NAFA Chief Executive Officer Phil Russo, CAE: "We Could Not Have Done it Without You"

As I write this, I am sitting in my office in Princeton just one week removed from NAFA’s annual Institute & Expo in Minneapolis. It’s hard to believe it’s over and we are already moving on to planning next year’s event in Orlando. All the work and energy that consumed the entire staff and dozens of volunteers is now behind us, and we begin looking ahead and thinking about how we can deliver another outstanding experience for you.

Before we move on, though, I want to share a summary of my opening comments from last week for those of you who were not able to be with us. The opening session serves as the Association’s annual business meeting, so there are some important news items in this column that you should be aware of. I would love to get your feedback and reactions to this; please let me know what you think.

[Excerpted from my opening remarks at I&E 2014]

Thank you all for attending the largest fleet management event anywhere! And thank you to our Diamond I&E sponsors: Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors!  

I have to say, I love I&E! I really do! Why? I&E is one of the greatest times for me because I get to be with so many of you that I typically only e-mail with or spend a short time on the phone with. I get to spend time with you and talk about your great ideas and your issues. And I get to see and feel your passion for this association, which blows me away. I always come away from I&E physically drained and tired, but emotionally and psychologically on a great high. And that's because you give me such great energy. So, thank you for that gift, and thank you for putting your faith and trust in NAFA, and for choosing to spend your precious time, talent and resources with this association. Know that I hold that dear, and I use that as my motivation to ensure that you are always a happy member.

I would like to thank the more than two dozen NAFA Members and Affiliates on the I&E Curriculum Committee -- who each spent countless hours developing this year’s program. Leading this monumental effort was Curriculum Committee Chair Tracy McCann of Mylan, Inc. Tracy’s work went above and beyond traditional or "status quo" efforts. Tracy personally demoed many of the sessions, bringing speakers into her office to preview them to make sure the sessions would meet her -- and NAFA’s -- high standards. Thank you, Tracy! And thank you Committee! 

I also want to thank our I&E Arrangements Committee, under the leadership of NAFA's past president Gayle Pratt. The I&E Arrangements Committee created a truly enjoyable program that brought lots of local flavor to our meeting.  

This I&E continues a successful trend for NAFA. With nearly 700 fleet managers, and close to 300 supplier partner companies on the Expo floor, we have once again created the largest fleet event in the world. Thank you for making this event successful from that perspective: we could not have done it without you!

This opening I&E session also serves as the Association’s Annual Business Meeting. Being a not-for-profit association, NAFA has to abide by federal guidelines for transparency and openness that private companies don’t have to live by, so there are a few mandatory items to take care of now in our "state of the Association" report. Let me take a few minutes now to tell you some of the good news from last year.  

In short, I am pleased to inform you that 2013 was a tremendous year for NAFA in every way. 

There's not enough time to tell you about every success we had last year, but I am happy to report that all of that success led to the Association being financially strong. Revenue in 2013 was nearly $4.5 million, while expenses were just over $4.1 million. If you would like a copy of the just-completed independent audit report, please let me know and I'll be happy to provide that to you. As I said, we’re all about transparency here: no mysteries, no enigmas, no hidden agendas.

 

You should know that our financial gain is not bankrolled. NAFA has no shareholders that we need to make happy or individual owners whose private bankrolls grow at your expense. You, as the Members of NAFA, are the owners of this association.

 

NAFA is a not-for-profit association whose only reason for existence is to serve your needs. All of our net gain, if there is any, is responsibly reinvested into supporting and creating the programs, services, and education you tell us you need and want.

Whether that comes in the form of continuing professional education, publications, advocacy, networking opportunities, or resources and data, that’s why we’re here. NAFA exists and works only for you. Fleet is all we do, and this I&E exists because you tell us you want it exist.

While this I&E experience is phenomenal, NAFA doesn’t begin or end here. This I&E is just one thing NAFA does. NAFA provides you more than 70 programs to meet all of your needs. I won’t list every single one of those 70 programs, but you should know that we will continue to offer you great value and solutions through such programs as our:
And we are set to provide even more and better programs this year. As many of you know, we recently re-organized staff resources to better fit and support the strategic aims and vision for the Association.  

One of the most important aspects of that strategic plan is to strengthen our chapters and ensure a consistently high level of service from all of the chapters across the U.S. and Canada. Our new staff structure features an expanded and dedicated member experience team that will work with volunteer Chapter leaders to provide necessary administrative services and grow their success.

That staff structure will also help expand the Beyond Fleet program. Beyond Fleet publicizes and promotes the fleet profession, to educate and inform your "higher ups" -- and the world at large -- on the value that YOU, as fleet managers, bring to your organizations. With ads in Business Week and Wall Street Journal, as well as radio spots throughout the country, we are telling the world that your impact is more than just fleet. It's beyond fleet.

If you have any questions about any of NAFA’s programs, please contact me in any way: email, phone, or talk to me in person. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. There are, after all, no mysteries here.

Thank you!

 

Phil