John McCorkhill, fleet director for the City of Lynchburg, Va., retired on Oct. 30. McCorkhill was an accomplished fleet manager and was recognized as such by being named Government Fleet’s 2006 Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year and a Government Fleet Hall of Fame inductee in 2014.

In addition, McCorkhill earned all of the major fleet certifications, such as a Certified Fleet Manager (CFM), Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM), Certified Equipment Manager (CEM), and Certified Public Fleet Professional (CPFP).

McCorkhill joined the City of Lynchburg in 1999. During his tenure, he and his team helped centralize the City’s fleet by forming a new fleet department, constructing new garage and fuel sites, and implementing a new asset management tracking system, among other cost-saving programs.

Prior to joining the City of Lynchburg, McCorkhill started his fleet career with the City of Indianapolis in 1982. In the early 1990s, McCorkhill and his employees (including union leadership) bid against the private sector and won the right to continue to provide vehicle fleet asset management and maintenance for the City of Indianapolis.

"Soon after I was appointed the city fleet manager, and with our union’s help, we reorganized and reduced staff, and cut other costs significantly," McCorkhill recalled. "We outbid four other firms for the right to stay in business and I consider this coup a major milestone in my fleet career. The business model we established for our success was soon used as the pattern for other fleet agencies around the country who were encountering the same outsourcing threat."

Before entering fleet management, McCorkhill was the VP and GM for a private lighting company in Indiana.