine, FleetFOCUS newsletter, the online buyer’s guide, and more.
The NAFA LinkedIn group has more than 3,700 members and continues to be the community for asking questions, sharing knowledge, and finding new professionals to work with, as well as promoting NAFA’s networking power and influence.
NAFA’s Twitter has 1,000 followers and growing every week.
Beyond Fleet has received outstanding reaction and reception since its launch February 29. Beyond Fleet website (www.beyondfleet.com) consists of video, blog updates, a toolkit that contains template letters and data, and a discussion forum where members and non-members can ask/answer questions. In addition, a NAFA Playlist was created on iTunes and will be cross-promoted through the social media communities.
A half-page ad will be placed in Bloomberg BusinessWeek promoting Beyond Fleet to the target audience of the campaign. Bloomberg BusinessWeek has more than one million subscribers worldwide. The April 9 issue will hit the stands April 6.
Marketing has begun for the new Master’s Fleet Management Series, which will debut in June. This will be a new seminar for advanced and veteran fleet managers who will work on real-life fleet case studies in a group setting.
A strategic planning committee specifically for NAFA’s educational efforts has been formed. This "A" team will help ensure NAFA stays on track and on target with its educational efforts. The group will meet before I&E to get things going, with a second meeting in June.
NAFA is currently involved in deep conversations with four universities to include the CAFM materials in their courses and offer college credit for those who have attained the CAFM and CAFS designations.
NAFA has an agreement with the organizers of the ACT Expo for in-kind marketing.
The 2011 Audit was just completed and shows another outstanding year financially for NAFA. Results will be shared in the Annual Report, available at and after I&E.
The NAFA phone system is experiencing some serious performance issues. A quick fix is required so this does not impact member service; a long-term solution must be developed ASAP.

As you can imagine, our staff meetings routinely exceed the allotted one-hour time limit, due mostly to the fact that there is so much good stuff happening. Plus, with all the positive news and energy, folks are always coming up with new ideas, solutions, and opportunities. I owe a great deal of thanks to the staff for not only enduring the meetings, but making NAFA so successful!

If you would like more information about anything I’ve mentioned, please feel free to contact me at: prusso@nafa.org and 609-986-1055.

Sincerely,

* FYI - The NAFA staff is just twelve people who are outstanding at what they do and who deserve the utmost thanks and credit for helping NAFA be so successful. One of the greatest compliments I received was when someone told me they thought NAFA had a staff of twenty or thirty people based on the amount and quality of work we do and the results we get. For a complete staff listing, please visit http://www.nafa.org/Template.cfm?Section=Staff.