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Marlton, N.J. —The odds are in your favor in Vegas on February 23-26 when we bring the inaugural CD/NLA Show to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Get ready for four days jam-packed with education, networking, and a whole lot of fun—not to mention the biggest show floor that our industry has to offer. Nearly 150 exhibitors will be present in the 120,000-square-foot hall, which virtually guarantees that there will be something for everyone there.
The show floor activity kicks off with Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:00 p.m., followed immediately by a Champagne Toast and appetizers served in the exhibit hall. You’ll have the chance to browse all of the products, services, technology, and metal available on display from vendors around the world. What’s more, we’re providing free lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday (sponsored by Titus Leasing and Prevost, respectively), so you’ll be able to recharge your batteries while you nosh with your fellow operators. Thanks to drink tickets supplied to attendees by our friends at Grech Motors, you’ll be able to wet your whistle while navigating the floor. But wait—there’s even more! Our shows are nonstop opportunities for education, and this one is no exception: Be sure to catch our bonus Fast Lane sessions on the show floor as well as exclusive Limo U Academy programming from Bill Faeth at the Limo U booth, than stop by the NLA Lounge to relax with other attendees. Also, one of the leading state associations, the Florida Limousine Association, will be hosting a meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30, which is open to members or any operator interested in what’s happening in the Sunshine State.
It’s back! We debuted our Digital Passport in our official show app (sponsored by North Point Global Transportation Services) in Boston this past October and attendees loved it, so it’s even better for 2020. How it works: Many of our exhibitors will have a QR code displayed somewhere in their booth that you can scan (through the app) to collect points. The more booths you visit, the more points you get. You not only get to see all of the amazing products and deals that our exhibitors have to offer, your points translate into chances to win our grand prize, which will be announced on Wednesday afternoon on the show floor. Last year’s prize was worth an astounding $4,000, and we’re equally excited about this year’s—stay tuned.
And you’re certainly not going to want to miss the Affiliate Central Global Partner Forum, which makes its Las Vegas debut on the show floor on Tuesday at noon. If you’re hoping to boost your worldwide network, then this should be part of your can’t-miss agenda. This smashingly popular event is an attendee favorite because you can meet with dozens of companies all in one spot. You control the pace: Speak with as many affiliates as you want, and be ready to impress. Come see why this is one that your fellow operators rave about.
Speaking of affiliates, did you know that four major companies have thrown their support behind the CD/NLA Show by having their affiliate events in Vegas? EmpireCLS (invite only) and Music Express will both be holding their massive annual affiliate meetings, while Dav El/BostonCoach (invite only) and BLS Transportation will each host an appreciation party for their affiliates. We’re thrilled that these industry needle-movers have chosen our show to host these special events.
Last, we’ve extended the nomination deadline for the first-ever Driven By Excellence Awards to January 15. Held in conjunction with the Awards Dinner & Charity Event, we’re honoring the best and brightest of our industry in the follow categories: Association of the Year, Charity & Community Service, Customer Service Excellence, Pinnacle of Safety, Chauffeur of the Year, and NextGen/Emerging Leader. The elegant evening will feature a dinner, an awards gala, and a charity auction to benefit the NLA’s Harold Berkman Fund, named for the late founder of Music Express. There’s still time to for you to head over to CDNLAshow.com and complete your online nomination form—but don’t wait because it’s all over tomorrow night. The nomination process is simple and only takes a few minutes of your time. There’s no better way to be celebrated by your industry and share the honor with your customers as an award-winning company. Click here to submit your nomination: cdnlashow.com/show-info/driven-by-excellence-awards.html.
Visit cdnlashow.com for information or to register.
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Marlton, N.J. — Chauffeur Driven is proud to announce that their Facebook page has received more than 5,000 Likes, making it the most-followed chauffeured ground transportation industry news page on the platform. In recent months, CD has made a concentrated effort to expand their presence across sites to provide informative and entertaining content specifically geared to social media users.
While the CD Facebook page has always been a popular destination as an industry-related news aggregate, in 2019, CD Publisher Chris Weiss worked closely with the editorial, art, and technology departments to ramp up our online presence and create new, original content for Facebook and Instagram, while continuing to share hot-button news relating to the ground transportation industry. Our reach has expanded greatly among global users, with “likes” and “shares” increasing dramatically.
Meanwhile, on Instagram, we’ve brought some of the magazine’s most popular content and columns to the photo-based platform, including operator profiles, Benchmark & Best Practices, and our #TipsTuesday posts, which provides quick bites of professional education and inspiration. However, the photo-centric focus of Instagram offers a great deal of appeal for Weiss, whose photographic skills are regularly on display in the pages of CD.
“I’m extremely proud of my team for accepting the challenge I put in front of them,” says Weiss. “They really rose to the occasion, and our new content and direction has really attracted attention. Social media—Facebook and Instagram in particular—is looking to be a huge part of how we plan to dispense content and create industry engagement, both now and in the future.”
Chauffeur Driven would like to thank the industry for their continued support of our magazine, events, and online initiatives. We’re proud that you’ve made us #1.
Visit chauffeurdriven.com for more information. Follow us on Instagram at instagram.com/chauffeurdriven and on Facebook at facebook.com/ChauffeurDriven.
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ILLBA Executive Director/Secretary/Treasurer Paula DeBiasi of Chicago Coachworks Downers Grove, Ill. — The Illinois Limousine & Bus Association (ILLBA) has started off 2020 with its first open board meeting teleconference January 8 and a new member meeting this morning.
The January 8 conference call included the ILLBA board, members, and vendors discussing what Executive Director/Secretary/Treasurer Paula DeBiasi of Chicago Coachworks called “an awfully big agenda.” Among those items were introducing exit interviews with members who choose not to renew for the year, reaching out to long-lapsed members, more events to bring the association together, and a new membership campaign.
“That’s going to be a strategic plan with certain member targets, one of them being our one-car operators,” DeBiasi explained. “We’re offering a reduced membership to reach those one-car independent operators in the region.”
The exit interview “is an idea the board really liked,” which DeBiasi described as a more in-depth way to understand how ILLBA can serve its membership even better.
“We’ll still reach out and say ‘We saw that you didn’t renew—is there something more you need?’ But we think that a pen-and-paper exit interview is better because they might not want to talk about what’s bothering them,” she said. “This gives them an opportunity to communicate with us, to really think about what they feel is missing, and not put them on the spot.”
With board elections coming up, the association recently nominated ILLBA Director Scott Delheimer of Class Act Limousine as Election Chair of the Nominating Committee.
“We have five open Director seats out of 10,” said DeBiasi. “We elect the Directors, and then the Directors elect the officers.”
This morning’s meeting gave the association an opportunity to introduce itself and its objectives to ILLBA’s new and potential members during a quarterly event that aims to make sure everyone knows their voice matters, no matter their company size or longevity with the association, during an intimate event that fosters the very relationship the industry and all of its associations thrive on.
“I’ve come to love these smaller meetings and the difference they can make,” DeBiasi said. “They really let our members make connections and be seen in ways they don’t always get at larger events.”
Up next for ILLBA is its February 5 open board meeting. Its spring new membership meeting will be April 14.
Visit illinoislimousineassociation.com for more information.
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