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“It’s
leadership.” by Christopher Menkin .Each
of the major associations leadership
is responsible for the decline in membership. As
John Deane of the Alta Group so well wrote in 2001 about leadership
in “The Perfect Storm,” ( http://www.leasefoundation.org/pdfs/perfectstorm.pdf)
it also applies to the fraternal and professional “clubs,” who’s membership
has declined for over two year. It’s
not consolidation or GE Capital buying all the major leasing companies
( actually the portfolio’s , not the companies and employees, as US
Leasing went from 186 to 6 and Colonial Pacific Leasing is similar...that’s
another story similar to larger banks buying smaller banks.) Are
leasing associations a “club?” Some aspects, yes. Leasing Associations
fulfill a purpose, whether you agree or don’t agree. They
represent your “business” as no chamber of commerce can; to
your colleagues, to your customers, to Washington ,D.C., and various
state capitals, and more importantly, perhaps, provide a
place to exchange ideas and information. In
the last two consecutive years, four of the five major national equipment
leasing associations lost membership. AGLF
EAEL ELA NAELB UAEL
The
National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers (NAELB---pronounced
Nah-elb) gained, 45 in 2002. The
Association of Government Leasing and Finance lost the most then, 111,
not counting its executive director. It changed its leadership, Jorie
Lagerwey was replaced by Graham Hauck. ELA This
year, the Equipment Leasing Association lost the most to date: 80 members
from June to June. It was planned.
At the start of the demise in the leasing industry as evidenced
by the Leasing News List, the leadership decided to re-define their
role, their identity, and formed a special “task force.” Perhaps
foreseeing the coming changes in the industry, ELA leadership decided
to look at itself, its role, and the timing could not have been better. As the National Association of Equipment Leasing
did, they planned
their future. The three other
associations reacted to it. Among
the several changes that were made, perhaps the more “controversial” was
raising the minimum dues to $2200, and creating a minimal fee for members
who were active with a company that merger, been purchased, or is no
longer in business. ELA
President Michael Fleming summed it up: “There
are 177 members in the category that currently pays $1,200 in dues -
about 35% of the regular members. They pay 11% of the total dues." http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/ELA_taskforce.htm According
to Michael Henderson, director of ELA membership and marketing, the
June, 2003 breakdown was: Regular—428 Associate---250 Business
Unit---11 International-25 Arranger-23 “In
the dues category (that was adjusted to $2200) we have 140 that did
not renew for 2003 (compared to 57 in 2002),” Henderson added. That’s
$168,000 out of your “gross income.”
To
look at an association from a “body count” appears to be misleading,
especially in
this instance. While this financial loss may indicate a major concern,
but in reality, services have improved, more features have been added,
more news, involvement in key projects such as “Capital Hill” and the
list serve has never been as
active with great leads, communication, and information. The
major leasing corporations appear to be have more attention to their needs
being addressed, and therefore appear more interested than before. The
staff is more responsive; committees appear to functioning, and more members are getting involved.
There even appears an undercurrent to expand into foreign
leasing marketplaces, such as Europe and elsewhere. All the members are
receiving better benefits for the dollar they spend on belonging to
ELA. “The
Equipment Leasing Association exists to promote and serve the general
interests of the equipment leasing and finance industry by providing
programs of benefit to the industry and its members; providing information,
education and communications to the membership and the public;
leading in the resolution of general industry problems, and promoting
high standards of business practices within the industry. “ELA's
most valuable main offerings are: * Business Development Opportunities * Industry Information * Professional Development & Competency * Industry Advocacy * Access to Capital “Most
important, ELA is a strong and healthy trade association because it remains
true to its mission. “For
ELA programs to be of maximum value to the membership, each member company
must impart value through participation and involvement. Michael
Henderson Director,
Membership & Marketing Equipment
Leasing Association 4301
N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 550 Arlington,
VA 22203 703.527.8655;
Fax: 703.527.2649 <http://www.elaonline.com> http://www.elaonline.org/AboutELA/ NAELB The
National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers leadership actually
planned their role earlier than ELA. In May, 2000 they let
go their very popular executive director Cindy Spurdle. http://www.leasingnews.org/whateverhappenedto/sprudle.htm The
membership was livid. The reality
was not her performance. Remind
you, she worked for the United Equipment Leasing Association for
a time being, and it was talked at one time she would be the executive
director ( but she didn’t want to move, many said.) She now
works supporting the executive director of the Eastern Equipment
Leasing Association and as director of the Certified Leasing
Professional Foundation. The
board didn’t like the direction, acquiring assets, setting up an office,
looking like their were re-building a UEAL type organization. Their
goal was to have very low membership dues to attract new members,
to continue to hold meetings at inexpensive hotels, not
promote golf, and have members not only vote from the floor for
directors but to get directly involved in the conferences. A
professional management organization would be more effective, they
decided, and the goal was to keep the costs low. NAELB
has the lowest rate to join. All
brokers can join for $295 a year and
get all the full benefits. There
has always been controversy whether “funders”
should join, and while they may, they don’t have any voting rights
and pay a larger fee to mingle with potential sales sources. Perhaps
the major change is the involvement of ex-UAEL and current UAEL
members, such as the former UAEL membership chairman Ginny
Young serving on the conference
committee or CLP champion Bob Teichman, who currently is on the UAEL
board, serving on the same committee. In
Leasing New’s 2002 survey, we found many belonging to two leasing associations. You will see from the email that follows part
1 that many belong
to three leasing associations, plus most funders belong to at least four. For years, active UAEL directors were also
active directors or committee
chairman for ELA. “A
few years ago we went to a January 1 billing system for our membership,
“explains NAELB President Bob Bell as the reason for the June to June membership
drop. “In
an effort to make membership even more affordable (I don't know how
you can
get much more affordable than $295.00 a year) we adopted a mid year membership
of $150.00. This means anyone wishing to join can get all of our
benefits ($7.95 for overnight letters with no weight limit, $2.00 credit
reports, .039 per minute long distance, $1.00 BusinessCreditUSA reports,
access to the online leasing forum, legal support, and many more)
for this reduced priced. “The
credit reports for $2.00 is an NAELB exclusive and is formatted expressly
for leasing professionals. It contains a "quick look" summary,
scoring model, 24 months of inquiries, online directory, and much
more relevant information. All for two bucks! “If
anyone wishes to join our merry band of men and women they can e-mail Tammy
Marsh at tammyh@clemonsmgmt.com. We hope to have 500 by the end of
the year. “Associates
-13 Brokers
-380 Funders
-44 Total
-437 members” “I
thought I would give you a heads up on the up coming NAELB Summer Board
of Directors meeting," Bob Bell e-mailed recently " Every
year we meet for a weekend in the summer at the facility where we will
be holding our next Annual Conference.
The 2004 conference will be at the Alexis Park Hotel in Las Vegas
April 29-May 1. This is an all suite hotel and we have negotiated very
reasonable rates. The decision to have it in Las Vegas reflects how
universal our membership has become, as we now have as many West Coast
members as we do in the Southeast. “Here
are a few examples based on the survey: .
69% of our member companies have been in business over 5 years. The
geographic breakdown goes like this: Northeast
18%, Southeast
26%, Midwest
20%, Southwest
12%, West
Coast 24%. 86%
use the internet daily. 59%
responded that they were highly or moderately involved in financial
package transactions. “This
is certainly not the ‘old NAELB’. “This
year we've added an extra day (in Las Vegas) to allow Cal Clemons, owner
of our management
company, to give us the benefit of his three decades of Association
Management expertise by conducting a strategic planning session.
This was the idea of our former President Gerry Egan and was scheduled
last fall. What a concept, planning in advance for a strategic
planning session! After Cal's intensive 8 hour interactive session,
the Board will examine in detail the 56 pages gleaned from the survey
and make long range plans based
on our member's responses. “We
will be announcing shortly our Fall Regional Meetings. After the incredible
success last year with our meeting in Marina del Rey with over
120 attendees, we have decided to have two this year. The West Coast
Regional will be in Irvine on September 19-20 and Atlanta on November
7-8.” September
19,2003 Irvine,
California Regional
Conference November
7-8, 2003 College
Park, Georgia Regional
Conference Agenda
and more information available at: http://two.leasingnews.org/temporary/NAELB%20flyer%202003.pdf Certainly,
NAELB is no longer your grandmother’s automobile. They plan
ahead. Tomorrow: The three leasing
association who “reacted.”
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