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Building on the Fleet Forward theme—beginning with this summer’s intuitive of the same name that aims to educate and inspire operators by highlighting those who are thinking outside the box when it comes to new ways of doing business—this year’s TLPA event focused on empowering attendees with a varied educational program, three General Sessions, a show floor featuring nearly 100 vendors, and plenty of networking and optional events.
The education included 18 interactive sessions and 11 Breakout Sessions, all designed to help operators remain effectively competitive in a constantly evolving market. Topics ranged from social media to diversity and catered to all facets of ground transportation and operators of all sizes from all around the world.
Outgoing President Dwight Kines of Transdev welcomed newly elected TLPA President Bill Scalzi of Metro Taxi, and a number of members and their companies were also honored throughout the conference. The 2016 award winners included:
Limousine Chauffeur of the Year: Frank Johnson of Executive Transportation in Newport, Ky.
Paratransit Operator of the Year: Judy Potter of Black & White Transportation in Toledo, Ohio
Paratransit Driver of the Year: Gregg Katz of 10/10 Taxi—Kansas City Transportation Group in Kansas City, Mo.
Taxicab Operator of the Year: Nick Cambas of United Taxi in Clearwater, Fla.
Taxicab Driver of the Year: Enders Abdu of Yellow Checker Cab in San Jose, Calif.
The 99th Annual Convention & Trade Show will be in Denver, Colo., from October 8-12. TLPA’s next event will be its Spring Conference & Expo from April 25-27 in Palm Springs, Calif.
Visit tlpa.org for more information.
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Jackson was known locally as “Mr. Turkey,” a nickname earned from his annual Thanksgiving turkey drive, which has provided meals for thousands of needy families for more than 30 years. His community service became a tradition in South L.A., and attracted celebrities who volunteered their time to help package and hand out food boxes to the needy residents who would sometimes wait in line for days.
According to the Jackson Limousine Service, the giveaway began in 1982 when some area senior citizens who couldn’t afford Thanksgiving holiday meals approached Jackson, who responded by buying 100 turkeys and creating the E.J. Jackson Foundation. The next year he bought 200, and the following he bought 500, and ultimately grew annual community event. In 2015, more than 12,000 turkeys were handed out, along with other Thanksgiving meal fixings. Family members have said that this year’s turkey giveaway will go on as scheduled on Nov. 22. The foundation is still asking for donations of turkeys and other meal fixings.
Visit jacksonlimo.com or theejjacksonfoundation.com for more information.
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On September 13, members of the Greater Atlanta Limousine Association (GALA), friends, and supporters from all across the country came out in droves for the Georgia association’s annual charity golf tournament benefiting the Aflac Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). CD’s Publisher Chris Weiss was among the nearly 100 industry members making this the best-attended golf outing GALA has held.
“We had 88 people making up 22 teams,” said Fred Rich of Olympus Worldwide Chauffeured Services, co-chair of GALA’s golf committee, who added that players came from as far north as Boston, as far south as Miami, and as far west as Chicago, and all points in between. “This is the biggest one we’ve had so far with the most sponsors ever, the most players ever, and the most out-of-towners ever.”
Indeed, once all the numbers were tallied, GALA’s seventh annual golf outing saw more visiting players and sponsors—a whopping 34—than ever before.
With a roster of site visits also planned around the yearly event, attendees toured local facilities and caught up with their Atlanta-market peers before taking to the Country Club of Roswell for a day of charitable camaraderie and an evening of good food at the event’s awards banquet, where Kirkley Hennessy of Hennessy Transportation won two passes to October’s 2016 CD Show in Washington, D.C.
The event’s nine-person golf committee was headed by Rich, who emceed the event, and Chad Casey of Casey Corporate Transportation, to whom Rich credits the charity tournament’s success.
“It took a lot of hard work and a lot of phone calls to make this event so successful,” Rich said. Rich added that, according to Dave Winokur of CHOA, one child a day is diagnosed with cancer, and that in the past 10 years, those children’s survival rates have skyrocketed from roughly 20 percent to 80 percent—and that GALA will continue to do its part to see that number reach 100 percent.
And, of course, knowing that the proceeds benefit a deserving recipient and its young patients helped participants focus on the cause rather than their game.
“Players are of all levels are encouraged to play,” Rich said. “Some players are really, really good, while other players are—shall we say—less good. But everyone comes out and has fun supporting a great cause.”
During the association’s October 18 meeting, members of the GALA board and golf committee proudly presented CHOA representatives with a $10,000 check.
GALA’s holiday party will be December 15, and next year’s golf tournament is tentatively scheduled for September 12.
Visit galalimo.org for more information. [CD1116]