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Matthew Johnston of AJL International
Dallas — After a few years of inactivity, the Dallas-Fort Worth Limousine Association (DFWLA) is being revitalized by a few local operators, and a familiar industry name that’s making its first foray into association management.
Matthew Johnston of AJL International, who had previously served as DFWLA’s treasurer, along with Todd Davis of Premier Transportation and Dave Erdman of ECS Transportation Group are collectively leading the charge to get the region’s operators and vendors involved, along with seeking the association management assistance of The LMC Group—which Johnston credits as doing most of the heavy lifting to get the association up and running again.
“The three of us guys are really just guiding LMC to the avenues to find people who were active in previous years and reel them in,” Johnston says. “LMC is supposed to come back to me with a short-term business plan that includes how they are going to initiate the first meeting, get people involved, and handling things for the first couple of meetings.”
And LMC is covering all the necessary bases to ensure the DFWLA is here to stay.
“Christina Davis has managed associations in the past outside the livery industry: It wasn’t a vertical we were planning on getting into, but it was one we could do—and the need arose for it,” says LMC Group founder and CEO Kristen Carroll. “We’ve been doing things like updating the bylaws, solidifying board members, putting a budget and strategic plan together, and creating different membership tiers. We want to make this association as accessible as possible, and a tiered program means that a one-car operator isn’t expected to pay the same membership fees as a bigger company.”
Kristen Carroll of The LMC Group
One of the biggest motivators to breathe new life into the DFWLA is having strength in numbers in a large market. Carroll says that legislative efforts will be a part of what the association does, but “helping them as an industry in general in their area” is LMC’s goal.
“Whether that means assisting them with financial strategies or operation planning or how they should market livery in general in Dallas opposite TNCs, banding together for the resources, the goal of the association is working together to the benefit of ground transportation. It’s all about strength in numbers.”
One of the market’s key issues that Johnston cities is how it is difficult to combat TNC-preferential practices like those at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where traditional operators are denied the prime parking and curbside pickups that TNCs enjoy. While he says that it’s not something most operators spend too much energy worrying about, he is aware that “at some point, this client who’s paying you $100 is looking at you and saying that he loves our service but it takes almost 15 minutes to get to the car alone when I could use this other, cheaper service and be right at the curb.”
“We adjust to what the rules are, since we’re not strong enough to fight the airport without a big, unified voice now,” he says. “The goal would be to create a strong association so that when you face these challenges, you have a lot of people who are saying the same thing to the airport and the city. You can’t be a lone solider demanding change at the airport because they can just push you out the door.”
Dave Erdman of ECS Transportation Group
Johnston’s plans for the association are to eventually see it grow it to the thriving 100-plus-member organization it once was, as well as introduce the social events that foster camaraderie among operators who are already on friendly terms.
He is already optimistic about where the association will be in a year, and is pleased with the progress LMC has already made in its new executive-director role.
“LMC seems to really take the ball and run, and I’m excited to see where they take it,” Johnston said.
The association is planning to hold an informal meeting at the Chauffeur Driven Show at Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center October 7-10.
Visit dfwlimoassociation.com for more information.
[CD0918]
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Marlin President and CEO Jeffrey Hilzinger
Riverside, Calif. — Effective today, Fleet Financing Resources (FFR) announces it has been acquired by Marlin Business Services, a New Jersey-based, publicly traded bank holding company that provides nationwide capital solutions to businesses.
Fleet Financing Resources, a specialty lender with a solid foundation rooted in transportation equipment financing, will be integrated into Marlin as the cornerstone of the newly formed Commercial Vehicle Group. Headed by FFR President and CEO Dave Reynolds, the entire FFR team will transition to make up the Marlin Commercial Vehicle Group, which will serve to significantly bolster direct origination capabilities.
“The acquisition of FFR, which originated more than $75 million in 2017, fits well within our vocational strategy for the transportation market by focusing on the financing of transportation equipment used by businesses,” said Marlin President and CEO Jeffrey Hilzinger. “Overall, this acquisition allows us to significantly accelerate our growth in the commercial vehicle and titled transportation markets with a proven and successful team that has significant expertise in these markets.”
“On behalf of the team at FFR, we are very pleased to now be part of Marlin,” said Reynolds. “This transaction is extremely positive for both our employees and our customers by providing a great opportunity to continue to build on our track-record of success. As part of Marlin, we believe there is a tremendous opportunity to better support our customers while significantly accelerating Marlin’s growth in the commercial vehicle and titled transportation markets. The integration will supercharge existing capabilities in the context of the larger Marlin platform backstopped by the stability of a bank. This enables us to better serve our fleet customer by offering financing/leasing packages with maximum flexibility and lending capacity.”
Visit marlinfinance.com for more information.
[CD0918]
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Fleet Transportation Owner and President Stacey Glazier
Alexandria, Va. — Fleet Transportation announced that they just opened a new division in Stowe, Vt., expanding their first class transportation services to the New England market. They now offer a wide range of transportation options for hotels, weddings, brewery tours, and ski trips, as well as airport transfers from the Burlington, Boston, and Montreal airports. Shuttle service is also be available to and from the mountains during any season.
“We chose this specific area in New England because we saw a lack of viable transportation options during the past several ski seasons with our family and friends. We realized this was a tremendous opportunity to bring our luxury transportation to a place that really needs it, so we jumped on it,” said Fleet Transportation Owner and President Stacey Glazier. “We intend to provide them with the same high quality customer service and stylish, comfortable vehicles that we provide our clients in the Washington D.C. area.”
As part of the grand opening of the new office in Stowe, Fleet Transportation will be offering specials for the Fall and Winter seasonal activities. Additionally, the company is offering 10% off all transportation on any vehicle type.
“We are extremely excited about moving into this beautiful area and really looking forward to becoming a contributing member to the thriving Stowe community,” said Glazier.
Toward that end, Fleet Transportation has already become a member of the Stowe Area Association and Your Vermont Wedding as well as the Lamoille Chamber of Commerce.
Visit fleettransportation.com for more information.
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