NAFA President Bryan Flansburg, CAFM^®, Announces Future NAFA Initiatives at Annual Business Meeting

On the morning of April 24 at the Anaheim Convention Center, during NAFA's Annual Business Meeting, NAFA President Bryan Flansburg, CAFM, touched upon the full value of the Association, from its position as a leader in the industry to its very personal connection to each and every member.

"It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that everything is changing," Flansburg said. "I guess that’s always been the case. But the big difference these days is the pace with which those changes are taking place." Holding his cellphone up for the audience to see, Flansburg explained, "A few years ago, this was just my phone. Now, this is my phone, my email device, my texting device, my television, my camera, my music library and my stereo, my document holder, my computer, and sometimes it’s a dispatcher that will send a car to me.

"We are all witnessing and living through one of the biggest, most significant, changes the auto industry has ever seen," Flansburg said.

Instead of a hazy future where the company's "car guy" no longer has cars to oversee, Flansburg described a critical moment where the fleet and mobility manager becomes one of the most important people in the office. "We as fleet managers are experiencing a paradigm shift from managing assets - four wheels on the road – to a wider perspective of mobility management...we must get out of the mindset of 'doing' fleet management and consider all of the possible ways to move things…which may or may not include a vehicle," he said. "The good news is, though, that we can be the drivers of this change, not the victims of it."

NAFA By the Numbers - Regarding NAFA's health as an organization, Flansburg recounted a year of advances and positive gains for the organization, noting a total revenue of more than $4.6 million, with operating expenses just over $4.3 million. "Best of all, NAFA’s investment account – think of this as our rainy day fund or emergency fund – grew by 15 percent. All told, NAFA has more than 50 percent of its annual operating expenses in its rainy day fund, which is a good place to be, according to standards in the not-for-profit world."

The growth of NAFA's investment fund will permit the Association to make investments in several areas in 2018. Most significantly, the technology capabilities of the Assiciation is slated to receive major enhancements that will positively impact all members and their interactions with the organization. "We are also proud to say that we are making these investments in programs with no dues increase, for the third straight year," Flansburg added.

In 2017, NAFA membership reached the 3,000-member milestone, ending the year with 1,887 Regular Members, 954 Associate Members, and 159 retired and student members, for a total of 3,000. "This firmly established NAFA as the largest professional fleet organization in the world," Flansburg said. "Congratulations on being part of this history."

How NAFA Personally Matters - Even with all the accomplishments and advances for NAFA in 2017, Flansburg's presentation was bittersweet, specifically when a photo of his son Derrick appeared on the screens beside the stage of the Anaheim Convention Center. He said how NAFA has brought to him great and strong lifetime friendships, the kind that helped him and his wife endure a terrible tragedy.

"On October 20, I was on a plane returning to Denver from a NAFA board meeting in Philadelphia. When I landed, I saw I had numerous texts and missed calls from my wife, Sandy. (She) was trying to reach me to tell me she found our son, Derrick, unresponsive on the floor in our basement."

Derrick Flansburg was only 35 years old upon his passing.

"I texted Phil Russo, NAFA’s CEO. I’m not exactly sure why I did this, but it seemed like the right thing to do, to tell someone who I knew would care. Within minutes the entire NAFA Board was expressing their love and support for me and Sandy. That love continued over the next few days, when two Board members, Patrick Barrett and Steve Saltzgiver, showed up unexpectedly at Derrick’s funeral."

Flansburg explained that, while NAFA continues to grow and shatter the boundaries once known for the fleet and mobility profession, its enduring qualities - of individuals caring for and looking out for each other, in both the business and personal contexts - are still strong.