2010 AFLA Hit a Home Run

Hello Fleet Professionals!

It's hard to believe that several weeks have already passed since I returned from Las Vegas and the 2010 AFLA Annual Conference. Where does the time go? This year's event was the best yet where attendance reached an all time high (over 410 registered attendees)and with a group of sessions that exceeded all expectations - certainly my expectations!

I've always looked forward to the AFLA conferences and have attending them for more than 15 years. The last several years I've also been involved in their Membership Committee and most recently the Communications Committee. There are a couple of reasons I mention the committee work. First of all, I have always been a firm believer that you get more out of something (especially a professional association) when you give something back. One of the most immediate "paybacks" is the privilege of getting to know your peers better. Think about it. When you work with a group of people, regardless of the work, it builds a trust and comradary that is difficult to replicate through casual conversation before a session or during a reception. And that trust builds your network of contacts which makes you a more valuable resource to your company.

As I mentioned, this conference really was a home run. "Action packed" from beginning to end, starting with the new member/first time attendee reception. This is an invitation only event with the aforementioned dignitaries, the AFLA Board and the AFLA Ambassadors (the Membership Committee). It's a terrific opportunity to welcome and mentor those attendees that may have been in the industry for years but are attending their first AFLA Conference. The excitement in the room was amazing!

Immediately after, the conference begins and runs through the evening. I am tempted here to give you a comprehensive review of each program/session/speaker throughout the three days of the conference but I will resist and instead focus on a few that made an impression on me. For instance, two of the Thursday morning speakers, Richard Alaniz and JJ Eden gave us a fleet version of Scared Straight. Mr. Alaniz, a lawyer, reviewed a number of legal issues that impact every fleet operation and how various forces within a corporation can affect the fleet's ability to effectively keep up with the law. Mr. Eden's presentation was enlightening and more than a little frightening if you consider that we can now be tracked almost anywhere we go these days - between cells phones, GPS tracking systems (works both ways), traffic light cameras and now cameras used to bill for express tolling. Remember when we used to worry about billing our drivers back for their traffic tickets? Now we'll be doing that for the privilege of using the express toll roads which are heading away from manual toll collection to the express system.

My personal favorite of all the speakers was Lon Safko from Extreme Digital Marketing. He spoke on Friday morning, in the waning hours of the conference. Those of you that know me know that I have become something of a "social networking geek". Well, it's like this guy was there just for me. He was terrific speaker with lots of energy, lots of information and a book (of course I now have an autographed copy)! Lon gave us a great summary of the different tools available for our businesses on the net today and a look at how we can integrate them into building successful organizations.

Another highlight of the conference was this year's Hall of Fame Inductions. Well, one in particular. I've had the privilege of knowing many of the inductees, but this year one of my very best friends in our industry, and in fact my best man when I got married was brought into the hall: George Argueta! A true gentleman and a gentle man who is a great example of what we should strive to be not only in the fleet industry, but in life. Congratulations George!

I could end this blog on that note, but how can I pass up at least one rant? The AFLA Conference Committee put together a terrific program, and even modified the days and times so the attendees could be home with their families for the weekend. However, it never seems to fail that people leave before the conference ends. It's a shame because they missed some really good presentations.

So AFLA, keep up the good work! And readers, keep your chin up and let me know what you think!