NAFA Announces Finalists For 2013 Fleet Excellence Awards

(PRINCETON, NJ -- MARCH 26, 2013) -- After weeks of intense judging by industry leaders, the finalists for NAFA’s 2013 Fleet Excellence Awards have been chosen. Debuting this year, the Fleet Excellence Awards (or FLEXY for short) were designed to shine a spotlight on those who have impacted fleet management in both the corporate and public fleet segments during the previous year.  Three finalists were chosen for each of the seven categories.  Winners will be announced during the First Annual Fleet Excellence Awards Gala on Tuesday, April 23 at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ during NAFA’s annual conference.

“We’re excited to present the Fleet Excellence Awards for the first time,” said NAFA’s Executive Director Phillip E. Russo, CAE.  “We believe it is time for the fleet industry to have its own ‘Oscars Night’ where the best of the best are recognized for their work.  NAFA is proud to host such a night during our 2013 Institute & Expo.  In addition to the awards presentation, the night will be a tremendous networking opportunity for fleet professionals to meet and share ideas with the elite in the industry and will close with a live concert by Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes!”

The FLEXY Awards were open to all fleet professionals throughout the United States and Canada, regardless of whether or not they were members of NAFA Fleet Management Association. 

“We were astounded by both the number and the quality of submissions sent to us,” continued Russo.  “Fleet professionals are truly coming up with creative ways to provide cost-savings, increase safety, and foster sustainability in their organization’s fleet.”

The list of finalists is as follows:

Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Fleet Management:

1) Kathryn Antonelli, Manager, Fleet Administration, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.

2) John Dmochowsky, CAFM, Sales Fleet Manager, Mondelez

3) Mike Hertel, Corporate Fleet Manager, Lone Star Overnight

Outstanding Achievements in Public Fleet Management:

1) Bruce Kilmer, Business Systems Analyst Supervisor, City of Austin Fleet Services

2) Brian Marshall, Fleet Operations, State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

3) Steve Rapanos, Director, City of Edmonton Fleet Services

Excellence in Corporate Fleet Sustainability Accomplishment:

1) Kevin Fisher, CAFM, Vice President Strategic Fleet Operations, ARAMARK

2) Christy Coyte Meyer, Global Fleet Director, Johnson Controls, Inc.

3) Jerome Webber, Vice President Global Fleet Operations, AT&T Services, Inc.

Excellence in Public Fleet Sustainability Accomplishment:

1) Greg Hansen, Transportation Equipment Fund Administrator, Washington State Department of Transportation

2) Jim Reinish, Manager, Central Automotive Division, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

3) Mark Swackhamer, CAFM, Fleet Operations Manager, Houston Independent School District

Excellence in Corporate Fleet Safety:

1) Theresa Belding, Senior Manager - Fleet Services, Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc.

2) Dan French, Director of Fleet Operations, G&K Services

3) Judy Sparks, Fleet Manager, Advanced Home Care

Excellence in Public Fleet Safety:

1) City of Austin Fleet Services

2) Dennis R. Hogan CAFM/CPFP, Manager - Fleet Services, City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa

3) Bill Horne, Supervisor - Fleet Safety, City of Edmonton Fleet Services

Excellence in Fleet Leadership:

1) Jonathan Kamanns, Ingersoll Rand

2) Robert Martinez, New York City Police Department

3) Don Nunnari, AAA Arizona

NAFA’s 2013 Institute & Expo, which takes place April 23-26 at the Atlantic City Convention Center, is regarded as the fleet industry event of the year. Fleet professionals from throughout the world attend to learn about the latest technologies, best practices, and industry trends from over 60 hours of fleet educational sessions. In addition, the conference features an Expo Floor with more than 250 vendors showing the latest products and services. The 2013 I&E includes powerful keynote presentations from Janet Froetscher, President & CEO of the National Safety Council; a special panel featuring executives from the Detroit 3 (Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler); Stuart Ellis-Myers, motivational speaker; and Derek Daly, a former race car champion.

For more information on NAFA’s 2013 Institute & Expo 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