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Orlando, Fla. — The Central Florida Livery Association (CFLA) took to Carrabba’s Italian Grill to celebrate the holiday season among industry friends December 3 with dinner, toy donations benefiting Toys for Kids, prizes, and a chance to unwind among industry friends.
Toys for Kids is a favorite charity of CFLA President Wendy Kleefisch of Brevard Executive Limousine and a longtime beneficiary of the association. A cornerstone of the CFLA holiday event is always a table that becomes even more packed with presents throughout the night that underscores members’ desire to help local children in need.
Kleefisch made sure the evening’s party-goers left with some presents of their own, too: For every toy donation a member made, they earned a chance to win one of the evening’s raffle prizes. But everyone was a winner at a party that offered plenty of opportunities to enjoy the warmth of industry peers, friends, and supporters, as dinner, conversations, and photo ops of everyone decked out in their festive attire encouraged members and supporters alike to make new friends and catch up with longtime associates.
There were plenty of thanks to go around, too, as Kleefisch expressed her gratitude to the CFLA’s vendors, operators, and board members, adding some extra warmth to an event that will pay it forward by ensuring that some of the region’s neediest children will have one more reason to smile this holiday season.
Visit cfla.org for more information.
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Los Angeles — The annual Greater California Livery Association (GCLA) holiday party is always an end-of-year event that draws a crowd from coast to coast, and this year was no exception. Nearly 200 people, including CD Publisher Chris Weiss, flocked to association favorite The Proud Bird December 2 for an evening of festive celebration and friendly company—as well as looking back on some huge wins.
It’s been a year of California dominating the conversation about broader industry developments, ranging from October’s long-fought-for victory at LAX that relegates TNC pickups and drop-offs to a dedicated zone while preserving luxury ground transportation’s central terminal access to the passage of Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which aims to make sweeping reforms to the misclassification of so-called “gig economy” workers as independent contractors instead of being considered the employees they should have rightfully been considered in the first place. AB5, which goes into effect in less than a month on January 1, will piggyback on the “ABC Test” that determines what protections are owed to a worker based on a trifecta of metrics.
David Kinney of API Global discussed AB5 and its future implications, and also credited GCLA’s lobbying firm Government Affairs Consulting for its assistance in making 2019 a banner year for the association’s legislative efforts—with a particular focus on extending kudos to Government Affairs Consulting’s own Gregg Cook for his tireless lobbying on behalf of and guidance imparted to GCLA and its members. Meanwhile, GCLA Director/Chairman of Legislative Committee Mark Stewart of CLI Worldwide also made sure to thank Advocates for Fairness in Transportation leaders Cheryl Berkman of Music Express Worldwide and Jonna Sabroff for their dogged commitment in the fight for industry operators at LAX, an effort they’re been undertaking for the better part of five years.
The evening also included the announcement of the 2020 GCLA Board of Directors, which includes: Selim Aslan of MIB Limousine, Perry Barin of Music Express Worldwide, Maurice Brewster of Mosaic Global Transportation, Thomas Buck of Beau Wine Tours, Adrian Davis of Five Star Transportation Service, Harry Dhillon of Ecko Transportation Worldwide, Mo Garkani of The COTS Group, Robert Gaskill of Motev, Chris Hundley of Limousine Connection, Don Mahnke of ABC Worldwide Transportation, Jack Nissim, and Mark Stewart of CLI Worldwide. Vendor members are Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments, Patrick O’Brien of O'Brien & Associates, Alex Sales of Team Chevrolet Cadillac, and Steve Wood of South Bay Ford.
Check out the January 2020 issue of Chauffeur Driven for expanded coverage of this event.
The next GCLA event will be its Northern California meeting January 28.
Visit gcla.org for more information.
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Amsterdam, N.Y. — Brown Coach recently took delivery of two new 2020 Prevost H3-45s coaches. A Prevost customer since 1997 Brown Coach currently runs a total of 50 coaches along with its sister company Upstate Transit of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Located just 30 miles apart, the Brown and Upstate fleets share similar team colors and graphics that tie the two services together under one owner.
“We believe Prevost makes the best coaches on the road,” says Brown Coach Owner Steven R. Brown. “What keeps us coming back as a loyal customer is the company’s outstanding after-sale support. Their teams go above and beyond and make themselves available anytime, day or night and on weekends, to ensure our questions get answered and our equipment is performing at top level.”
In 1980, Brown Coach opened its doors to provide coach bus and coach service for the tri-city area of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy. The company has owned and operated Upstate Transit since 2005. Brown Coach acquired the transportation division from the Mathews Family, the Thomas School Bus dealer for upstate New York.
“When the principal in the company, Bruce Mathews, passed away, the family elected to focus on vehicle sales and service,” says Brown. “They approached us on possibly acquiring the business and we felt it would be a good fit as we were both in the same greater-Albany market. Instead of being one of four competitors, we now only have two.”
Brown is a mechanical engineer who dedicates his knowledge to making the products and systems on his coaches perform better and consistently ensure products from other industries work in his vehicles. His experience and expertise has proven instrumental in several Prevost products.
“I was surprised the Prevost engineering and support teams would be so willing to work with me to implement some of my ideas and make them fit into their coaches,” he says. “They joke around with me about what they have come to call the Brown Specs.”
Visit browntours.com or prevostcar.com for more information.
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