New Nomination Process Yields Outstanding Results

As you likely know, NAFA’s bylaws were amended last year to accomplish the following goals:

Expand membership opportunities for current Affiliates and others who handle fleet management responsibilities.
Increase Board service opportunities to a larger pool of candidates, including current Affiliates.
Change the structure of the Board of Trustees (but not the size) and revise the process for election of the President, Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer.
Require less long-term commitment to move up the national leadership ladder.
Implement safeguards to ensure NAFA is always an organization dedicated to fleet management professionals.

With regard to our goal of increasing the pool of candidates for the Board and speeding up the process to become a national leader, I am pleased to say our goal was accomplished with far greater results than we anticipated.

For the 2017 elections, for which NAFA was looking to fill four vacant seats on the Board, we received 33 applications from qualified fleet managers (Regular Members) and providers (Associate Members). In prior years, when the election process was different and NAFA sought to fill all 13 Board seats each year, we would typically receive between 15 and 20 applications, with the vast majority of those from individuals already holding Board seats who wished to remain on the Board. The influx of interested individuals who wanted to be engaged with NAFA on a higher, more strategic, level was exciting and gives me great hope.

Just as important as the number of applicants was the fact that the majority were individuals not presently involved in NAFA on the national level. These were individuals who, in prior years, would have been shut out from applying because they did not meet the long list of prerequisite service to NAFA. With the removal of those barriers, these individuals were motivated and encouraged to apply for the Board seats so they could get involved and make a difference! In other words, the bylaws changes worked!

The unfortunate aspect of this otherwise great news is that there were only four vacant seats, so 29 applicants had to be turned away. But don’t worry, all of those individuals are now on NAFA’s "hot list" of folks who want to get involved and we have, or will shortly, reach out to all of them to see how else they would like to play a role in NAFA.

The four individuals selected and duly elected to the Board for 2017 are:

Ray Brisby, CAFM^®, Fleet Manager at Calgary Fire Department
Steven Saltzgiver, CAFS^®, Manager at Mercury Associates Inc.
George Survant, Senior Director of Fleet at Charter Communications
Kathy Wellik, CAFM^®, Director of Fleet at Iowa State University

In making the above selections, the Nominating Committee was cognizant of not only the personal and professional skillsets and talents of each person, but also the industries they represented. By selecting individuals from the public sector, associate member sector, corporate sector, and university sector, the committee helped ensure NAFA’s board is diverse and has the opinions and perspectives of those major sectors.

Here’s a little bit of background on each new Board, as provided on their application form:

Ray Brisby has been in fleet management 26 years and has been a NAFA member 15 years. He brings a diverse background to the Board, including time as a heavy-duty mechanic, then shop foreman, before becoming a fleet manager. He has diplomas in diesel mechanics, business management, municipal leadership, and finance and accounting. Ray became a CAFM^® in 2006.

Steve Saltzgiver has been in fleet 38 years and has been in NAFA more than 18 years. Despite his tenure, Steve has never held a national office with NAFA. Steve brings a multi-faceted background to the board, having served as the director of fleet operations at large corporations (Coca Cola, Republic Services) and major public agencies (State of Georgia, State of Utah). Steve also served as the Executive Director of the National Conference of State Fleet Administrators, a valued NAFA partner.

George Survant has been in fleet 36 years and has been a NAFA member 20 years. George brings a rich and varied history to NAFA, leading major fleet operations in the corporate, utility, and telecommunications sectors. He has served in advisory roles for industry groups such as NTEA, the Biodiesel Board, and CALSTART, and has been retained to coach fleets for performance improvements. George is an expert in change management and implementation and is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry events.

Kathy Wellik has been in fleet 11 years and a NAFA member for 10 years. Kathy brings to the board a firm belief in the value of serving others and working for the common good. She has a background in business management, accounting, and banking and uses a team approach to managing the university’s fleet. Kathy has been active in her local NAFA chapter and served on the national Board as the university sector representative.

The first meeting of the new NAFA Board of Directors is later this month in San Diego. At that meeting, the 13 directors will elect from among themselves the next NAFA President, Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer. Look for that announcement at the end of the month.

Please join me in welcoming these outstanding individuals to NAFA’s Board of Directors!

Sincerely,

Phil

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