After more than four decades in the fleet industry, Robert Stine, CPFP, CAFM, MA/MS, has retired as director of Hillsborough County Fleet Management in Florida. During his 11-year tenure, Hillsborough County earned the title of No. 1 Leading Fleet in 2021, the same year Stine was named Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year.

Juston Lafler, the county's current fleet operations manager, has been promoted to director of the fleet management department. Lafler, who worked as a business analyst for the department from 2016 to 2017 and rejoined the team in February 2024, will now handle emergency management, fuel management, contract management, and fleet financials.

An Interview with Robert Stine About Fleet 

In a recent Q&A, we spoke with Stine about his career, his achievements, and his thoughts on the future of fleet management. Here’s what he had to say.

GOVERNMENT FLEET: How did you get into fleet leading up to your role with Hillsborough?

STINE: I first got into fleet in 1983 as a 22-year-old Second Lieutenant (2Lt) in the U.S. Air Force (USAF). I was an Aircraft Maintenance Officer responsible for a fleet of 100 training aircraft and 85 people. One of my first additional duties was the Vehicle Control Officer (VCO). As the VCO, I had to juggle keeping our fleet of vehicles (in addition to our aircraft fleet) in commission to support our mission.

Over my 30-year USAF career, I was given greater responsibilities in the logistics career field (maintenance, munitions, transportation, supply, plans, contracting, etc.) retiring in October 2012 as the Director of Mobility, US Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida.

I was responsible for logistics oversight of U.S. forces deployed to 21 nations across the Middle East which included countless deployments to this region to work U.S. national interests. Upon retiring, my family desired to stay in the Tampa area, thus I applied and was hired as Hillsborough County Fleet Management department director. In 2024 I decided to retire early to help with extended family medical issues.

GF: What were some of the biggest changes you’ve seen and what do you see ahead for fleets?

STINE: The biggest changes I saw as fleet director were like those I saw in the military. First, keeping up with an ever-changing environment related to technology, political dynamics, financial constraints, an aging work force, and social changes among younger personnel entering the workforce. These changes will continue; thus, today’s leaders must stay abreast of the ever-changing environment they live in.

GF: What challenges did you face and how did you get the fleet through those?

STINE: My top challenges as fleet director were again like those, I experienced during my 30-year military career. First, recruiting young people into blue-collar skilled trades. Second, work workforce retention. Like the military, public careers may not pay as well as private industry equivalent positions.

Therefore, leaders must focus on quality-of-life areas that are in their control like empowering, encouraging, inspiring, motivating, recognizing talent, etc., so that your team sees value in your organization and understands that they are a part of and can be proud of something greater than themselves. These challenges will remain (and may get worse) in the future. 

When given leadership responsibilities I always focus on the mission and the workforce. We first took on several workforce initiatives and were successful in developing a “broadband” technician career path consisting of three tiers that enable technicians to advance based on their years of experience and technical certifications.

We reclassified most of our positions that led to pay increases and higher employee morale. We were able to gain new position authorizatons (both line and staff) to meet growing fleet requirements and built four new satellite repair and fuel facilities. These efforts led our department earning No.1 Fleet honors in both the 50 Leading Fleets and Top 100 Fleets competitions.

GF: Is there anything you would have done differently?

STINE: With a limited staff you must focus on quick wins that offer the most payback. Unfortunately, we spent too much time with one other staff organization to change a countywide process. We were persistent, had all the numbers to justify our process change savings (we even used a consultant to validate our findings), but the recommendations were not implemented. As such, we should have picked a different project that had a willing partner who wanted to make positive countywide process changes.

GF: Best advice you’ve received regarding running a fleet?

STINE: No secrets. Just being persistent, listening to your team, and collectively brainstorming good ideas. I was taught as a young USAF 2Lt to take care of your people and they will take care of you and the mission. People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Thus, our fleet core values are "Teamwork, Pride, and Mutual Respect."

I was blessed to have a loving wife and family that supported me during my plus-41-year professional career that included numerous military deployments resulting in missed holidays and other key life events. Be thankful that you live in the USA and be true to your faith. Proverbs 27-17 "Iron Sharpens Iron."