The First Word With Phil Russo

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Moving Ahead With Great Momentum

The year 2010 was a record-breaking one for NAFA from a financial standpoint. 

Yes, you read that correctly.  In the worst economy since the Great Depression, NAFA set a record for net gain from operations. Despite a drop in revenue from 2009 of nearly $200,000 (-6 percent), NAFA saw more than a quarter-million dollar net gain due to some major cost-cutting and savings in our meetings line items. The annual Institute & Expo (I&E), educational seminars, and Board meetings all saw their expenses trimmed by nearly $450,000. Not only was that good news to NAFA's bottom line, but I'd venture to guess that very few of you actually noticed those cuts, so your membership was not negatively impacted in any way.

And the good news is continuing through the first quarter of 2011. Here are the top 10 pieces of good news already this year, and believe me, it was difficult deciding which items to leave off this list.

1.    I&E conference registration is up 37 percent from last year, fleet manager attendance is up 25 percent, and the total count is up 16 percent. We're seeing numbers similar to what we had in Houston in 2007, which was a great conference.
2.    The Expo, nearly 10 percent larger than last year and our biggest ever, has been sold out for weeks now, with a waiting list of more than a dozen companies looking for space.
3.    I&E sponsorship revenue is up 7.5 percent from last year.
4.    Media sponsors have supplied free print ads in International Fleet World and FleetOwner magazines worth tens of thousands of dollars and giving NAFA wide exposure to tens of thousands of readers. Other media sponsors, such as AIN and CamAuto, have supplied free e-communications, giving NAFA exposure to hundreds of thousands of fleet professionals.
5.    For the first two months of the year, membership is up 1.5 percent since year-end 2010. March is continuing the trend with more than 70 new Members and Affiliates joining.
6.    The March/April issue of FLEETSolutions magazine was a record-breaker in terms of ad sales for the two-year old publication.
7.    Our free monthly webinars had an average "attendance" of 125 fleet professionals.
8.    Nearly 100 fleet professionals have enrolled in NAFA's certification programs
9.    The National Truck Equipment Association issued a raving endorsement of our certification programs.
10.    More than 115 copies of NAFA's newly revised, interactive Lifecycle Cost Analysis exercise were sold in the first three weeks of its release. 

It's pretty clear we're doing something right. I believe it starts with listening to you, every Member and Affiliate, and responding to you on a personal level. That's been my goal since my first day as Executive Director in 2005. Back then, I wrote in this column that for many years NAFA was guilty of trying to get you to buy something, rather than building relationships with you. I believe we have transformed NAFA and reconnected in some material way with most of you. It's taken six years to start to see the results, and I believe this is just the beginning. Now, we are moving in the right direction with great momentum. And the fever is catching. Do you have it?

Thank you for all of your support over the past six years, and especially over the last year. Let's keep this good thing going!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time for any reason.

Sincerely,


Phil