Members of the PRLA board include (L to R): President Johnny Donohoe of Sterling Limousine, Vendor Director John Arrone of Transportation Insurance Brokers, PRLA Treasurer Bob Euler Jr. of King Transportation, PRLA Secretary Tracy Salinger of Unique Limousine, and Vice President Tony Viscusi of Global Limousine
King of Prussia, Pa. —Nearly 50 attendees made the November 13 meeting of the Philadelphia Regional Limousine Association (PRLA) a packed-house event, and Chauffeur Driven’s Business Development Manager Jeff Rafkin and Editor Madeleine Maccar were among those present for an evening event that attracted first-time guests, longtime members, and association representatives from six different states.
The meeting was sponsored by Philadelphia insurance and kicked off with good news from PRLA Treasurer Bob Euler Jr. of King Transportation, who was pleased to report that the association’s coffers have seen “a significant increase” since the beginning of the year.
NLA First Vice President and LITA President Doug Schwartz of Executive Transportation
President Johnny Donohoe of Sterling Limousine then addressed the meeting’s range of general business: a now-definite East Coast holiday party hosted by the PRLA and the neighboring Limousine Association of New Jersey (LANJ) and Long Island Transportation Association (LITA) scheduled for December 9 in Newark, N.J.; how the PRLA partnership with Chosen Payments has yielded a $2,500 rebate check to the association; and another call for nominations to the board of directors.
Ryan Shaer of Ace Limousine & Airport Service, a second-generation operator, was nominated to fill one of the vacant seats, which he accepted with a brief speech.
Euler returned to the mice to reported on the ongoing construction at Philadelphia International Airport. He emphasized that the airport is “cracking down on illegal operator soliciting passengers at baggage claim,” and added that commercial cars are still not allowed to sit idle in the cell phone lots.
L to R: NLA Associate Executive Director Sarah Mercer, Chauffeur Driven Editor Madeleine Maccar, and Katie Martinez of Chosen Payments
Two of the evening’s featured speakers made out-of-state trips to join the PRLA: NLA First Vice President and LITA President Doug Schwartz of Executive Transportation traveled from Long Island while Tom Holden of Bus Advisors flew up from North Carolina.
PRLA Secretary Tracy Salinger of Unique Limousine introduced Schwartz before the longtime NLA board member took to the podium. Schwartz discussed the benefits of the NLA/CD partnership as well as the NLA’s numerous current initiatives, such as its show scholarship for small and new operators, the No Operator Left Behind program spearheaded in conjunction with Limo University, and membership discounts on everything from PAX chauffeur training to the upcoming CD/NLA Show in Las Vegas February 23-26, 2020, about which he also offered additional details.
Donohoe then introduced Holden, saying that the guest speaker’s experience with buses comes from both an operator and advisory standpoint and explaining the need for a DOT expert since “lots of people are getting into buses and coaches but not everyone is doing it right.”
CD’s Business Development Manager Jeff Rafkin (left) with two of the meeting’s attendees
Holden then explained that even though “it takes a lot of meetings to understand the rules” of operating larger vehicles, there are bus experts here to help navigate those murky waters. He gave a brief overview of the most relevant updates, violations, and regulations for the luxury chauffeured ground transportation industry to be aware of, as well as the numerous rebates in fuel and school work available to operators before taking questions from the audience and raffling off a Motor Carrier Safety Regulation manual, which was won by Shaer.
The meeting closed with Donohoe thanking the current board for their hard work “making some really great strides this year” and a 50/50 raffle. Pete Corelli of Lakeview Custom Coach was the lucky winner, which he donated back to the association.
The PRLA’s next meeting will be in 2020; however, it will be a joint host of the East Coast Holiday party with both LANJ and LITA December 9.
Visit prlainc.com for more information.
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