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Washington, D.C. — When Maurice Brewster, CEO of Mosaic Global Transportation in Redwood City, Calif., got the call from IBM Vice President Stan Litow inviting him to the White House just three days later, Brewster immediately cleared his schedule.
Over two dozen of the largest U.S. corporations met at the White House this July on behalf of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to discuss the progress of SupplierPay, a White House initiative that pairs Wall Street with Main Street to spur growth and ensure that the smaller companies are being paid rapidly (15 days through another initiative called QuickPay). Small businesses are especially vulnerable to slow payouts, and the expedited pay means better cash flow so that they can pay employees and use the funds for expansion and other expenses. Each of the corporations was allowed to invite one of the smaller companies that were benefitting from the program, so Brewster was IBM’s guest.
In 2011, IBM was one of the founding members of a program called Supplier Connection, which was designed as a partnership with other major corporations to not only help smaller businesses secure contracts, but to offer mentoring and invaluable business connections. Mosaic became part of the program shortly after its founding and has gone on to become one of Supplier Connection’s best success stories by contracting with eight of the member companies including IBM.
The highlight of the trip, however, was getting to meet President Barack Obama and actually discuss the issues personally with the leader of the free world. “Of all the small businesses in the room, I was the only one who got a chance to speak with him and tell him my experience,” says Brewster of the July 11th meeting. “He asked my thoughts on the Small Business Administration, and I told him that it honestly hadn’t benefited me. I told him how my application had been denied because I didn’t own my building and how they wouldn’t consider my mobile assets. He listened to everything I said and then told me that there were some announcements coming that might help someone like me. With that, he shook my hand.” Once Brewster receives the photo that also accompanied the hand shake, it will occupy a special place in his office, he says.
The meeting has made Brewster somewhat of a rock star to his colleagues who heard about the meeting. Although it hasn’t yet created any direct new business opportunities, he calls the meeting the single most “positively impactful moment of his business career.” The story does have a silver lining, professionally: Brewster says that the SBA re-evaluated his previously denied application and has since approved it, giving him access to additional small business loans if needed in the future.
“Regardless of your political persuasion, whether Republican, Independent, or Democrat, it was an incredible honor to meet the most powerful man in the world,” he says. “I’ve seen him on TV, but to actually experience him being introduced in person, knowing what that’s like … it still gives me chills.”
To see the SBA press release, visit http://1.usa.gov/1o0HaWp.
Visit mosaicglobaltransportation.com for more information.
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Maccar is a 2006 graduate from Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., having earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in English with a concentration in writing. While in college, she was a photographer, staff writer, and section editor for the school’s award-winning newspaper, The Rider News.
She began her career as the social editor for two weekly newspapers in the Princeton Packet family of publications, where she won New Jersey Press Association awards for both writing and layout, before working at the Gannett-owned daily paper, The Courier-Post, as a page designer and copy editor. She then further honed her editing skills in the financial-services industry, proofreading documents for clients such as First Investors, John Hancock Investments and Putnam Investments. Maccar is also a book reviewer and critic at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, through which she will be publishing a collection of essays in early 2015.
Chauffeur Driven is her first foray into the world of the chauffeured ground transportation industry, and Maccar is eager to embrace the new challenges and many rewards of navigating a new industry while returning to the print-media realm. In addition to feature writing and assisting with photography, she will cover industry associations and events.
“I’m excited about the opportunities that Chauffeur Driven has in store for me and the ways that the enthusiasm I’ll bring to my role will benefit the magazine,” Maccar says. “I look forward to learning something new and building on that knowledge with every day that passes.”
Maccar can be reached at madeleine@chauffeurdriven.com.
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Essington, Pa.—The latest meeting of the Philadelphia Regional Limousine Association (PRLA) took place at the Deck at Harbor Pointe and included a stop on the American Motor Products (AMProd) road show, which featured presentations from several sponsors in addition to giveaways and a buffet dinner. Chauffeur Driven Show Manager Lauren D’Ambra also attended the meeting.
Mike Barreto of Flyte Tyme Worldwide Transportation updated the members on the recent sting operation, a joint effort of the Philadelphia Police Department and Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA), to target illegal operators, solicitors, and TNCs. Over the two-month period, five violations were handed to illegal solicitors and one vehicle was impounded, resulting in $4,800 in fines.
Barreto also alerted members to the crackdown on livery vehicles parked illegally around the airport, including at the cell phone lot off Route 291. He noted that of the 45 summons given, 15 alone were written to Uber’s Philadelphia company, Gegen. Barreto says that the tickets are currently issued and recorded by the Department of Aviation, but will soon be converted to summary offenses and sent directly to the city of Philadelphia. This means that it could impact an operator’s registration if the fines are not paid, and vehicles can and will be booted and/or impounded.
Some good news for Philadelphia area operators: commercial pickups are at their highest levels since 2008 and that the total recorded pickups for the year is already 20 percent higher than 2013. If the trend continues, the numbers might match those of 2008, pre-recession levels.
David and Wendy Ward of AMProd gave several presentations from some of the sponsors of their road show, including those from Create-A-Card, LimoLive24, and Chosen Payments. The couple also spoke about the benefits of becoming an AMProd member for special discounts and availability of tires specifically for our industry (which can and have been in short supply elsewhere at times).
The next meeting will be held at Maggiano’s in King of Prussia on September 10.
Visit prlainc.com for more information.
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