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Silver Spring, Md.— After five decades in insurance, nearly 40 of which have been in chauffeured ground transportation, Georgetown Insurance Service President Jack Rolfe is retiring. Rolfe made the announcement last week in a true-to-form hilarious letter to his colleagues, customers, and friends. He will retire this Wednesday, June 22, one day before his 74th birthday; he has been busy handing off his duties to his capable team-many of whom have worked for the company for years.
A transplant from across the pond, Rolfe moved to the U.S. in 1967-as he said, "with no job, a pregnant wife, and a lovely black cat named Inky." He began his career with a Scottish insurance company, and later moved on to Safeco and AIG before co-founding Georgetown Insurance Service in 1977.
"In the very early '80s, two fine gentlemen gave me an opportunity to insure Carey Limousine, yep, the whole thing. We did it and handled it profitably for them, the Hartford, and this little agency Georgetown, and I am happy to tell you that after almost 40 years we continue to be of service to parts of this vanguard of the chauffeured transportation industry," he said in the letter. "I met so many great operators from San Diego to Wisconsin to New Jersey, and, of course, Texas and Tennessee. We wrote single car operators to bus fleets. Back then and still today, we have a team that cares about you…"
Rolfe has been a fixture at all of the industry trade shows for years, including Chauffeur Driven, which he still plans to attend this October 9-12 in D.C. He would often regale his captive listeners with stories about his time growing up in England and his many travels abroad. He also served as a vendor member for the NLA, was a frequent attendee at local associations, and was a part of the Chauffeur Driven Insurance Committee and team of contributing writer.
"So to all my hard-working colleagues, dear friends, family, and to those of you who started out as a customers and became a dear, dear friend, thanks for letting me take so much of your time. Thanks for listening to the tales, 90 percent of which are true," he concluded in his letter.
On behalf of Chauffeur Driven, we send our congratulations and wish Jack a very happy birthday!
Visit georgetownins.com for more information.
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Saugus, Mass. — More than 75 members were on hand at the New England Livery Association (NELA) quarterly meeting held on June 14 at the Kowloon Restaurant. In addition to providing news and industry updates for the members, the evening meeting also saw the announcement of the 2016-2017 NELA board of directors, who will assume their roles on July 1. The elected officers are:
President: Michael Callahan of Able Limousine
1st Vice President: Andrew Tighe of Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services
2nd Vice President: Tina Benson of L.A. Limousine Service
Treasurer: Teale Smith of Maine Limousine Service
Secretary: Lynda Saitta of Momentum Drives
Following a cocktail hour and a demo of the Mercedes-Benz Metris, sponsored by Flagship Motors of Lynnfield, Mass., the group took part in a buffet dinner. After the meal, the evening's sponsors spoke to the members. CD Publisher Chris Weiss, representing the meeting's entertainment sponsor Chauffeur Driven, thanked the association and briefly touched upon October's Chauffeur Driven Show in Washington, D.C. Rob Slocum from Flagship was next to speak, followed by Chris Simpson of Allied Technologies, who sponsored the evening's raffle.
NELA Executive Director Rick Szilagyi of Lexian Management provided his update, which included the introduction of the new board and a recap of highlights from the fiscal year, which included NELA's recent Chauffeur Appreciation Day at Logan Airport that served barbecue to 1,000 drivers in the area. Szilagyi also touched upon recent TNC legislation in the six states that represent the association.
National Limousine Association (NLA) Secretary Scott Solombrino, president of Dav El/BostonCoach, took to the podium to share NLA news. As one of the chauffeured ground transportation industry's leading opponents of TNCs, Solombrino detailed the challenges operators currently face on the local, state, and federal levels.
"We're fortunate to have Scott working on the TNC issue across the country," said Szilagyi. "He's a dynamic speaker, and we're always glad to have him present."
The final speaker of the evening was Ellen Kearns of Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, who has been an editor of the first, second, and third editions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. She was on-hand to discuss the impending changes to the overtime rules, which goes into effect on December 1.
The meeting concluded with a number of raffles. Weiss donated a pass to the Chauffeur Driven D.C. show, to be held October 9-12, and was won by Brittni Kirk of All Points Limousine, Boston, Mass. Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments was the winner of the evening's 50/50, and he generously donated the money back into the association.
NELA's next quarterly membership meeting is scheduled for September 13.
Visit nelivery.org for more information.
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Orlando — In the wake of the horrific tragedies that have impacted the Orlando area over the past week, the Central Florida Limousine Association (CFLA) has demonstrated solidarity and strength to its community. At its most recent meeting--and second ever since its inception--the group strategically planned how they were going to be help the families that were directly involved, including working with funeral homes and local carrier JetBlue to assist with transportation of loved ones.
The incident at Pulse nightclub unfolded during the early morning hours of June 12, and claimed the lives of 49 men and women with an additional 53 injured. The majority of victims were sent to the Orlando Regional Medical Center, where many are still recovering. CFLA members have been lending their support to those families to and from the airport, and most recently, with funerals. Many area operators donated their services to the families and sadly had to navigate through local protests in some cases.
"The Central Florida Livery Association would like to send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victims of this terrible act of terrorism," said CFLA President Wendy Kleefisch of Brevard Executive Limousine. "We send our condolences to VIP Transportation Group and Destination MCO, as both companies were directly affected. Please contact via cell or email so we can help."
For more information about the association, email cfla2016@gmail.com or call 321.360.6090.
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