[image: La Cantera Resort & Spa]
By Tod Trousdell, Fleet Marketing Consultant and Partner, RobertsTrousdell Communications
October 2, 2024
Squeals of delight over seeing an old friend. Big hugs and loud back slaps. And laughter loud enough to fill a room – or in this case, a large ballroom.
Sound like your last high school reunion? Hardly.
Maybe the final hours of a favorite corporate retreat? Good guess.
But in this case, it was actually this year’s AFLA Conference, held September 15-18 at the La Cantera Resort and Spa in San Antonio. And while the event featured a wealth of solid keynotes, a lively slate of social events, and plenty of expert panels, the real stars of this year’s conference were the good-hearted exchanges and well-intended wishes that were on display from start to finish of the three-day affair. This despite evident concern about certain aspects of the industry, most notably the lingering effects of COVID fallout, continued concerns around vehicle availability and OEMs, and industry disruption including FMC consolidation over the last decade.
Karyna Zarate
Summing things up for the more than 560 registered attendees, fleet manager and incoming AFLA President Karyna Zarate of Inframark noted how impressed she was with this year’s conference, including the warm exchanges, as well as the general spirit of camaraderie that permeated the event. At the same time, she said the AFLA team was already well into planning the 2025 event, which is slated for Marco Island, FL, next September.
“I was really impressed with the entire program and the way attendees interacted,” said Zarate. “We’ll (the AFLA team) certainly be working hard throughout the year to provide the kind of meaningful engagement and experiences attendees enjoyed this year.”
Zarate said she was especially looking forward to helping AFLA members embrace technology and AI, fostering professional development through new programs like AFLA’s “Fleet 101” and Safety Sounding Board, as well as building collaborative partnerships and championing diversity and inclusion across the industry.
Heidi DiAngelo
Heidi DiAngelo, Director of Strategic Business Development at Ridecell, introduced the Fleet 101 program in a taped message, saying she was “thrilled to be a part” of the Education Task Force, which aims to offer “bite-sized” learning for fleet professionals while creating “an enhanced connection among AFLA members year-round.”
But it’s not like AFLA was solely a love fest. In addition to the rollicking social events and meaningful charitable efforts, the fleet world got down to three days of serious discussions that included topics such as trust and the future.
Peter Young
One attendee who appeared to be pulling triple duty during the three-day event was Peter Young, Vice President of Business Development at Ranger Design. He’s not only the AFLA board’s Director of Strategy but was also a panelist in one of the many interesting industry sessions. Further, he was a recipient of one of four 2024 President’s Awards given by outgoing AFLA President Matt Betz of Oar Creek Consulting. Equally honored as recipients of the President’s Award were Heidi DiAngelo, Director, Strategic Business Development at Ridecell, Laura Jozwiak, Chief Client Officer at Wheels and Judie Nuskey, Director of Operations at Advanced Driver Training.
Elizabeth Schlicht
Young also said that he was especially impressed with the number of new participants at this year’s conference, as well as other noteworthy facets: “It’s encouraging to see the influx of young people, first time attendees and new technologies. That’s exactly the kind of thing that will keep AFLA growing and focused on the future, and I’m proud to be a part of that.” Supporting his observation, AFLA Executive Director Elizabeth Schlicht noted that about one-third of all attendees this year were first-timers.
One attendee who was impressed with his first AFLA experience was Timothy Venghaus, CEO of C6 Insights. His firm features a technology specifically designed to help fleets reduce fuel-spend and emissions while simplifying carbon reporting and evaluating pathways to meet net-zero climate targets. He remarked favorably on both the impressive, diverse array of industry talent in attendance, as well as the warm reception and “family-like” atmosphere that permeated the event.
“I am really impressed with the genuine spirit of openness and camaraderie; it’s apparent attendees are invested in each other’s success and that’s very encouraging considering it’s our first AFLA.”
Echoing Venghaus’ comments, first time attendee Leon Levitt, a former 3M executive who along with his wife owns L-Z Truck Equipment in Roseville, MN said: “In my 25-plus years in other industries, I’ve never seen an event as dedicated to building professionalism as AFLA… amazing and fun!”
Brad Burgess
Fleet Management Companies (FMCs) were well-represented, including executives and team members from the “Big 4”: Wheels, Element, Holman, and Merchants. Brad Burgess, acting Co-CEO of Merchants said he looked forward each year to the “unique opportunity and environment” AFLA offers to fleet entities, regardless of what corner of the industry they hail. “It’s (AFLA) unlike any other event we have in fleet because you have everyone – clients, partners, competitors – gathered together and working to drive the industry forward – it’s just a unique environment and special opportunity for all of us.”
Shlomo Crandus
Wheels CEO Shlomo Crandus said he was especially pleased with the opportunity to watch “client partners sharing their expertise.” He was also impressed with the energy of attendee’s ‘Driving Spirit’ – this year’s conference theme, and “how the industry continues to learn and grow together.”
In support of Crandus’ comment, Wheels customers represented three of the four finalists for the Edward J. Bobit Fleet Manager of the Year Award, including Joe Lukacs of Sherwin-Williams, David Hayward of ABM, and this year’s winner, Sharon Etherington of Roche, who credited her achievement to “the support and inspiration (of her) fellow spirited fleet managers” in her acceptance speech. Rounding out the nominees for the Bobit award was Ted Chan of Schindler Elevator.
While many major OEMs were either not in attendance or keeping a low profile, representatives of Toyota, Stellantis, Nissan, and Volvo staffed tables reserved for top sponsors of the conference.
Mike Bessette, Vice President Market Rep, Fleet Operations & Strategy at Southeast Toyota Distributors, felt this year’s AFLA proved that fleet is “a special community,” something he felt was on “full display throughout the conference, with great engagement and an opportunity to share ideas.”
And while there was no denying the upbeat energy, this year’s conference was as much about giving back as receiving. A full complement of AFLA attendees volunteered to work during a long conference break at a local San Antonio food bank.
Kim Davidson
Further exemplifying the spirit of giving, AFLA’s 2024/25 Charity of the Year, The Hourglass Foundation, was on-hand. The organization works to educate the next generation of vehicle mechanics through outreach and scholarships. Executive Director Kim Davidson said she concurred that the AFLA conference was very much like a family reunion, which she heard from several attendees who stopped by to learn more about the group’s work.
Davidson further commented, “It was really nice to see the outpouring of support for the Foundation’s work, but I was probably most impressed with the way everyone networked, and shared and laughed and mingled – it was truly a 5-star experience. I can’t wait to come back next year!”
Tod Trousdell is partner at RobertsTrousdell Marketing and Communications and a periodic contributor to Fleet Management Weekly. He works with several companies in the fleet space and can be reached at [email protected].
