Public Fleet Managers Association (PFMA)
The idea behind the Public Fleet Managers Association, (which was initially called Pacific Northwest Public Fleet Managers Association), was a professional development idea started in 1993 by Pete Scarafiotti, who was then the Assistant Fleet Manager for Pierce County.
Scariofiotti’s idea was to provide networking, assistance and training to fleet managers. Sharing the knowledge from all members in order to obtain the highest possible professional results.
Public fleet managers, all have the same mission:
- Provide excellent service to our customers,
- Know our costs,
- Be competitive,
- Recognize and educate the amazing staff that helps us to manage the public fleets of our agencies.
Membership
The Public Fleet Managers Association currently has approximately 100 member organizations representing a cross section of all public fleets (State, County, City, Schools, Universities, Colleges, Transit Agencies, Public Utilities, Fire Districts, Police/Sheriff Departments, Ports, Naval Stations, the British Columbia Provinces, Federal Agencies and Tribal Fleet Departments) throughout Washington, Oregon, Canada, California, Alaska and agencies through out the US.
Board of Officers
The current Board of Officers are:
President - Kelly Kussman, City of Issaquah, WA
Vice-President - Kerry Jones, City of Yakima, WA
Secretary - Timmi Winther, City of Vancouver, WA.
Treasurer - Jason Alvord, Yakima County, WA.
Training Officer - Dan Zenger, City of Vancouver, WA.
Information Officer - Brent Riffle, Pierce Transit, Tacoma, WA
This association continues to thrive and expand upon the legacy that has been evolving since those humble beginnings in 1993. Our officers and members take great pride in networking, knowledge sharing and the development of fleet managers, technicians and parts professionals. The power of this association is its members, their knowledge and the willingness to assist others.
Networking, Information Sharing and Training
Our officers are committed to promote networking, professional assistance and training to fleet managers, technicians and parts professionals. Besides general meetings (6 meetings per year), two special meetings are held twice a year.
One is for parts professionals, counter staff and buyers, where they can share their experiences in products, efficiencies and vendor relationships. The other special meeting is for fleet shop front line supervisors and technicians to discuss supervision and equipment repair issues. Both special meetings have provided valuable peer networking opportunities and have help saved thousands from lessons learned.
Sharing Member Knowledge
One of the largest benefits to our members is their ability to ask questions and obtain many responses from the membership. It works like this: a member may be working on a project such as ASE certification and pay, police car failures, salaries for technicians, parts personnel job descriptions, tool box allowances, computer software programs or any number of projects.
The member will send the question to the information officer, who will forward the question out to all members. Members will respond to the question (providing information to the requester, who will use this information to provide his/her organization with a professional recommendation). We ask the person who requested and received the information to then provide a summary report back to the organization to be used by someone else dealing with the same issue.
Training
The training Officer seeks input from our members on their needs, searches for appropriate classes, instructors, a host agency and coordinates and announces a training event. We explore partnerships and new training corridors that can provide new and expanded training that will be of benefit to our members and their needs.
Networking
The collective knowledge within the association is the base of why we exist. It’s nice to know that no matter how busy we are that your peers will take the time to help, and that the information you are provided will continue to help others.
Fleet professionals all have the same mission: Provide excellent service to our customers, ensure that their operations are cost effective, efficient and utilize best practices. We also recognize that the people who help run the fleet management department, could very well be the next leaders of our agencies and need to be developed to provide for their success as well.
The Public Fleet Managers Association can be reached through our web site,