- Details
- Category: Industry News
NELA Executive Director Rick Szilagyi awards NELA 2nd Vice President Tina Benson of L.A. Limousine with a trophy for her team’s first-place victory in the 19th annual George Colarullo memorial Golf Tournament this past August
Saugus, Mass. — The New England Livery Association (NELA) returned to the Kowloon Restaurant for its quarterly meeting September 11. Flagship Motors of Lynnfield sponsored the event, which was attended by 60 members, vendors, and guests. Chauffeur Driven served as the cocktail hour sponsor for the night, and was represented at the meeting by Publisher Chris Weiss.
With the meeting held on the 17th anniversary of 9/11, NELA Executive Director Rick Szilagyi of Lexian Management started the meeting with a moment of silence to honor the memory of those who died at the Twin Towers, Shanksville, and the Pentagon. Next, Szilagyi welcomed the attendees, and introduced a number of guest speakers. First, Tina Benson of LA Limousine accepted a trophy on behalf of her foursome who took home first place at NELA’s 19th Annual George Colarullo Memorial Golf Tournament, which was held August 7. Next, Arthur Kloack from Flagship Motors filled in the attendees on the company’s new Sprinter facility in Peabody, Mass.
CD Publisher Chris Weiss (right) with 2018 CD Show Pass winner Kevin Cronin of Above All Transportation/Boston Car Service
Weiss was next to speak, and used the opportunity to provide some insight into the CD Show coming to the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center just outside of Washington, D.C. on October 7-10. He raffled off a pass to the show, which was won by Kevin Cronin of Above All Transportation. Before new NELA President Jason Dornhoffer of United Private Car was welcomed to the podium, Carl Restivo of Access Commercial Capital provided an overview of his company’s services to the membership.
Dornhoffer thanked the operators and vendors for attending the meeting, and encouraged NELA members to become more involved with the association. In addition to offering his help to anyone interested in seeking a board position, he also made the appeal for the membership to take a role in the various active committees within the organization. Next, An NLA update was provided by Mike Campbell of Grace Limousine, who shared some recent industry updates from the national stage.
NELA President Jason Dornhoffer of United Private Car
In a continued effort to foster good relations between NELA and the Massachusetts-run transportation organizations, Szilagyi met with officials from the Massachusetts Port Authority (MassPort) on September 7, and gave attendees an overview at Kowloon.
“We have a good relationship with MassPort,” says Szilagyi. “They actually listen to us and our concerns, and we meet at least quarterly. Currently, we’re working with MassPort to improve the long practice involved with Private Sector Identification (PSID) badging for chauffeurs. Also, we talked about how TNCs continue to clog the airport, which hurts everyone, just not the operators.”
Following his recap, Szilagyi welcomed Brian Cristy and Liz Leaman of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, who were the featured speakers of the evening. They addressed the department’s updated computer system for the motor vehicle registry that will go into effect on October 1, 2018, as well as the Unified Carrier Registration process. Cristy and Leaman then fielded many questions from the membership.
Brian Cristy and Liz Leaman of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
As always, the night concluded with the raffles, which were sponsored by DavEl/BostonCoach, Transport the People, and Access Commercial Capital. Brett Barenholtz of Boston Car Service was the winner of a wine giveaway, an assortment of scratch tickets were taken home by Mike Curtin of Don Brown Bus Sales, and Mark Mollica of Black Tie Limousine Worldwide won the 50/50 raffle and generously donated the proceeds back to the NELA.
NELA’s next meeting will be its holiday party, scheduled for December 11.
Visit nelivery.org for more information.
[CD0918]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
Prevost New Coach Regional Sales Manager, Western Canada and Northwestern US Dale Paziuk
Sainte Claire, Quebec — Prevost takes pleasure in announcing the recent addition of highly respected 19-year veteran Dale Paziuk to the new coach sales team. Paziuk stepped into his newest position as new coach regional sales manager, Western Canada and Northwestern US, in early September.
Paziuk resides in Ladner, B.C., and is very familiar with his territory, which includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba provinces, and dips into Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Wyoming in the Lower 48 of the U.S.
Paziuk joined Prevost in 1999, beginning as a field service representative serving the Northwest, after earning his degree in mechanical engineering and working several years for other organizations within the bus and coach industry.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better, more thorough introduction to Prevost,” says Paziuk. “Traveling extensively through this large territory has provided so many excellent opportunities to talk to many owner-operators. My work during those years was primarily with the mechanics and technicians performing maintenance and training on their coaches.”
When the company opened its Prevost Service Center in 2010 in the Delta area near Vancouver, Paziuk was called up to fill the branch manager position. During his six-year tenure he assisted with the expansion of the facility and oversaw its eventual relocation to the current, larger six-bay facility in Richmond.
In 2016, he moved into Parts Sales as Regional Sales Manager, Northwest, which took him further north into his new territory that included Alaska; a move that further prepared him for his current role in new coach sales.
“All combined, Dale’s background, capabilities, experience and lasting relationships will serve him well in his transition into the complex realm of coach sales,” says Director New Coach Sales, Western Region Keith Hayward. “He comes very well-equipped to help customers throughout his region determine their best options for Prevost and Volvo products; and he is prepared to continue to serve and assist with their needs as they arise.”
Paziuk says looking back, it was always his intent to eventually work for Prevost in new coach sales, and is now eager to apply all he has learned and experienced from a technical capacity to serving his customers in areas that, for now, are somewhat new to him.
Visit prevostcar.com for more information.
[CD0918]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
VIP Transportation Group’s Barbara White (fourth from left) and Simon White (blue shirt) with members of the Windermere Police Dept.
Windermere, Fla. — As part of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association’s (CFHLA’s) 13th annual Patriot Day 9/11 Adopt a Station event, Simon & Barbara White, co-owners of VIP Transportation Group and VIP Wedding Transportation, recently adopted the Windermere Police Department for a day, and treated their personnel to lunch. This annual tradition allows CFHLA members to commemorate the events of September 11, 2001, and honor local law enforcement, fire rescue, EMS, and hospitality security personnel for above-and-beyond service in the line of duty.
The 9/11 Memorial in Windermere, Fla.
“It only made sense for us to team up with our good friend Stephanie Desaulniers, the owner of the Dixie Cream Cafe, as this is our local breakfast haunt where we host our monthly Rolls-Royce & Bentley Car Club breakfast. Together, our companies are proud to support the Windermere Police Department, and especially on Patriot Day, and give thanks to the proud men and women who serve the city of Windermere,” said Simon, a former British Police Officer.
Officers present at the luncheon included Police Chief David Ogden, Deputy Chief Jennifer Treadwell, and Sgt. Mark Destefano.
Windermere also has a memorial dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks in New York City, the Pentagon, and Flight 93. The memorial features a piece of steel from the World Trade Center that fell to the ground among the rubble and debris. Surrounding it are ceramic tiles that honor those who died in the attacks; each person that lost their life had a tile representing their country.
Visit viptg.com for more information.
[CD0918]