NAFA’s Luck With Sports Teams Continues

(NOVEMBER 1, 2011 – PRINCETON, NJ) – NAFA Fleet Management Association isn’t saying that having the Association’s annual conference in your city guarantees a championship, but it apparently does increase the odds!

Since 2005, NAFA’s annual Institute & Expo – the largest event of the year within the fleet management industry – has watched sports teams within its conference host cities have successful seasons in the year the Association is in town.  Considering that conference cities are chosen at least five years in advance, the run is even more remarkable. 

“A little bit of NAFA luck seems to have spread to St. Louis where the Cardinals just finished wrapping up their eleventh World Series championship,” exclaimed NAFA’s Executive Director, Phillip E. Russo, CAE.  “In a few months, fleet managers from throughout the United States and Canada will have the opportunity to see the Cardinals’ World Series banner when they visit the city for NAFA’s 2012 I&E (April 21-24 at the America’s Center in St. Louis).”

The streak of good luck for sports teams began in 2005 when NAFA’s I&E was held in Dallas.  During that same year, FC Dallas finished in 1^st place in Major League Soccer’s West Division, while the Dallas Mavericks lost in the 2005-2006 NBA Finals to Miami.  In 2006, Dallas Mavericks would finish in 1^st place in the Southwest Division.

NAFA’s 2006 I&E was held in Orlando, FL during a year in which the state of Florida celebrated an NBA championship by the Miami Heat and college football and basketball titles by the University of Florida.  The following year some of that NAFA luck stayed in Orlando where the Orlando Magic finished in 1^st place in NBA’s Southeast Division.

In 2007, the good luck was brought to Houston, TX where the Houston Dynamo won their second straight Major League Soccer Championship. The following year, NAFA visited Salt Lake City, UT just before the Utah Jazz finished the 2007-2008 season as the top team in NBA’s Northwest Division.

In 2009, NAFA’s I&E took place in New Orleans just before the start of the first-ever Super Bowl Championship season by the New Orleans Saints.  The Association then moved from a city celebrating its first championship to Hockey Town USA where the Detroit Red Wings were a year separated from a loss in the Stanley Cup Finals after winning the Cup in 2007-2008.  Across town, the Detroit Tigers won the American League Central Division in 2010, while the Red Wings finished on top of the Central Division again in 2011, perhaps due to some of that “extended NAFA luck.”

Fleet managers arrived in Charlotte for the 2011 I&E in a year in which Joe Gibbs Racing Team would finish only a few points away from their first championship since 2005.  Joe Gibbs himself was a Keynote Speaker at NAFA’s 2011 I&E during the beginning of the season.

“NAFA may not be able to predict the future, but wherever the Association goes seems to be a winner!” said Russo.

About NAFA’s Institute & Expo

The 2012 I&E takes place April 21-24 at the America’s Center in St. Louis, MO.  The event program, created by fleet managers for fleet managers, features over 60 hours of fleet training, education, and workshops.  In addition to an Expo Floor consisting of more than 200 companies showcasing their products and services, the I&E brings back fan favorites such as the Public Safety Roadeo and the Green Zone.  For more information, visit http://www.nafainstitute.org.  

About NAFA Fleet Management Association

NAFA is the world’s premier non-profit association for professionals who manage fleets of sedans, public safety vehicles, trucks, and buses of all types and sizes, and a wide range of military and off-road equipment for organizations across the globe.   NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location or fleet composition. NAFA’s Full and Associate Members are responsible for the specification, acquisition, maintenance and repair, fueling, risk management, and remarketing of more than 3.5 million vehicles including in excess of 1.1 million trucks of which 350 thousand are medium- and heavy-duty trucks.  For more information visit http://www.nafa.org