- Details
- Category: Industry News
Rockville, Md. — Registration is now open for The Transportation Alliance’s (TTA’s) 2020 Spring Conference & Expo, to be held March 18-20 at the Westin Copley in Boston, where the focus will be on massively growing opportunities in non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) and other public and private sector contracting opportunities.
As part of 103-year-old trade association’s overall strategy to broaden and diversify revenue sources in the face of the quickly changing transportation industry, The Transportation Alliance’s Executive Committee voted in December to make the Spring Conference & Expo focused intensely on NEMT & Contracting.
“In a survey of participants who attended TTA’s annual convention in Las Vegas last year, 50 percent of respondents said their companies are now engaged in NEMT work, a multi-billion dollar industry,” said TTA President Tom Arrighi of A&A Metro Transportation. “This growing sector is something all members should be watching closely and becoming involved in, whether you run taxis, shuttles, luxury vehicles, or school transportation. This is about how to use your existing infrastructure to access new revenue streams. It’s an important business line for today’s modern transportation fleet, and our Spring Conference & Expo is a perfect way to share information and explore best practices to help build your operation.”
TTA’s meetings provide transportation fleet owners, CEOs, and managers the opportunity to showcase innovative ideas, explore new business opportunities and best practices, and network with their fellow industry peers. In comparison to the association’s annual convention each fall, the Spring Conference & Expo offers a more intimate setting both for operators to network and for vendors to form long-lasting business partnerships.
The Spring Conference & Expo will cover practical guidance and professional tips on how to find, evaluate and respond to NEMT and other contracting opportunities, how association members can grow their businesses through public and private sector contracts, the association’s legislative victories on Capitol Hill, and much more.
For more information, to register for the conference, or to find out more about sponsorship, room, and exhibitor opportunities, visit www.thetransportationalliance.org/spring-conference-and-expo-2020.
[CD0120]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
Michael Berry, the owner of Associated Transportation of Orlando, passed away on January 24, 2020.
Berry was a highly respected operator in Florida, and was one of the founding members of the Greater Orlando Limousine Association (GOLA).
“Mike was very well liked and Associated Transportation was recognized as a major company here in Orlando. He was one of the pillars of GOLA, and served as vice president and acted as a board member for many years,” said GOLA President Cliff Wright of Royal Coach and Limousine.
“He was very well known in the transportation industry,” said Michael’s son, Ryan Berry. “He believed in building successful relationships, but also living by the old-school mentality of always doing right by people. This was the way he upheld a great reputation and helped others along the way. He always believed putting the employees first! Even though he was businessman, he always loved his family dearly, and a lot of his employees were his family. He was always known everywhere he went on the Orlando International Airport property.”
A service will be held on Saturday, February 8, from 11 am to 2 pm at Fellowship Christian Academy, Genesis Church, 10560 Old Cheney Highway, Orlando, Florida.
The staff of Chauffeur Driven extends their condolences to the Berry family as well as Michael’s friends and family at Associated Transportation.
[CD0120]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
L to R: CD Publisher Chris Weiss with Mary Lee-Stevenson, Ryan McTiernan, Michael Hegedus, Stephen Friedberg, and Jeffrey Schmidt of Lancer Insurance
Nashville, Tenn. — Nearly 2,000 members of the bus and motorcoach industry flocked to Nashville from January 19-23 for United Motorcoach Association (UMA) Motorcoach EXPO 2020, including CD Publisher Chris Weiss, Business Development Manager Jeff Rafkin, and tons of familiar faces from the luxury side of chauffeured ground transportation.
Bob Crescenzo of Lancer Insurance (left) and Charles Tenney of The Tenney Group
Dave Dickson, chair of UMA’s meetings committee for the past six years and owner of Elite Coach in Ephrata, Pa., considers the Nashville location a win in itself. The EXPO is an awkward fit for many cities, he said, because it requires a great deal of exhibition space to accommodate 40 full-size buses but also a comparatively smaller room block. Additionally, the UMA meetings committee always wants to choose a location that is fun for families and spouses to visit and that can offer a varied menu of dining and entertainment options, explained Dickson—which is why Nashville, with its incredible music and dining scenes, had been on his radar for years.
L to R: Hoss Oskouie of Atlantic Limousine & Transportation and AJ Thurber and Brian O’Neill of Grech Motors
Meanwhile, the EXPO itself focused on the big picture of business ownership, sustainability, and succession, which framed many of the education topics.
“We’re in a period in the industry that in its evolution, a lot of first-, second- and third-generation owners are deciding they have an asset to sell instead of expecting to hand the company to a new generation. Rollups and mergers and acquisitions are happening a lot now, and now company owners are wondering, ‘How do I build an asset to sell [to a competitor or investor] rather than build a job for myself?’” said UMA President and CEO Stacy Tetschner.
L to R: CD Publisher Chris Weiss with Arthur, Kathy, and Drew Messina of Create-A-Card
Tetschner added that steering by business longevity instead of short-term concerns changes attendees’ perspectives on every aspect of the show, from investing in technology to making the most of UMA’s new alliance with the LinkedIn learning platform for multidimensional training. When return on investment is measured in years, not miles, company owners adopt different priorities.
Treating staff right, particularly driving teams, is a perennial theme for the convention, which is why UMA staff brought in Eric Chester as the EXPO’s keynote speaker. Chester is a trainer, best-selling author, in-demand speaker, and an expert on employee engagement and workplace culture whose latest book, Fully Staffed, will likely hit the bullseye for operators looking for new ways to recruit, train, and keep drivers. And a new minicoach pavilion will roll out a new on-ramp for aspiring company owners, especially those introduced to the industry by driving for on-demand platforms.
L to R: Michael Denny of MCI, Paul Thompson of Santa Fe Valet, Diane Forgy of Overland Chauffeured Services, and Brent Maitland, Lynn Marzullo, and Tony Pederson of MCI
Education also came from a variety of individuals who are familiar to attendees of Chauffeur Driven Shows, including longtime presenters and frequent CD magazine contributors Andi Gray of Strategy Leaders and Bob Crescenzo of Lancer Insurance, as well as a newer addition to both the CD educational presenter and writer, Ken Lucci.
L to R: Ibro Torlo and Kevin Duff of Signature Transportation Group, David Uziel of UrbanBCN Worldwide, and Barry Gross of The Driver Provider
The EXPO is an annual opportunity to “celebrate people who are doing really well,” said Tetschner. “If we’re here to grow a bigger, better, smarter industry, this is where we come together on the issues everyone is invested in.”
Check out the March issue of CD for expanded post-show coverage and tons of photos from UMA Motorcoach EXPO 2020.
UMA Motorcoach EXPO 2021 will take place March 3-7 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
Visit motorcoachexpo.com or uma.org for more information.
[CD0120]