NAFA Celebrates The Fleet Profession With Award Presentations At 2012 I&E

NAFA has always paid close attention to the people and ideas that move the fleet industry forward. The recipients of awards at this year's I&E in St. Louis, MO was a strong indicator that commitment and innovation are not only thriving but surpassing already high expectations.
Two professionals who have spent their careers raising professional standards of fleets and raising the visibility of the industry received NAFA’s lifetime Honorary Membership Award, one of the organization’s highest honors.

"Honorary Memberships are not presented each year and it’s extremely rare for us to present awards to two individuals, but I think the Trustees chose well," said NAFA President Douglas Weichman, CAFM. The awards were presented to John McCorkhill, CAFM, Fleet Director of the City of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Chuck Parker, President of Automotive Information Network, Inc.

McCorkhill has spent more than thirty years in the fleet industry and served in various levels of NAFA including the Board of Governors and for three years as Eastern Region Trustee. "I’ve taught people over the years, ‘Say it, be brief, shut up and sit down,’" McCorkhill said. "Three thank yous: To NAFA, all the years I spent, the fellowship and companionship has been wonderful; my wife of thirty-three years who has been the best life coach you could have; and thank God that he’s given me a good career, one that I’ve always enjoyed. I’ve never been out of a job."

Parker began his career with Avis Car Leasing and included stints at National Car Rental and Rollins Auto Leasing. In 1998, he founded Automotive Information Network, Inc., which publishes Automotive Digest and five leading market segment e-newsletters including Fleet Management Weekly. "I’ve usually been so busy interviewing people that I never got a chance to participate in these sessions," Parker said. "This has been an impressive array of people and events and things that you’ve done."

The NAFA/Bell Canada Larry Goill Memorial Quality Fleet Management Idea Award is presented each year to fleet managers whose great ideas improve productivity, result in bottom-line savings, or deliver other positive outcomes. It was named in honor of Larry Goill, a former NAFA Vice President for Canada who served as Fleet Supervisor for Bell Canada. The Goill Award winners for 2012 are Jose Gallardo and Max Nelson of AAA Arizona; Robert Martinez, Executive Director, Support Services Bureau for the NYPD; and Carl Nelson, Fleet Manager for AM-Liner East, Inc., celebrating his record-tying third Goill win.

When most people think of driver safety they picture driver training programs or cell phone/texting bans, but true driver safety begins before one even takes to the wheel. Jose Gallardo and Max Nelson of AAA Arizona recognized the need for a comprehensive employee safety program that includes everything from daily fitness sessions and customized defensive driver training to an employee safety idea contest and stepped-up club safety advocacy. Their program was launched in response to workplace accidents and high worker’s compensation expenses. Much of the safety initiative is new, and a recently added fleet safety program underscores the company’s commitment to the comprehensive approach.

All fleet drivers begin their shifts with stretching exercises to help prevent injuries. They also receive more than twenty hours per year in classroom training, are subject to quarterly evaluations and safety spot checks, and wear personal protective equipment.

Carl Nelson received the honor for his development of a driver log scoring system that dramatically improved his company’s log reporting process and reduced DOT driver log citations, while improving driver safety as well. Nelson joins Bob Stanton and Jack Harris as the only members to have received three Goill Awards during a career.

Robert Martinez's work in proactively expanding the department’s hybrid vehicle pilot program commenced in 2002 with three hybrids in non-enforcement categories. It was expanded to include traffic enforcement division vehicles and later to include marked patrol categories. Equipment configurations for non-traditional vehicle models for police use were developed such as LED lighting to reduce voltage draw, laptop computer mounts, interior seat modifications, and floor material changes.

As a result of the work by Martinez and his crew, police departments from around the world have requested information on how the City’s hybrid vehicle program is performing under the strenuous law enforcement environment in which they operate.

When the winners of NAFA’s 2012 Sustainable Fleet Awards were announced, one very familiar name returned to the main stage: Gayle Pratt, Director of Global Fleet for Ecolab, Inc. Pratt, who was NAFA’s President from 2007 to 2009, was recognized for her company’s efforts in remaking their 7,000 vehicle U.S. fleet. Since 2006, Ecolab’s fleet has reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by twenty-two percent, normalized to sales, and fuel consumption eight percent, despite an increase in the number of vehicles and total miles driven.

E.A. Sween Company, a family-owned foodservice company, determined that alternative fuels weren’t the best fit for them; they decided to move in a direction which ultimately may play an even greater role in helping the environment. The company sought out positive, sustainable changes through the use of traditional fuels and an innovative new truck design that would significantly improve fuel economy without sacrificing customer satisfaction. NAFA recognized E.A. Sween's Gregg Hodgdon, CAFM, with a Sustainable Fleet Award, for his efforts to shepherd this plan and for his contribution towards creating a better environment.

Yvan Lupien, Branch Manager, Fleet Services Branch, for the City of Ottawa (Canada) was asked to update a Fleet Emission Reduction Strategy to ensure that it favored the purchase of alternative vehicles. To meet the request he came up with a "Green Fleet Capital Account" to help provide funding. Using the new "Green Fleet Capital Account," Lupien was able to take the initial $500,000 provided by the City to fund the transition to alternative vehicles and remove one of the major obstacles in greening a fleet. Instead of simply using the funds to pay for the total price of an individual vehicle, the funds were used to "top up" purchases -- in other words, the funds served to finance solely the green portion of the vehicles.

Georgia Power Company’s fleet adopted the use of biodiesel in 1999 and E85 ethanol three years later. To date, they have used over six million gallons of B20 biodiesel and over 390,000 gallons of E85 ethanol. Through the years, the company has remained dedicated to the use of alternative fuels and has been a leader in the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids, and electric vehicles to help reduce the use of petroleum. In addition, the company’s use of a Smart Ride program, alternative work schedules, and idle reduction programs have greatly reduced the amount of their greenhouse gas emissions. Tony Saxon, CAFM, Fleet Manager at Georgia Power Company (and one of the earliest pioneers of biodiesel and E85 ethanol use in Georgia), and his fleet operations department have done their part to fulfill their parent company’s goals by choosing cleaner, greener, and smarter vehicles for their fleet.

In addition, nine fleet professionals were bestowed Honorable Mention status for their contributions this year: Richard Battersby, CAFM, University of California at Davis; Jennifer Bowman, Chipotle Mexican Grill; Greg Hansen, Washington State Department Of Transportation; Dave Head, County of Sonoma, California; Keith Leech, City of Sacramento, California; Sue Miller, McDonald’s Corporation; Stuart Olson, Tennant Company; Mike Speer, Schwan’s Home Service; and Mark Swackhamer, CAFM, Houston Independent School District.