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Philip Jagiela was recently hired as LILA’s Executive Director
Commack, N.Y. — The Long Island Limousine Association (LILA) recently hired Chauffeur Driven’s Industry and Brand Ambassador Philip Jagiela as its executive director.
According to LILA President Robert Cunningham of Platinum Limousines, the position will draw upon Jagiela’s industry knowledge and experience to the benefit of the association’s members and meetings.
“We were looking for someone to increase our membership, and also bring in speakers and sponsors,” Cunningham said. “I’ve known Philip a long time, and he is just very knowledge about the business, he has the contacts, he has the know-how, and that’s what we’re looking for. We feel that he can really increase our membership and our meeting attendance.”
LILA’s next meeting is scheduled for March 31.
Visit nslali.com for more information.
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Rochester, N.Y. — The most recent meeting of Limousine, Bus, Taxi Operators of Upstate New York (LBTOUNY) was held February 25. In addition to showcasing a few buses from sponsor Empire Bus Sales, the evening meeting hosted a three-person panel and had the roughly 25 members in attendance discussing topics such as state taxes and the association’s first-ever Day on the Hill.
The increasing burden of state taxes is a hot issue for Upstate New York operators. LBTOUNY has spent nearly two years pushing its bill to get the state sales tax eliminated, an effort that had previously met with success in the Senate but stalled out in the House, according to LBTOUNY President Kevin Barwell of Giorgio’s Limousine Service.
“We still have our bill in the House with Senator Schimminger and we’re going back to the Senate, where we’re hoping to get Senator Robach to sponsor that bill,” Barwell said. “The fight’s going to start again, and we’re looking for assistance from everybody who has helped us in the past.”
Members also addressed a new state tax that had come to LBTOUNY’s attention shortly before the meeting, which pertains to any automobile with a gross vehicle weight ratio exceeding 26,000 pounds. Barwell says that the association will “need to get the full details” on the proposed tax that would go into effect next year, but is concerned about another cost being passed along to New York State taxpayers.
“We do a lot of senior work with our coaches, and these seniors do not have that additional income,” he said. “They’re not going to be able to do their trips anymore with that loss of revenue. We’re very concerned.”
The meeting also hosted a new-trends panel comprising Mark Crisafulli from Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Rob Maloney from Empire Bus, and Dave Bastian from Towne Livery, and was moderated by Barwell.
“They talked to members about what people are looking for, and they also discussed new problems for vehicles now, and what the best warranties are,” said Barwell. “Everybody learned a lot, so it was definitely worthwhile to have those three members—one from bus, one from car, and one from insurance—talking about new things that are affecting the industry right now.”
While TNCs are still a passionately discussed topic among LBTOUNY members, Barwell says that the association is “staying the course” in that fight. “Our goal is to educate others and to focus on fair legislation for everybody,” he said. “We’re not opposed to TNCs operating in this area, we’re opposed to them operating illegally. I don’t think they understand that.”
Local concerns rounded out the meeting. One of LBTOUNY’s committees has been meeting with area wineries to foster a relationship between them and the association, ensuring that its operators are following wine trails’ rules and policies. Disregarding established protocol is grounds for being banned from the wine trails.
LBTOUNY is also planning its first Day on the Hill in Albany, tentatively scheduled for May 20, which Barwell hopes will become an annual event.
“We’re going to open it to all the operators in the state, and we hope to get some of the other associations up here,” he said. “I think it’s been too long since the state heard our voice. They don’t really know who we are but we want to change that.”
The next LBTOUNY meeting is planned for April 22 in Syracuse.
Visit lbtony.com for more information.
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ILA President Tracy Hodge-Raimer
Carol Stream, Ill. — The Illinois Limousine Association (ILA) is looking ahead to a busy spring as it prepares for its yearly membership meeting, as well as its first-ever Day on the Hill.
The association’s inaugural legislative day will take to the state capital of Springfield on April 21 in an effort to increase elected officials’ awareness of the chauffeured transportation industry and how its operators feel in regard to unregulated TNCs. ILA President Tracy Hodge-Raimer of Your Private Limousine said that “it’s amazing how many of them don’t know of us or don’t know where we stand.”
“It’s become so apparent to us that our senators and congresspeople need to know who the ILA is and who the livery operators are,” she said. “Talking to them serves as an introduction of who we are and what we do, and it gives us a chance to explain what our position is about the TNCs, which mostly comes down to public safety and operating on a level playing field.”
Hodge-Raimer said that while ILA Vice President and Legislative Affairs Chair Greg Eggan of O’Hare-Midway Limousine Service has been spearheading the committee behind Day on the Hill, it is truly a group effort among the association’s board of directors. And while this is the first time ILA is undertaking its own event of this sort, communication with other regional associations has proven to be quite beneficial.
“We’ve definitely been following some of the other associations and what they’ve been doing,” Hodge-Raimer said. “The social media updates just within our industry have been extremely helpful. Of course, just talking to different associations about what they’ve accomplished and the angles that they went in with, that definitely helps, as well.”
Through bolstering awareness of both their organization and the industry it serves, ILA aims to foster a relationship between the association and Illinois legislatures.
“Our hope is that representatives will realize that the livery industry exists and they’ll provide us with updates so that when things are happening in Springfield, we’re not the last to find out as new issues come up,” Hodge-Raimer said.
A month later, on May 20, ILA’s annual spring meeting will kick off at Comfort Suites O’Hare Airport, which is a new location that will put the event about 10 minutes from the airport. Speakers, sponsors, and a full agenda are currently in the works.
Visit
illinoislimousineassociation.com
for more information.
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