ELA Holds Firm on Conference Cancellation Policy Fleming to Retire by Christopher Menkin From a NorVergence lessee ( who reads Leasing News and obviously conveys back to their list serve or blogs, as this is the source: ) “Read Friday's leasingnews.org. It seems that many Equipment Leasing Association members were no shows for the latest ELA conference in Boca and are mad because they can't get a refund for the attendence fee. I laughed out loud at the thought of a bunch of leasing companies, who live and die by "hell or high water" clauses kicking and screaming about their own ‘hell andhigh water' problem. “It's not ELA's fault they couldn't fly,drive,swim to the conference. It's not the hotel's fault. Guess they should look at that holder in due course thing and look to God for retribution. “When one lives by ‘hell and high water' one should live by ‘hell and high water', so quit whining...(it's similar to the) rip off of many thousands like their ‘customers' routinely experience.” Karen Layman Dynamic Journeys Katy TX (Where we don't get excited about a little rain) From Boca Raton ELA Registration Form “Individuals who cancel on or before September 19, 2005, are entitled to a full refund. Cancellations for any reason received after that date will be subject to a $100 service fee per registrant. Under no circumstances will refunds of any kind be made for cancellations made after October 13, 2005. Telephone cancellations must be followed up by a letter or email indicating the ELA staff member who accepted the cancellation. The letter or email must be received by November 14, 2005, in order to receive a refund. All cancellation and refunds policies apply to both convention attendees and their spouse/companions.” Registration fees were $1,550 with ELA member discount. In an open letter on the Equipment Leasing Association Web Site, and also reported in ELTnews, Joseph C. Lane,Former ELA Chairman,Current Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation Chairman, not only defending the policy of not returning registration fees, but also "announced,"the retirement of ELA president Mike Flemming: "Finally, while we tried everything possible to postpone and forestall your retirement, even the forces of Nature appear to be incapable of taking you off schedule. We all wish you the very best, and as said so many times in so many ways during this, your last convention as President of the ELA, you have been the personification of our industry in a way that makes us all proud. Thank you." Here is the full letter: http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Rising%20to%20the%20Challenge.pdf ELA President Mike Fleming open letter on the web site thanked the staff and hotel and others for their hard work at the conference, concluding: "Over the years, we have done countless surveys among members to rank the value propositions of the convention, and the "opportunity for networking" continues to be at the top of every list. This year, I heard nearly unanimous consent among those who attended that the opportunity for networking, discussion, getting to know each other better, and establishing some common platform for future business was perhaps better than any convention in our history... “The stories from the convention will grow and grow. Was it easy for people? No! Within three years we will all have been in waders and wearing life jackets and the camaraderie stories will be wonderful. “Hurricane Wilma was a serious event and left a large part of South Florida in bad shape, much worse than expected. All of the leaders of ELA wish that the convention that was planned could have been delivered as planned, but nature is powerful. You cannot apologize for nature; you must be in awe of it. One former chairman of ELA stood outside for much of the storm just to marvel at its speed and power. He observed that he "...now knows he hasn't seen everything, it was amazing." Here is the full letter: http://leasingnews.org/PDF/44th%20Annual%20ELA%20Conv.pdf Current and past ELA Board members came to the rescue of the conference, too, such as our good friend Debbie Monosson ( who is speaking as an individual and is specifically not a member of the current ELA board of directors:) “As one of the attendees let me respond to all the negativity. Yes, it was my choice to attend, I too went on the NOAA maps and made the choice to go. Was it the right decision? Yes and No. No..only because the lack of electricity extended beyond the hotel and became an issue flying out on Wednesday, I was lucky to find someone with a full tank of gas to drive us to Orlando and was home in Boston by 6:00 Pm. Yes, because I really got to know many ELA members who I have only conversed with in cocktail style banter in the past 10 years. “Those of us who were ‘stuck' there secretly had an enjoyable time and though I don't care for the wording "bonding" there was definately some going on between all of us. We came..we made the most of it and I didn't hear anyone complain. The hotel staff did a phenomenal job. There was electricity in the main lobby, the session rooms and the dining hall. The lack of a TV was not something that was high on my list of can't live without. It was almost a relief to not have to hear all the bad news going on in the world for 3 days. “ Most of us had hot water, there may have been one wing that did not. Would I want to sit through a Category 3 again? Probably not..but I made many new relationships and friendships at this convention then I ever have in the past. “...and Kit...why aren't those people who had such strong sentiments about this put there names where their mouths are? I still don't get it. “ Deborah J. Monosson (As quoted directly in Friday's story, including a statement on why one person did not want to give their name, many are afraid of retribution. Two courageous people, Chris Enbom and Mark Kitaeff, did want their name used and were not afraid to voice their opinion. As important, Leasing News knew who sent the e-mails, even though we did not print their name. We confirmed they were members of ELA, except for one, where we made an exception as the person is very active in two other leasing associations and very well-known to us. He didn't want to use his name, such as the following from someone else known to us: ) “Please pardon my anonimity. I attended the ELA confernece in Boca Raton. Let me first state that if there were 200 people in attendance, I would be shocked. When I checked in on Sunday at 3:30 PM, the attendee from the ELA told me quietly that only around 150 peole had registered at that point. So to state more than 200 people attended is an outright lie. “ The conference was a black eye for not only Michael Fleming but also the entire ELA Board who collectively allowed this conference to continue. I was foolish enough to attend this conference but to state that others should be expected to throw thier lives in harms way when the governor of the state declared a state of emergency is just plain irresponsible. “ The fact remains that the ELA has remained silent just as they did throughout the convention. Not once did anyone from the ELA let anyone know via an announcement that there would be issues related to leaving town on Wednesday. Would it have been so difficult to at least tell some of us what to expect? I stayed in town much later than most because I could not get a flight out nor get ride north. If someone had just told me to be aware of the potential problem, it would have been easier for me. The ELA as a whole has a responsibility not only to represent the leasing industry as a lobby group but also to safeguard the best interests of its membership and to put it plainly....they should care if we live or die. “I have no axe to grind with the association as I have been a member for over 15 years. But this entire event should have been cancelled. They made a mistake. That is acceptable. But now they need to own up and make it right for all those who not only attended but also those who did not (the wise ones).” A 15 year ELA Member
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