Barb Bonansinga, fleet management and efficiency study project manager for the State of Illinois, received the 2016 Legendary Lifetime Achievement Award today at the Government Fleet Expo and Conference (GFX).

Bonansinga was chosen by the industry among the Public Fleet Hall of Fame inductees — this year’s six inductees and the previous year’s groups of inductees. The award is sponsored by the National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA).

Bonansinga credited her fellow staff members while accepting the award.

"They truly do make us who we are, and the relationships are so important," Bonansinga said. "We never stop learning when we surround ourselves with great people."

Bonansinga has more than 30 years of fleet experience, starting her career as a fleet parts staff member for the State of Illinois. Bonansinga is past president of the National Conference of State Fleet Administrators (NCSFA). During two terms as president, she helped stabilize the organization after economic downturn impacts, implemented a strategic plan, helped bring back an annual educational workshop, and advocated for the NCSFA government fleet benchmarking survey. As a NAFA Board of Governors member, she helped draft NAFA’s updated Best Practices documentation on fleet right-sizing.

Recent accomplishments include a passenger vehicle fleet utilization study, leading an enterprise Lean initiative mapping, and changing current processes for acquiring state vehicles more cost-effectively while providing better customer service.