Day 3 of the 2026 Government Fleet Expo & Conference centered around challenges, solutions, and what it takes to be a leading fleet.

The morning started with a collaboration at the Big Solutions Roundtable Discussions, where fleet managers brainstormed on topics and best practices that fleets actually care about.

Discussions at the roundtables included:

1. Police Fleet Management
2. Fleet Maintenance & Uptime
3. Vehicle Utilization & Optimization
4. Fleet Management Software & Data
5. Electrification & Alt-Fuel Strategies
6. Specialized Fleets
7. Sustainable & Emerging Transportation Modes
8. Recruitment, Retention & Workforce Development
9. Leadership & Organizational Strategy
10. New to Fleet
11. Internal & External Communication
12. Partnerships & Interagency Collaboration
13. Asset Lifecycle & Remarketing
14. Safety in Fleet Operations
15. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

After the roundtable discussions and a quick coffee break, we went right into a panel discussion with the leading fleet judges. Panelists Rick Longbart, Bradley Northup, Kevin Sclangen, Jeff Shepard, and Eric Winterset lead the discussion on applying for consideration as a leading fleet and how to set yourself apart.

As AI continues to rise in use, the judges made sure to touch on the subject.

"We are all using AI, but don't cut and paste. There were at least five or six where the answers were verbatim," the judges noted. "It has to be your story."

They made a point of sharing that with attendees.

Exhibit Hall Day 2 and Breakout Sessions

The Exhibit Hall opened on day 2, and attendees could ask any additional questions and explore the offerings on the show floor.

The rest of the day consisted of waves of breakout sessions, with fleet managers as speakers addressing challenges fleet managers know all too well. Presentations and talks on fleet service-level agreements, how to lead dynamically, AI, and planning for what lies ahead, were available to attendees.

LP Monroe, fleet maintenance manager for Prince George's County; Evette Ellis, Chief People Officer at ChargerHelp; and LaQuona Porter, fleet manager for the City of Augusta, lead the "The Human Side of Fleet Evolution" session, driving a central theme of GFX: fleet is about people first.

Jesus Martinez, fleet supervisor for the Santa Clara Valley Water Agency, led the "Succession Planning and Recruitment" session, in which he recommended conducting a class and comp study on a regular basis.

"What I recommend is to be involved in the process," he said, "because you are dealing with your operations and will always be benchmarking against other agencies. Know who those agencies are, have an understanding of their decisions."

He also recommended explaining the process to staff.

After taking in all the presentations, it was time to wind down and call it a night. The raffle drawing saw winners going home with new tires, a new TV, a new YETI cooler, and more.

That was followed by a happy hour featuring finger foods, drinks, and more time to connect with peers.