The Florida Association of Governmental Fleet Administrators (FLAGFA), NAFA Fleet Management Association Sunshine State Chapter, and Florida Utility Fleet Managers Association (FUFMA) held their combined bi-annual conference in St. Pete Beach from Sept. 23 to 25. Approximately 260 regular and affiliate members attended FLAGFA’s conference and exposition where education, flexibility, purchasing, recognition, and success were front and center.

Tim Calhoun, fleet director, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and president of FLAGFA, kicked off the meeting and presented scholarships to two state colleges to assist in producing the next generation of fleet technicians and potential fleet managers. Tired of talking about how to hire and retain qualified technicians, the association decided the best way will be to foster future technicians.

Robert Martinez from the New York City Police Department gave the keynote speech, energizing the membership with his focus on leading his organization rather than merely managing. Martinez was a Public Fleet Hall of Fame inductee and Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

A panel of purchasing professionals from the City of Tallahassee, State of Florida, and National Joint Powers Alliance provided valuable insight into how to buy new and replacement fleet assets at the right price, optimizing capital budgets.

Utilimarc discussed benchmarking and how comparing your fleet to similar fleets and evaluating these results will highlight areas of achievement and opportunities for improvement.

Chichi Nyagah-Nash from City of Baltimore gave an in-depth presentation on how Baltimore began to modernize its fleet, backing up previous discussions the association has had regarding fleet leasing and the financial options available to modernize an aging fleet.

Another topic of discussion was parts outsourcing, where fleets with outsourced parts rooms were able to speak about the challenges and successes they have achieved.

The conference closed out with OEM updates from FCA, Ford, GM, and Nissan. Toyota provided a preview of what’s to come over the next six months and opportunity savings for fleets.

The event included a dinner where the association recognized the success of some of its members and honor those recently retired.  Attendees could also take their Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) exams before the conference.

The Spring 2016 FLAGFA/NAFA/FUFMA conference will be held March 16–18 in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.