There’s no single definition of success in public fleet operations. For some, it’s about modernizing infrastructure; for others, it’s about empowering staff or meeting community needs. Here’s how members of our 2025 Leading Fleets describe what success means in their work.

What Does Success Look Like to Your Fleet? 

"Success for our fleet means delivering reliable, cost-effective services that keep our city moving—while fostering a team culture built on pride, innovation, and accountability. When our employees are engaged and our customers trust us, we know we’re succeeding."

— Jeffrey Shepard, Director, City of Tallahassee, Fleet Management, No. 1 Leading Fleet

"Metrically, success in our fleet would be zero crashes, zero emissions, 98% Availability, 95% PM compliance, 80% scheduled repairs, 80% Direct Labor,  3 inventory turns, staffing of 8 technicians, and 11 total employees. Mentally, success is a smile on a deputy sheriff’s face, success could be a pat on the back from Sheriff Walt McNeil, or success is hearing technician laughter throughout the day."

— Timothy E. Coxwell, CAFM, CPFP, CEM, Fleet Management Division Director, Leon County Sheriff's Office

"Success for our fleet is to provide a safe, reliable, cost-effective fleet to our internal customers and our local partners while staying active within our community to support the automotive industry."

— Matthew Andrews, CAFM, CEM, Fleet Operations Manager, Lower Colorado River Authority

"For Grand Prairie, success looks like ensuring all departments have the tools to effectively serve our community despite the need for us to reduce spending. Our current target is to reduce not only total downtime, but also to ensure we have maximum fleet availability by decreasing turnaround times on preventive maintenance."

— Colby R. Frantz, Fleet Services Manager, Grand Prairie Fleet Services

"Oddly, success for us is when everybody forgets we exist. That means vehicles are life-cycling in a productive and efficient way, vehicles are available and meeting the needs of users, downtime is limited, and fleet is barely noticed. That’s when we know things are working smoothly and as planned."

— Mark Kaligian, CAFM, Associate Director, University Fleet Operations, The University of Texas at Austin

"Success is following an established plan with a TEAM of equipped professionals to provide exceptional fleet management services to assist end users with the necessary equipment to meet robust mission-critical services. All while being able to overcome challenges of the day with creative thinking and problem-solving."

— John King, Director, Palm Beach County Fleet Management

"When my boss and my boss's boss become aware and recognize the value we bring to the organization and the taxpayers."

— Don Moore, Fleet Management Division Manager, Pinellas County Fleet Management

"Success means operating a high-performing, future-ready fleet that sets and achieves realistic and achievable goals, maintains excellence in service and customer communication, supports growth, and invests in people. Through strategic hiring, inter-department partnerships, fleet modernization, and long-term planning, we are setting the standard for municipal fleet excellence."

— Ramona Simpson, MPA, Operations Manager, Environment/Fleet, Town of Queen Creek, Arizona

"Success will be maximizing efficiency and flexibility to ensure we can quickly support our customers’ priorities in a constantly changing environment."

— Bryan Lucas, Manager, Orange County Fleet Management, Orange County, Florida, Fleet Management

"Our successful mission is efficiently maintaining the fleet to keep downtime to a minimum, maximizing vehicle availability, identifying waste to minimize cost, and meeting or exceeding our customers’ needs and expectations. This keeps everybody safe, serves the community and allows our customers to fulfill their missions."

— Christopher Melton, MTLM, Deputy Director - Fleet Services, General Services Agency, County of Ventura, California

"As the fleet manager, success is when everyone, including the public, gets to go home every day. This is achieved by empowering technicians to make the right decisions when performing repairs on all vehicles and equipment. When additional repairs are found during a repair that weren’t on the repair order, they know to take care of it before releasing it for use, which ensures the safety of the city's operators and the public."

— John K. Hyatt, Fleet Manager, City of Dublin, Ohio

"A successful fleet is built on a strong, engaged team that values collaboration, balance, and pride in their work. When employees feel respected, supported, and integral to the mission, the results—cost savings, efficiency, and excellence—naturally follow."

— Scott McIver, Fleet Manager, City of Greenville, South Carolina

"Success for a municipal fleet means operating a safe, reliable, and cost-effective vehicle inventory that consistently meets the service demands of all departments. It also involves fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and teamwork, while proactively adopting sustainable technologies to reduce environmental impact and maximize efficiency."

— John M. Eader, Fleet Manager, Central Fleet Management, City of Chesapeake

"Fleet success happens when challenges arise, and our organizational culture rises to meet them—consistently exceeding customer expectations. Fleet services is the driving force that keeps our customers rolling, ensuring reliability, responsiveness, and trust every mile of the way."

— Craig Croner, CPFP, Deputy Director, Field Operations, Gendale, Arizona

"Success as a governmental fleet director/manager means balancing efficiency, compliance, sustainability, and service delivery within the limits of public accountability and budget. By tracking key performance indicators across areas like operational efficiency, fiscal responsibility, compliance, sustainability, risk management, and service quality, we can measure progress and ensure informed, effective decision-making."

— Joseph W. Clark, Fleet Management Director, Fleet Management Department, City of Durham

"To put it short and sweet, I feel that success in fleet is achieving a balance between operational effectiveness, cost efficiency, staff development, regulatory compliance, and sustainability/environmental stewardship."

— Cody Jahn, Fleet Superintendent, Public Works, Operations & Maintenance, Anaheim, California

"Success is not a destination but a constant effort to improve. It is always looking for better ways of doing things and never settling for the status quo. A great fleet doesn't just move forward, it evolves, one upgrade, one insight, one mile at a time."

—Justin Mullins, CPFP, Fleet Manager, Sarasota County Fleet Services

"A successful fleet is consistently searching for ways to improve its operation with an ongoing focus of stakeholder satisfaction. Success also requires constant review of productivity, efficiency, and financial management while promoting safety and sustainability."

—​​Jeff Leonard​, Deputy Director, Fleet Management, Cobb County Government

"Success is assisting in meeting the County’s mission, objectives, and goals through providing functional, safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation and equipment-related services to County Departments and external government agency customers.  The essence of our multifaceted operation is to solve challenges for our customers."

—David Worthington, Fleet Manager, County of Santa Clara, Facilities and Fleet Department, Fleet Management Division

"Fleet success is all about teamwork and communication, from our fleet staff and department stakeholders, even down to each individual driver. Our fleet can’t be the success it has become without each person knowing how important their voices are in making our fleet run smoothly; we encourage everyone to have a voice, speak up, and be heard, because the only way to fail as a fleet is to stop listening."

—Bradley Northup, Public Works Superintendent – Fleet Operations, City of Carlsbad, No. 1 Small Fleet

“Success to us means transforming Fleet into a proactive, innovative team that understands and supports each department’s mission, with staff who see the value in goals like PM compliance and vehicle availability—and strive to surpass them. Our proudest accomplishment is the cultural shift to a solution-driven mindset, where collaboration and continuous improvement define who we are.”

—Ross Jackson Jr., CAFM, Fleet Operations Superintendent, City of Fayetteville, Arkansas, No. 1 Mid-Size Fleet

“Success in our fleet is providing a customer-focused, high-quality and cost-effective fleet management solution, ensuring vehicles are available for the City`s departments to effectively fulfill their missions. Through a clear focus on operational efficiency, fiscal responsibility, compliance, sustainability, risk management, and service quality, we can effectively measure performance and support strategic, data-driven decisions across fleet operations."

—Dave Persad, CEM, CAFM, Division Director, Fleet Management & Mobility, Public Works, Fleet Maintenance, Boynton Beach, Florida

“Success for the City of Irving is defined by minimizing downtime and costs, which in turn empowers city departments to operate at their highest capacity in serving the needs of residents, visitors, and businesses. Fleet is at our best when the spotlight of the city is on our outreach departments as we are the silent partners that keep the city rolling behind the scenes. This is achieved through a collective partnership between our fleet staff and stakeholders.”

—Larry Spain-Fleet Maintenance Manager, Debbie Jackson-Fleet Business Operations Manager, City of Irving, Texas

“Success for the city of Knoxville fleet means always pushing forward with progress and innovation, but never wavering in our commitment to providing exceptional service.” 

—Nicholas Bradshaw, Director of Fleet Services, City of Knoxville, Tennessee