For Brenda Peshel, stepping into the role of fleet director for the Lake County Board of County Commissioners in Florida means focusing on fostering new positive working relationships. 

It's something she wants to collaborate on with the Lake County Departments. Before starting the role, she made sure to visit the new shop and meet the staff. She's recently been studying a presentation put on by Lake County in Cape Canaveral to better understand the dynamic of the county. 

Peshel, who started as fleet director in July, said she is "looking forward to joining a new team with new adventures."

Getting Into Fleet and a New Path

Six years ago, Peshel and her husband moved to Florida from Iowa, where she had been the deputy auditor for Dallas County, working closely with the county maintenance department.   

Her first job in Florida was working for the Hernando County Clerk of Circuit Court. When the finance coordinator position opened with Hernando County Fleet, Peshel explained that "it was the perfect fit."

One year later, the fleet manager moved, and Peshel was promoted to the role, overseeing roughly 625 vehicles and equipment.   

Taking on Leadership Responsibilities and Facing Challenges

Peshel feels that what is most important to her as a fleet leader is ensuring that all the departments have all the vehicles and equipment needed to do their jobs as safely and efficiently as possible.   

That means constant and clear communication with each department and the vendors to ensure they are getting the units they need.

Peshel is also working on ways to address supply chain issues, whether related to vehicles, parts, or service. Right now, she sees this as a major challenge. 

"We have to come up with an alternate way of utilizing vehicles and equipment longer while we wait for new units to arrive," Peshel explained. "We have to do more service in-house and not depend on outside repair service centers to complete repairs in a timely manner."

Peshel has also been keeping an eye on the changes in emission regulation mandates, something she thinks fleets will see a lot more of in the near future.   

"I believe that fleets will need to have a plan to reduce emissions," she said. 

Lastly, she points to the challenges around hiring and retaining technicians. 

"We have seen a decline in the number of people wanting to work as technicians or at least work for what we have to pay technicians to work," she said, adding that the number of certification requirements has also increased, with more to come. 

Peshel advises fleets to encourage technicians and staff to get as many certifications as possible.  

And for future tech hires? 

"I believe that fleets need to work with high schools, tech schools, and even middle schools to encourage students to pursue a career in fleet," she said. 

Facing Obstacles as a Woman in Feet

Unfortunately, Peshel has also had to navigate the challenges that have come with being a woman in the fleet world. One of the first was when she was about to take on her role as fleet manager. 

"When I was first promoted to fleet manager over two existing men who worked for fleet that had applied, they refused to do anything I requested and even tried to turn departments against me," Peshel said. "Even after the initial two men left the department, I have had a few others that didn't think a woman had any business trying to run a fleet."

Despite these obstacles, she has learned how to navigate this type of situation effectively. And her experience has enabled her to offer valuable insights to other women when handling similar situations in their own fleet journeys.

"My advice to other women who want to pursue a fleet career is to stick to your guns. Learn as much as you can about everything fleet, and be confident in what you learn." 

Planning for the Fleet's Future 

Currently, Peshel is focused on changing how fleets look at emergency vehicles. Instead of having reserve units, Peshel is proposing having new spare units. 

"Existing emergency apparatus are in active status either 10 years or seven years, then they go into reserve status for an additional five years," explained. "The reserve units get used around three times as much as they did when they were active units."

Peshel added that it takes the teams one to two hours to change out from an active unit to a reserve unit or vice versa. 

"I think we should have new spare units fully stocked and ready to go when an active unit needs to go in for maintenance or repair," she said.