- Details
- Category: Industry News
Miami — With the Chauffeur Driven Show just days away, it’s time to start planning how you’ll make the most of the networking and educational opportunities available during our October 11-14 stay in South Beach. With a robust association presence this year, those who are pounding the pavement to make legislative headway at regional and statewide levels will be on hand to discuss their efforts, successes, and plans for the future.
Our first-ever show in Miami will be chock-full of inaugural events, including our Association Summit on Wednesday, October 14, at the Loews. During this debut event, you’ll get to hear from more than a dozen association leaders representing markets all across North America as they give presentations on how they’re fighting TNCs and working to maintain the integrity of the industry. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the American Southwest to eastern Canada, you’ll get to hear from operators hailing from an array of locales as they discuss their own region’s approach to industry-wide concerns.
Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association President Mike Fogarty of Tristar Worldwide, Limousine Association of New Jersey President Jeff Shanker of A-1 Limousine, and Florida Limousine Association President Rick Versace of A1A Airport & Limousine Service will be moderating the two-hour event, and the Summit will close with a Q&A session. Also presenting will be:
- Perry Barin 2nd Vice President, GCLA
- Shane Stickel President, CLA
- Mike Callahan President, NELA
- Chad Casey Director, GALA
- Robert Cunningham and Doug Schwartz Board Members, LILA
- Todd Davis and Matthew Johnston, Board Members, DFWLA
- Wes Hart President, HALCA
- Joe Ironi and Hussein Mahmoud Board Members, OLOA
- Tracy Raimer President, ILA
- Steve Rhoads President, PRLA
- Dave Shaw President, WFLA
- Cliff Wright President, GOLA
Click here to find out more about the Summit. All are welcome to attend this debut offering, which is sponsored by Chosen Payments.
Chosen Payments is also sponsoring a returning favorite, the Association Pavilion, which you can find right next to the lunch area at the Miami Beach Convention Center. While the Pavilion will be hosting our laser-focused Micro-Sessions on Monday and Tuesday afternoon, it will be open throughout the show floor’s exhibit hours.
And our Association Pavilion will be the site of another CD Show first: The National Limousine Association will be manning a booth this year.
“Many operators who are not members of the NLA attend the Chauffeur Driven Show, and we want to meet those people to tell them about the importance of being an NLA member,” says NLA President Gary Buffo of Pure Luxury Transportation. “We must unify as an industry to protect, preserve, and build our industry's footprint in chauffeured car and bus market segments in the years to come. We look forward to sharing the NLA’s goals with all CD Show attendees.”
This year’s Pavilion will also include the United Motorcoach Association, the Black Car Assistance Corporation, and a number of state and regional livery associations, all of whom will have members ready to chat about how they’re fighting the good fight for the benefit of the industry. Click here for a full list of Association Pavilion participants.
Visit chauffeurdrivenshow.com for more information.
[CD1015]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
CD Assistant Editor Robert Smentek
Marlton, N.J. — Chauffeur Driven is pleased to welcome Robert Smentek to the team. He joins the magazine as its Assistant Editor.
A graduate of Rutgers University—with a B.A. in English and minor in journalism—Smentek is a seasoned publishing professional with a diverse background that includes editorial work for academic publications, marketing agencies, and mainstream periodicals.
Prior to joining CD, Smentek was lead copy editor at an award-winning branding agency whose clients included several Fortune 500 companies. In addition to proofreading all agency work, he served as project manager for the annual publication of a massive pharmaceutical formulary, and was instrumental in successfully transitioning this 1,000-page handbook into an online-only resource. Before that, Smentek spent eight years as senior project editor at a medical publishing house where he was hands-on in all aspects of book production, from proofreading to page design and layout.
A self-described “nerd,” Smentek is a freelance proofreader on a series of award-winning magazines that cover the comic book industry for Raleigh, N.C.-based publisher TwoMorrows. And in addition to his editorial work, Smentek is a longtime musician whose songs have been featured on SiriusXM and Jet Blue in-flight radio.
Though new to the chauffeured ground transportation industry, Smentek is enthusiastic about joining the CD team. “This is an exciting industry, and I’m looking forward to learning the ins and outs of the business. And there isn’t a better place to learn the biz than Chauffeur Driven,” he said.
Smentek can be reached at rob@chauffeurdriven.com.
[CD1015]
- Details
- Category: Industry News
L to R: Vern Kauffman, COO of McSweeney Designs; Todd Telin, president/general manager of Telin Transportation Group; Rich Coffren, account manager of Telin Transportation Group; Mike Bracker, account manager of Telin Transportation Group; and Kevin Kropf, eastern region sales manager of McSweeney Designs
Birmingham, Ala. — McSweeney Designs, a fully approved MasterUpfitter for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, recently announced the expansion of its preferred dealer base to include Telin Transportation Group based out of Lakeville, Minn. Under the terms of this agreement, Telin Transportation will now represent the upscale Sprinter-based MD Exec Livery and luxury shuttle bus product portfolio through their distributed dealership base throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Kevin Kropf, eastern region sales manager for McSweeney Designs, who took the lead on orchestrating the dealer agreement stated, “With the combination of McSweeney Designs’ full commitment to delivering the highest possible quality and value throughout our entire product line and Telin’s stellar reputation for providing top-notch customer service before, during, and after the sale, we can’t help but believe that this is an ideally suited match for both of our companies.”
Todd Telin, president/general manager for Telin Transportation Group, echoed that sentiment: “The people at McSweeney are serious about the products they build and it shows in the quality and attention to detail. We at Telin Transportation Group are proud to partner with them.”
Going forward Telin Transportation Group will be stocking McSweeney Designs products for quick delivery; but will also be able to leverage the strengths of McSweeney Designs’ world class in-house design, engineering, and build teams to assist their clients in the development of custom tailored upfit solutions to uniquely suit their own upscale transportation needs.
Contact kkropf@mcsweeneydesigns.com or ttelin@telingroup.com for more information.
[CD1015]