Olympic Hero Mike Eruzione Motivates New England Chapter

The New England Chapter welcomed Mike Eruzione to the Holiday Inn in Mansfield, MA on February 16, with a standing ovation fit for an Olympic hero. Eruzione, the Captain of the U.S. Men's Hockey Team that stunned the world by beating Russia and went on to win the gold medal in 1980, capped off an impressive meeting that also included strong roundtable discussions on fleet policy, the Chapter's annual business meeting and chapter elections, and a closing cocktail networking reception.

After a brief update on the state of the chapter and a recap of the election results, attendees were broken off into groups to discuss issues of fleet policy. Topics included DUI policies, how often to check MVRs, how often should you update your driver policy, and how much is too much with regards to the cost of using telematics for safety purposes? The topics kept the groups engaged and showed an excellent example of the value of NAFA Members sharing information together as the quality of tips was good for fleet managers of any level.

Eruzione came on after a brief break and following a short video of Olympic highlights. He spoke for about 25 minutes, took questions from the audience, and signed memorablia before leaving to coach his son's hockey game that night. Mercedes Benz, who previously had sponsored speakers such as Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay and former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman for other NAFA chapters, arranged for Eruzione to speak in front of the chapter in a setting much more intimate than usual for him.

The Captain told stories of how the 1980 Olympic team was put together and what it was like to win the gold. As he spoke, he weaved personal lessons learned from his father and coach Herb Brooks into idea fleet managers could use in the business world. One such piece of advice was about perspective. He recalled how his father would always stress to him to keep things in perspective. "Treat people the way you want to be treated and respect them," his father said. Eruzione believed in that perspective until he returned home after the Olympics, when he realized that some things had indeed changed.

"I remember I got five marriage proposals in the mail... and not one picture!" Eruzione said with a laugh. "Perspective!"

He went on to tell the audience about the new Mazda a local dealership dropped off for him, which was then taken back a year later – perspective!

"The greatest lesson I have on perspective is after we won the gold medal," he continued. "I'm in the locker room and Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States, calls and wants to speak to me. Well, it's been 31 years and I haven't heard from him since! Perspective!"

NAFA Fleet Management Association
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Telephone: 609.720.0882 Fax: 609.452.8004