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On Thursday, December 8, the recently revitalized Florida Limousine Association (FLA) held their inaugural Leadership Summit at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando. The all-day affair offered the 100 members, vendors, and guests from across the country the opportunity to network and discuss issues relevant to the state.
“Because we brought all the local associations under one umbrella this year, the FLA Board of Directors thought it was important that we bring all the leaders from those associations across the state together to share ideas and talk about things that are important to all of us,” says FLA President Rick Versace of A1A Global Ground.
Currently, the largest issue facing state operators is that every jurisdiction in Florida has its own licensing scheme.
“A lot of times you need to have inspection on your vehicle in each county. You have to pay fees in each county. It makes it very difficult for companies to do business in the state. The biggest focus that we’re going to address this year is state-wide reciprocity, which basically means if your licensed in your home jurisdiction, you don’t need to have licensing in any other county that you do business in,” says Versace.
During Versace’s keynote during the State of the State presentation, he confirmed the intention of the National Limousine Association (NLA) to rebrand and embrace the word “limo” within the industry. This was met with thunderous applause by those in attendance at the Summit.
“We want people to know that ‘limo’ means you’re reliable, it means luxury, it means something positive. Something we’re going to do with the FLA is show that limo means something,” says Versace.
Versace then welcomed Chauffeur Driven President Chris Weiss to speak a bit about the upcoming 2023 CD/NLA Show in Vegas on March 5-8. Weiss confirmed that the CD/NLA Education Committee is hard at work at developing a timely educational slate and shared a bit about the enthusiasm he’s seeing from the industry regarding the March event. Weiss raffled a pass to the show, which was won by Keith Soraci of A1A Global Ground.
The event also accommodated a panel discussion that addressed other timely issues. Tim Rose of Dolphin Transportation spoke about pricing; Industry advisor Tom Holden spoke about Florida DOT regulations; and Brooks Bullington of Bullington Insurance Group offered his perspective about the insurance industry.
Versace says that the FLA Board of Directors is currently working on the development of a group captive insurance company for the association members.
“Markets in Florida are contracting and it’s very difficult to find companies that will provide coverage,” he says. “The captive will be owned by the members with stable coverage.”
Following a three-course meal, the FLA held an award ceremony to highlight industry best practices. Awards were given for Patron of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Inspiration Leader Award, Operator of the Year (1-10 vehicles), Operator of the Year (11-20 vehicles), Operator of the Year (21+ vehicles), and Chauffeur of the Year.
“I was blessed to have been named the Inspirational Leader of the Year for the State of Florida,” says Versace.” I was even more thrilled that two of my chauffeurs tied for Chauffeur of the Year. I think that’s more important than anything else because our chauffeurs are the most important element in this business. They’re the ones who provide the service and do what needs to be done on a day-to-day basis. Having that distinction was very meaningful to me.”
Versace and the FLA Board of Directors were excited with the reception of the Leadership Summit.
“People loved it and can’t wait to see what we have in store for the future. There’s a lot of good things that we’re working on for the future, and the power of associations coming together under one roof is going to make a big difference in 2023.”
Visit floridalimousine.com for more information.
[12.20.22]
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The year-end results are in! Professional Driver, a magazine based in the UK covering the chauffeured and private driver industry, announced the winners of its recent QSi Awards. The awards honor those companies and industry professionals who embody quality, service, and innovation (QSi). Finalists were announced in early November, and the winners were celebrated during a stately and elegant gala at the Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales on November 29.
In all, winners were announced in 10 categories, ranging from Professional Driver of the Year to Environment to Chauffeur Company of the Year. Some highlights:
Chauffeur Company of the Year (1-10 vehicles):
Gold: Parkers Executive (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
Silver: Aura Journeys (Newark)
Bronze (tie): Luxstar (Newport) and MET Chauffeur Services (Erskine)
Chauffeur Company of the Year (11+ vehicles):
Gold: Chabé (London)
Silver: Blacklane (Berlin)
Bronze (tie): Belgraves of London (Sutton) and iChauffeur (London)
Environment:
Gold: Addison Lee (London)
Silver: Your Local Car (Camberley)
Bronze: Parkers Executive (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
New Start Operator:
Gold: L&L Travel (Newton-le-Willows)
Silver: StarPrime Chauffeurs (Bristol)
Bronze: NI Chauffeurs (Belfast)
The full list of winners is available here. The Awards will mark their 10th anniversary in 2023.
Additionally, the magazine announced its picks for top vehicles for the industry. The magazine holds annual “judging days” at Epsom Racecourse, where it invites industry professionals to kick the tires and get an up-close and personal look at dozens of vehicles in exchange for their feedback. Among the best are:
Car of the Year: Genesis G80 Electrified
Luxury SUV: BMW iX
Executive Car: Genesis G80 Electrified
Chauffeur Car: Mercedes-Benz S580eL (plug-in hybrid)
The rest of the winners can be found here as well as in the latest issue of the magazine.
Visit prodrivermags.com for more information.
[12.19.22]
Photos courtesy of Professional Driver.
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Motor Coach Industries (MCI) announced that Thomas Vik has joined MCI as private market regional vice president for new and pre-owned coach sales in the Midwest region. Reporting directly to Vice President of Private Sector Sales Tom Wagner, Vik is based in Hudson, Wisc., and will be responsible for MCI coach sales in the Midwest region, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Vik brings more than 25 years of experience in new business development, sales strategies, customer relationships, key market expansion, channel partner development, and client needs assessment in the motor coach industry.
Prior to joining MCI, Thomas occupied regional sales manager positions at Daimler Coaches North America and Prevost Car (US), Inc./Volvo Group North America, where Vik established trusted operator relationships in the Midwest.
“Thomas brings a wealth of sales experience to MCI, and we are excited to welcome him to our team. Thomas' proven accomplishments in the transportation industry demonstrate his strong commitment to establishing long-lasting and productive relationships with customers,” said Wagner. “Thomas is an accomplished leader whose extensive skillset and talents will help MCI deliver the attention and service our new and pre-owned customers have come to expect as we continue to provide reliability-driven vehicles and market-leading support to serve our customers.”
From 2013-2020, Vik served on the Board of Directors of the Midwest Bus and Motorcoach Association, and, in 2016, he served as an Advisory Board Member of the Minnesota Charter Bus Operator's Association.
Visit mcicoach.com for more information.
[12.19.22]