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ABA President Peter Pantuso overlooking the show floor (Photo courtesy of KRR Photography) To kick off the new business year, American Bus Association (ABA) held its 2017 Annual Meeting & Marketplace in Cleveland from January 14-17.
The event provided attendees—which included motorcoach and tour operators, travel industry professionals, and associate and supplier members—the educational programming, business opportunities, and networking events they needed to start the year energized and on the right track for a successful 2017.
Of the 3,300 attendees, nearly 900 consisted of motorcoach and tour operators from all over North America. More than 300 operators participated in 144,000 pre-scheduled business appointments with an average of 29 appointments per travel industry seller. The event provided nearly 100 education sessions, with topics ranging from safety to professional development to technology.
All of ABA’s councils—the Bus Industry Safety, Bus Maintenance & Repair, Entertainer Motorcoach, Hispanic Motorcoach, and Women in Buses councils—co-located their winter meetings in Cleveland, which enabled members the opportunity to network and engage with others, as well as hear all about the latest in industry trends and government regulations.
This year, ABA also provided attendees with the opportunity to sign up for TSA’s PreCheck program right on the show floor. This was the largest TSA PreCheck campaign outside of the airline industry, as nearly 200 attendees left the show with their PreCheck IDs, giving the industry’s frequent travelers future peace of mind.
Back row (L to R): Brian Whitaker of Chicagoland Transportation Solutions, David Rogers of United Airlines, David Erdman of ECS Worldwide Chauffeured Services, Julie Dotan of J&B Executive Transportation, and Jason Messinger of BBZ Limousine & Livery Service. Front row (L to R): Renee Ferraro of ZBEST Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation and Mary Sharp-Smith of GEM Transportation. Attendees were also inspired by special keynote speaker Josh Linkner, a renowned tech entrepreneur, NYT bestselling author, and lauded venture capitalist. Linkner left his audience with the tools they needed to be creative, innovative, and in a position to reinvent the way they do business.
When not attending educational sessions or taking appointments, attendees enjoyed visiting with more than 130 exhibitors on the networking floor or touring one of the 17 buses available for viewing. ABA also showcased a number of entertainment options from members such as Myrtle Beach’s Alabama Theatre, Branson, Mo., Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group and the Group Sales Box Office/Broadway.com.
The ABA Foundation’s live and silent auctions were also among the highlights, as well as the Hard Rock Café-sponsored Afterglow party, where all proceeds from these events benefited the Foundation’s Fund a Future scholarship campaign. This year, the three events raised more than $120,000 for industry scholarships that are available to ABA members, their employees, and their families.
Each year, ABA also shows its gratitude to the event’s host city through its Marketplace Gives Back program. This year’s recipient was Cleveland’s Providence House, a crisis nursery that provides emergency shelter and care for at-risk children, to which Marketplace Gives Back donated $14,000.
ABA’s 2018 Annual Meeting & Marketplace will take place January 27-30 in Charlotte, N.C.
Visit buses.org for more information.
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Elkhart, Ind. — Forest River, a leading manufacturer of buses, recreational vehicles, and cargo trailers, recently announced the debut of Berkshire Coach, its newest bus division. Billed as the company’s luxury bus arm, Berkshire Coach is designed and built in Elkhart, Indiana. Forest River also produces buses under the brands Glaval, StarTrans, Starcraft, and Elkhart Coach.
David Wright, senior general manager at Forest River, said, “When we decided to launch a brand-new division almost a year ago, we made the commitment to build America’s best luxury bus. After months of research and development, and spending extensive time with our dealers and their customers, we are proud to introduce the Berkshire Ultra.”
Troy Snyder, general manager of Berkshire Coach, added, “We simplified the process for our customers and their dealers by making all luxury options standard equipment and backing it up with one of the most complete warranties in the industry. From Ultra Lux seating to individual USB ports at each seat, and everything in between, it all comes standard and is covered with a comprehensive 5-year/100,000-mile warranty.”
Visit berkshirecoach.com for more information. Berkshire Coach is a division of Forest River.
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Grech Motors 2017 Ford F-550 Luxury Bus
Riverside, Calif. — Grech Motors has announced the introduction of the first 2017 Ford F-550 luxury bus to market with its new GM33 model. Equipped with either a powerful 6.7-liter V8 turbo diesel engine or 6.8-liter V-10 gasoline engine, the new 2017 F-550 GM33 minicoach can seat up to 27 passengers as a shuttle with rear luggage.
The new GM33’s modern design is complemented by the 2017 F-550’s new front cab, which features a sleek, aerodynamic profile and redesigned grill. Furthermore, Ford’s new 2017 F-550 chassis features an all-new, fully boxed under-cab and C-channel aft-of-cab frame made of 95 percent high-strength steel with up to 10 crossmembers (8 through-welded). Torsional rigidity is eight times greater than the previous design.
Connected to this new frame is a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum alloy body, which is lighter than the steel previously used yet is immensely strong. It’s also more dent and ding-resistant and not subject to red rust corrosion. This supplements Grech Motors’ riveted, aircraft-grade aluminum skin.
Grech Motors 2017 Ford F-550 Interior
In addition to its stronger body and frame, the 2017 Ford F-550 chassis also features a suspension, brakes, driveline, transfer case, and axles that are larger and heftier for greater strength and capability. The components of the four-wheel anti-lock brakes feature the largest rotors in class, which increases longevity and maximizes stopping power.
Visit grechmotors.com for more information.
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