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The yearly celebration took to a new venue this year, as party-goers headed to Boomtown Brewery for a night of craft brews and tasty fare, including a visit from the Kogi Korean taco tuck.
!-- -->In a swell of support beyond the triple-digit attendance numbers, more than 40 of the industry’s organizations donated sports and entertainment memorabilia, professional services, and more to help the association thoroughly trounce its previous fundraising record of $29,000. By the end of the night, GCLA 2nd Vice President/Vendor Director Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments announced that this year’s party yielded more than $75,000.
Chauffeur Driven donated a number of auction items: John Oulton of Richmond Limousine won an e-blast, Tammy Carlisle of Action Limousines won a pass to the 2019 CD Show in Boston, and Brett Barenholtz of Boston Car Service/Above All Transportation won a pass to the 2019 Executive Retreat in Austin.
The evening also saw the election of the 2019 GCLA board, which is filled with new and familiar leaders alike:
President: Mo Garkani of The COTS Group
1st Vice President: Harry Dhillon of Ecko Transportation Worldwide
2nd Vice President: Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments
Secretary: Darren Croasdale of La Costa Limousine
Directors: Selim Aslan of MIB Limousine, Perry Barin of Music Express, Maurice Brewster of Mosaic Global Transportation, Thomas Buck of Beau Wine Tours, Carlos Garcia of Carlos Transportation Services, Robert Gaskill of Motev, Chris Hundley of Limousine Connection, Don Mahnke of ABC Worldwide Transportation, and Mark Stewart of CLI Worldwide
Vendor Directors: Jeff Brodsly of Chosen Payments, Phil Hartz of Acton SoCal Penske Professional Vehicles, Patrick O'Brien of O'Brien & Associates, and Steve Wood of South Bay Ford
The GCLA will be holding its Day on the Hill in Sacramento February 13.
Visit gcla.org for more information.
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The board currently comprises:
President: Douglas Schwartz of Executive Limousine
1st Vice President: Robert Cunningham of Platinum Limousine
2nd Vice President: Matt Silver of Ultimate Class Limousine
Treasurer: Bob Pandolfo of Main Street Limousines
Secretary: Nancy Vargas of DH2 Chauffeured Transportation
1-5 Car Director: Bill Goerl of Clique Limousine
6-15 Car Director: Steve Verity of S&G Limousine
16+ Car Director: Andrea Majer of Deluxe Transportation Services
Sargent At Arms: Ray Caivano of 3 J’s Limousine
Director: Anisa Kahn of Deluxe Transportation Services
Advisor: Felix Reyes of K&G Limousine
Schwartz established the new Long Island ground transportation organization for the twofold purpose of providing a new forum for bringing together to the region’s operators, as well as providing a place where companies hailing from “downstate”—“New York City, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, West Chester, all around the Horn”—would feel welcome.
“After some back-and-forth discussion, we realized there’s a need for this kind of association and decided it was time to launch something fresh,” Schwartz said. “Even though we are the Long Island Transportation Association, I do believe we’ll eventually change our name to something like ‘Downstate New York’ because we wanted to open up our attendance to companies in places like New York City and West Chester and any other operators who want to belong.”
In addition to bringing together scores of regional operators and vendors—and thanking those who attended with a year of free membership—the meeting also featured Bill Faeth of Limo U as its keynote speaker, and gave the blossoming association’s board members a chance to outline the future they have in mind.
“We’re already working on our next meeting and lining up the speaker—and we’re going to have a little fun with it, too. We’re going to make our meetings kind of like how it is at the shows with mini-sessions, which will be targeted toward the downstate and New York City areas,” Schwartz said. “As an operator, I know I need this association for information and to share with people. A lot of things have been replaced by Facebook today, but we still need the warm touch.”
Schwartz is also keen on establishing a format for LITA meetings: an hour and a half of “a little networking, a program, then we’re out of there.”
LITA’s next membership meeting will be January 9.
Visit longislandta.com for more information.
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The Brazilian steakhouse is a CLA favorite, and allows for flexible arrival and departure times so as many members can attend as possible. Knowing that an association filled with business owners means that demanding schedules and client needs come first no matter how much a member would like to enjoy socializing with their peers, the board was determined to ensure a dinner option that could offer a merry and bright evening for everyone.
The event included more than $1,500 in door prizes and raffles. Guests went home with everything from an InstantPot and gift cards to a $100 CLA membership credit and a pass to the 2019 Chauffeur Driven Show in Boston, which was won by Frank Lacks of Private First Class. The association extends it gratitude to event sponsors Chauffeur Driven, Research Underwriters, and Transwest Financial for the support and gift donations.
Attendees agreed that this year’s holiday dinner really showcased the true colors of Colorado’s operators, as a new independent operator who had just moved to the area made this their first meeting—and was welcomed him with open arms and words of wisdom from everyone in attendance.
The next CLA meeting will be January 15, when elections for the 2019 board will be held.
Visit cololimo.org for more information.
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