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HALCA’s September 20 meeting saw a packed room
Houston — The Houston Area Livery & Charter Association (HALCA) met for its third meeting of 2016 on September 20, which hosted a standing-room-only crowd at the city’s Crowne Plaza Brookhollow.
HALCA President Wes Hart of American Corporate Transportation kicked off the meeting, which covered topics ranging from industry-specific updates to regional goings-on.
With Super Bowl LI taking place at Houston’s NRG Stadium in February 2017, it’s never too early to begin planning event transportation and parking details, both of which were on the evening’s docket.
“The urgent thing to know is that if you’re planning to come to Houston for the Super Bowl, you’ll have to have a license for your chauffeur and a fingerprint background check, and you will have to have your vehicle permitted,” Hart said. “The licensing and permit process will take a month, and they will tow your vehicle if you’re not properly licensed.”
A new city-wide app, Arro, is set to launch in Houston, and was also a topic of conversation. Arro hails itself as offering “Your Taxi, Your Way” and aims to connect passengers with licensed taxicab operators in the city, as it has for riders in New York City, Chicago, and Boston.
HALCA President Wes Hart of American Corporate Transportation addresses the meeting’s attendees
Two presentations were also part of the meeting: Tarek Mallah and Gregg Haroutunian of Karhoo were both on hand to discuss how the ride comparison app has been serving a European market and is beginning to extend its reach into the U.S.; and HALCA Director Jon “Younes” Ouazdi of TransGates Limousine spoke about the already-implemented and upcoming changes to the association’s website.
With the City Mandated VFH Data Submission reports due soon, the conversation inevitably gravitated to the new requirements mandated by the revised Chapter 46 ordinance—which are presenting a challenge to Houston-area operators.
“The mandate threw a wrench in everything: You’ll lose your permit to operate if you don’t complete the forms,” Hart explained. “A lot of companies got a waiver for the past two years, but now they’re not issuing waivers after January 1. So after the end of the first quarter of 2017, you have 20 days to submit it or you lose your license. They want to know what zip codes you do pickups in, what your revenue was—a lot of competitive information. This is one of the things we want to take to City Council, and we’ve started increasing awareness of it because when April 20 comes, we don’t want so see everyone’s permits being taken away.”
HALCA’s elections will take place November 10, which is the final membership meeting of the year. The association’s holiday party is currently slated for December 11.
Visit houstonlimos.info for more information.
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L to R: CD’s Business Development Manager Rickie Roberts, Industry & Brand Ambassador Philip Jagiela, CD Show Pass winner Beverly Armstead of Execu-Car of New Jersey, and LANJ President Jason Sharenow of Broadway Elite Chauffeured Services Worldwide
Livingston, N.J. — When the Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) held its debut Vendor Appreciation Day at Cedar Hill Country Club on September 28, more than 100 association operators, vendors, and supporters turned out for a day designed to ensure that the association’s vendor members were appropriately thanked for their ongoing support.
CD’s Industry & Brand Ambassador Philip Jagiela and Business Development Manager Rickie Roberts were among those who attended the first-time event, and represented Chauffeur Driven at its vendor station.
The day kicked off with an Executive Board meeting to discuss association matters before launching into a meeting packed with information benefiting all attendees. With more than a dozen vendors showcasing their services, products, and vehicles, the event also included a four-person panel discussion with Richard Ackerman of P.A. Post Agency, LANJ Second Vice President Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments, Mark Leddy of Cadillac Professional Vehicles (also the main event sponsor), and Chris McCrae of Karhoo. LANJ President Jason Sharenow of Broadway Elite Chauffeured Services Worldwide moderated the panel, which occupied much of the event and allowed each panelist to speak to their strengths and offer advice according to their areas of expertise.
L to R: LANJ President Jason Sharenow of Broadway Elite Chauffeured Services Worldwide moderated the day’s four-person panel that featured LANJ Second Vice President Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments, Mark Leddy of Cadillac Professional Vehicles, Richard Ackerman of P.A. Post Agency, and Chris McCrae of Karhoo
Representatives from platinum sponsors Cadillac Professional Vehicles, Chosen Payments, Complete Fleet Livery Sales, iCARS, T-Mobile, and Vehicle Tracking Solutions were also awarded plaques to thank them for their part in keeping LANJ a successful, 135-person association that can keep fighting for the industry on a statewide level.
Toward the end of the meeting, Jagiela and Roberts raffled off a pass to the soon-approaching 2016 CD Show, which heads to Washington, D.C. this weekend. Beverly Armstead of Execu-Car of New Jersey was the lucky winner.
The next general LANJ meeting will be November 14 in Atlantic City.
Visit lanj.org for more information.
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Philip Jagiela, MLOA Director of Sales and Marketing
The Minority Limousine Operators of America (MLOA) recently welcomed CD’s own Industry & Brand Ambassador Philip Jagiela to its team, as Jagiela has been named its new director of sales and marketing.
Effective October 1, MLOA is the first non-regional association under Jagiela’s guidance, as he is also the executive director for Virginia Limousine Association and Colorado Limousine Association, and owns PALM Association Management and Consulting. The former owner of Aries Transportation Group, he also has previously served as both the president of Philadelphia Regional Limousine Association and executive director of the National Limousine Association.
Jagiela’s new role with the 238-member MLOA marks his return to serving a nationwide membership base.
"Joining the Minority Limousine Operators Association is another true highlight in my career with PALM Association Management and Consulting,” he said. “This opportunity is particularly exciting, as the MLOA is a national trade organization of professionals with a primary mission of providing information and education to assist its members. It has laid a solid foundation of programs for minority operators, and together we intend to share this with a larger audience while assisting them with enhancing their brand."
Maurice Brewster, MLOA President
MLOA President Maurice Brewster of Mosaic Global Transportation said that those comprising the MLOA board of directors have agreed to collectively absorb the responsibilities of an executive director so that Jagiela can focus on the duties of his newly created position.
“We were looking for someone to guide the ship from a sales and marketing point of view, to grow our sponsorship and membership, and do a better job with organizing our message to the general public,” said Brewster. “Luckily, we ran into Philip: The board interviewed him, and he passed with flying colors. We will give Philip, under my main instructions, the charter of what we need him to do and how to proceed. It will be an all-hands, collaborative effort to get us to 2017 and beyond.”
Jagiela will market the MLOA brand, build and strengthen its current sponsorship base while exploring new areas of support, and growing the association with new members by tapping into his contacts and resources and utilizing social media.
The MLOA also recently announced that it will be launching a new eight-session training series that aims to satisfy the needs of its members, providing webinars that broach topics such as chauffeur training, strategic sales skills, building a successful company, affiliate development, corporate marketing, insurance and risk management, and business plan consultation.
“Our members are saying they want training but haven’t been specific about what they feel they need, with the exception of chauffeur training and how to develop relationships in the affiliate role,” Brewster explained.
MLOA will host an in-person breakfast meeting at the 2016 Chauffeur Driven Show in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, October 11.
Visit mlooa.org for more information.
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