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ILA President Tracy Raimer Chicago — On July 11, the Illinois Limousine Association’s Board of Directors met in open session to discuss the possibility of changing the association’s name.
The Board voted unanimously to change the association name to Illinois Limousine and Bus Association (ILLBA). The name change reflects the association's current member and vendor composition, reflecting an increase in bus ownership in recent years.
"With so many of our members owning buses and several others in the market for their first purchase, it only makes sense to modify our name to represent this niche," said ILA President Tracy Raimer of Windy CIty Limousine. "When attending industry events, the show floors are now filled with buses—including our very own meetings. It is no surprise that there is a learning curve involved when owning and managing buses, from financing the vehicle to adhering to DOT regulations, and the ILA Board feels it is our responsibility to provide this information to our membership in the forms of education and connecting vendors with members."
The board extends special thanks to association members AnnRae Pontarelli of Viatas Global Transportation and Antoinette Gonzales of Aries Charter Transportation for participating on the open board call and providing their industry feedback. Pending the completion of legal and business filings, a formal announcement of the new name will follow.
The Board is interested in any feedback or questions you may have with regards to the change. Please contact the association’s office at 630.665.9133 or by email at illinoislimousineassociation@gmail.com no later than Friday, July 20.
Members and vendors are encouraged to participate in the association’s open board meetings. Announcements are communicated in advance and also posted the ILA Facebook members-only page.
The association’s next open board meeting will be August 1.
Visit illinoislimousineassociation.com for more information.
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TLPA CEO Al LaGasse speaks to members who participated in the association’s recent Legislative Fly-In on Capitol Hill Rockville, Md. — The Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA) held its 2018 Legislative Fly-In on Capitol Hill during the association’s June 19-21 Mid-Year International Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.
Members from around the country met with their representatives to promote the association’s top three legislative priorities:
1) Enacting a federal requirement that all private-sector drivers providing contracted passenger transportation funded by the federal government submit to fingerprint-based FBI criminal background checks and drug and alcohol testing.
2) Supporting H.R. 891, the Federal Transit Modernization Act introduced by Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC), which provides public-transit agencies with more options to meet the needs of their communities by eliminating section 5333(b) granting unions extraordinary super-rights over how transit grants are awarded. This measure is not intended to end labor’s right to collective bargaining.
3) Drafting a legislative provision to meet consumer needs by providing a level playing field for ground transportation companies at airports. Given the number of stakeholders seeking access to limited curb space at airports, TLPA supports the formation of the Department of Transportation’s working group (as required in the FAA reauthorization bill) to address a number of concerns, the eventual establishment of a level playing field free from undue and discriminatory regulatory burdens, and continued participation by private investment to best serve the traveling public.
TLPA members spoke to legislative representatives on behalf of the industry last month Prior to the nearly 60 meetings in which TLPA members met with their individual legislators on June 21, TLPA members heard presentations from Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Representative Jeff Denham (R-CA) of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
“TLPA greatly appreciates Mr. Meadows and Mr. Denham convening with us during a week of particularly intense legislative activity. There was strong consensus that federally funded transportation should underscore safety first and foremost,” said TLPA President Mike Pinckard of Total Transit in Glendale, Ariz.
The association’s next event is its 100th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas from October 27-29.
Visit tlpa.org for more information.
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The debut WFLA Scramble Charity Golf Tournament benefited and partnered with The Children’s Dream Fund
Saint Petersburg, Fla. — The West Florida Limousine Association (WFLA) held its inaugural WFLA Scramble Charity Golf Tournament June 24 at the Pasadena Yacht & Country Club to benefit local charity The Children’s Dream Fund, in partnership to help make terminally ill children’s dreams come true within their community.
The Children’s Dream Fund has been making children’s dreams come true in the Tampa Bay area for the past 38 years; on average, it costs about $3,500 to grant a single wish. Half of the proceeds from the event were donated to The Children’s Dream Fund on behalf of the WFLA.
“It was a fun day of golf with great folks from the industry,” said WFLA President Jeremy Jenkins of His & Hers Limousines, which has been donating limousine services to The Children’s Dream Fund for the past decade. “It’s always a good feeling to give back to children in need.”
Title sponsors included Nations Bus Sales, PIC Insurance, Rental Limo, His & Hers Limousines, Book.limo, and Fleet Pro Capital. Longest drive was sponsored by Brevard Executive Transportation, closest to the pin was sponsored by Chauffeur Driven, and the putting competition was sponsored by VIP Transportation Group. Additional hole sponsors included DELL, RRL Insurance, A1A, LMC Group, the CFLA, Showtime Transportation, Olympus Limo, Create-A-Card, Black Pearl, Ancient Essense and Spark.
The inaugural event raised $3,500 to make a child’s wish come true
WFLA Vice President Ryan Hilberth of Rental Limo and Book.limo and Jenkins presented the charity with a check for $3,500 to fully sponsor a child’s dream in the near future.
“The favorite part for the children is always the limo ride,” said Cynthia Lake Farrell, executive director of The Children’s Dream Fund as she addressed those in attendance for the awards ceremony after the golf tournament. The charity’s Director of Events Hannah Kaye also attended dinner and heralded the event a great success.
“We set a lofty goal to make our first dream come true on behalf of the WFLA and we could not have pulled this off without the support of all of our generous sponsors, our golfers and our amazing volunteers who helped make sure this event ran as smooth as possible,” said Hilberth, who served as the director of this first-year golf tournament. “We want to thank The Children’s Dream Fund for partnering with us, and here’s to making many more dreams come true.”
Visit wfla.org for more information about WFLA.
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