Public Fleet Manager of the Year Finalists Announced

Brennan said his fleet's largest accomplishment was opening a new maintenance facility and renovating an existing facility. As a team, the fleet coordinated with IT, facility maintenance, and operations staff to move 12 team members and $170,000 worth of stock parts, tooling, technician tools, computers, and phone lines in a single day with no service interruption. The next day the fleet commenced renovations to modernize an existing facility that was built in 1962. Cleaning, painting, and renovation of offices and areas was completed in early January 2017. Upon completion, all four facilities have been replaced, or renovated within eight years, building a solid foundation for decades to come.

Curtis is proud that his fleet recertified its ASE Blue Seal after 10 years of not meeting criteria. After many senior technicians retired, the fleet needed to fill positions quickly and certification was not prioritized. When Curtis took over as director, he refocused the fleet on retaining, growing, and hiring ASE technicians. The fleet offered training, test reimbursement, ASE study guides, time for online study of the material, and group study sessions. To celebrate recertification, the team held a cookout and gave out awards. Curtis said the team even held a ceremony to commemorate the achievement with a three-foot plastic wrench that the team passed around as if they had won an NBA Championship.

Ivers' biggest accomplishment was promoting government fleet management best practices through technical committees and collaboratively sharing information through local fleet agencies, Government Fleet Expo, the American Public Works Association (APWA), and Municipal Equipment Maintenance Association (MEMA). She helped promote fleet professional development through the Certified Public Fleet Professional (CPFP) certification, as a mentor on the job, through presentations to college and high school students in automotive classes, and through hosting a fleet training summit. In addition, Ivers said there were zero injuries to mechanics in 2016, and the fleet team was recognized by the city's new public works director, who suggested other divisions follow their lead. She also noted that the Ventura fleet was named the #1 Small Fleet in the Leading Fleets program two years in a row.