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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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Manchester, N.H. — The United States is facing a suicide crisis. Suicides have increased 33 percent since 1999 and are the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34. In New Hampshire, where The LMC Groups’ headquarters is located, the youth suicide rate is 50 percent more than the national average.
The crisis motivated LMC to choose the Dawson A. Rutter, III Scholarship Fund for its annual #GivingTuesday fundraiser. Dawson (known as D.A.), the 23-year-old son of Commonwealth Worldwide Executive Transportation’s Dawson Rutter, tragically took his life in 2017 after a long struggle with depression. D.A.’s father, Dawson Rutter, established the scholarship fund, which helps meet the financial needs of boys at The Fenn School in Concord, Mass., where D.A. spent his happiest years.
D.A. was an accomplished artist who won awards for his art at Fenn and beyond, so LMC decided to host an online art auction to raise money for the fund. Starting on December 3—#GivingTuesday—and ending on Friday, December 13, the auction will be accessible through The LMC Groups’ Facebook page, and all proceeds will be donated to the fund.
LMC Founder and CEO Kristen Carroll and LMC Ops Director Chris Hotham are acclaimed artists whose work is featured in several galleries nationwide, and they have donated the paintings and photographs for the auction. Carroll explained why LMC chose to support this charity:
As a business leader, I make it a point to speak publicly about my involvement in ongoing therapy as part of my personal wellness. Behavioral and mental health are as central to our overall vitality as is our physical health, yet even as we approach 2020, there is a stigma associated with mental health. Nearly all Americans will either experience depression in their lifetime or have someone close to them impacted. While suicide is a statistical rarity in the sea of depression, one suicide is too many.
As an organization that embraces health, transparency, and the dogged pursuit of joy, we want to shine a light on a struggle that so many face. We selected this fund for #GivingTuesday because we knew and loved Dawson Rutter III and know and love his father. We have team members and families who have been touched by suicide. We want to bring this struggle out of the darkness and into the light, so that conversations happen earlier, help is sought more often, and those we’ve lost are remembered for their lives and not for their deaths.
Anyone interested in supporting LMC’s #GivingTuesday fundraiser can access the auction on Facebook.
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