Leasing News

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United Association of Equipment Leasing (UAEL) Spring Education Conference at Rancho Mirage, California May 1-4.

The overall mood was upbeat and positive from the conversations I had, and a consensus emerged that the worst was over and there were clear micro-economic indicators and material evidence of business beginning to improve…seems everyone noticed the emergence of a recovery beginning early Quarter ’02.

The conference was an unequivocal success, if solely measured by being able to bring something away that will give you an edge in a future situation.

The spring UAEL education conference was billed as SURVIVAL. Indeed, it was a recurrent theme throughout the event and one on everyone’s lips. Personally, I think it a bit lugubrious. While it’s been a tumultuous three years since the great stock market decline of April ’00, business in America did not stop. In fact, we have just come off the 6^th consecutive quarter of economic growth. And it was precisely during this time, I started my new company, literally from the ground up, and faced many of the same hurdles and challenges that distinguished the business climate of this era. And, against, at times, what seemed like insurmountable odds, have generally prospered and earned a small measure of success.

I think we just had it so good, for so long…a virtual decade of sustained growth where any fool (and many did…including a few ex-Pres. of funders) could start a leasing company and be modestly successful…however, the moment a market correction occurred, the sclerotic and intransigent who, simply, would not adapt to the new realities fell flat on their face…and there were many of these. So in a sense, indeed, the conference was populated by survivors.

But, they are being too modest. They are survivors in the same sense Apple and IBM were survivors in the 90’s…faced with their own market upheaval, there came the necessity for retrenchment and a reassessment of their overall business plan. It’s not a fluke when companies emerge intact and prosperous from acute paradigm shifts in their markets.

Those companies were successful for the same reason many of the grizzled old veterans out in Rancho Mirage were. On both sides of the card, (the funders and the originators), the personalities running these organizations are very smart business people. Each faced with their own situation, confronted the economic tumult in their own way and made decisions unique to their own business, yet while everybody else was losing their head (and shirt), they kept theirs and continued to prosper and “survive” and showed up in Ranch Mirage, in some situations, I sensed, just plum glad to be there with a shirt on their back!

At one stage, a poll was taken, by a show of hands, to demonstrate the average tenure of the attendees. It was no surprise to see 90 % of those in attendance have been in the business over 10 years and it was my guess, judging by the number of hands still up, that 50% of the attendees had been in the business over 20 years…and a great deal of them over 25 years….some even 30 and 40 years!

Another quality not lost on me, was the abundance of the distinctive colored ribbons on many of the name tags, indicating the individual was a CLP graduate. It is indeed remarkable that so many of the attendees, having been in the business for so long and many having forgotten more about leasing than most of the alphabet soup of “leasing pups” out there (especially. in my back yard), will ever know, took the additional step of certifying to all the world, that they are masters of their game, and more remarkable yet, they still felt compelled to attend an “educational” conference.

While perhaps remarkable, it is definitely not surprising, as that is what winners do. They train!…harder, longer and more intensely than their competition. And the people in attendance clearly had the countenance of a “top gun”…while there was plenty of time allotted for golf and cocktail hours and generally catching up with old friends (much of this was earlier in the week), it was all business from Thursday on. These folk were there, because they earned it….and had enough sense to realize they better come away with something if they plan on being around for next year’s spring conference.

But judging by who was not in attendance, a case can be made that those hardened old grizzled vets, indeed, were survivors of the undeniable shake-out, that did occur in our industry. Many players were conspicuous by their absence. Without getting specific, the whole Southern California contingent of the broker community were nowhere to be seen. Many of the fierce competitors of the 90’s were not in attendance and I personally am aware that many of these shops have atrophied to the point where they are hollow shells of their former selves.

Many of my contemporaries have expressed a forlorn, woeful sense of their business outlook…for the record, one that I don’t share. This I believe, is a material difference between the shops and lenders represented at the conference and those that elected to stay home and commiserate with one another about their mutual doom and gloom. There was a sense of “ok folks, let’s sit down and figure this out and share data…let my misfortune not be yours”. Nowhere was there a sense of foreboding…it was all pre-emptive and pro-active, positive and upbeat.

This was never more prevalent than in the presentation on “State Tax Issues” by two very smart, steely-eyed leasing ladies, Bette Kerhoulas and Amy Nicholas of Pacifica Capital out of Irvine, Ca. This was a “must see” event. Several attendees were in the midst of dealing with various state sales tax issues. And as Bette has a virtual honorary PhD in this (having had to deal with several aggressive states wanting, like Oliver Twist, “some more!”), she was very gracious in “giving up the goods” to help out a fellow member. If you’re discounting deals and you missed this, you better have squeaky clean records or a good tax attorney.

These types of educational presentations are what a well-organized conference can yield as true benefits to the attendees. Each attendee can glean something different from the myriad of workshops available based on a personal assessment of their own deficiencies, many that they are unaware of and that don’t become realized, until you hear from others in a setting such as an educational conference. It’s easy to shunt along, myopically, arrogantly thinking, you have all the answers and there is nothing you can learn at a function such as this.

There was a comfortable, almost cozy or intimate, attendance of close to 200 (in addition to spouses)…less than originally hoped for, but a lot better than expected as recently as 4 weeks ago. This was good for the attendees, as one didn’t remain anonymous or get lost in the herd. Although, it did have the draw back of keeping one under the spotlight, never more amply demonstrated as in the lunch session moderated by Brian “the brain” Bjella of US Bancorp/Manifest and featuring Terey Jennings of Financial Pacific et al. (I told Brad Petersen I wouldn’t dodge this bullet…so here you go, Brad!).

We’re all thoroughly engaged in a very interesting presentation by the aforementioned, on how successful companies are dealing with today’s economic climate. I’m sitting at a table next to Ignacio and Mike Sanchez of TriStar Capital out of Santa Ana, Ca, when the latter excuses himself during the middle of lunch and walks out (which turned a few eyes). However, not to be outdone by this conspicuous exit, Mike re-emerges 15 minutes later with his arms full of wine and two of the biggest schooners of beer I have seen this side of the Yard house…each, I swear, was as big as my forearm. I’m looking at Brian’s eyes and the whole room for that matter, which are glued on Mike, as he navigates the exterior of the room, trying not to spill any of his liquid booty on the assembled guests.

The closer he gets to my location, the more I try and shrink under the table as it dawns on me, without asking me, he took it upon himself and he was “nice enough”, to buy me and Iggy a beer. I’m told it’s never been done before…a session being interrupted by a beer run! And sure enough, Mikey is completely oblivious to the whole situation. He just sits down waiting for the accolade and gives me that “little brother” look…of “what?!…something wrong?! I felt 3 inches tall. What could you do?!…so I just sat there trying to look engaged and anonymous with a 15 inch schooner of Nevada ale in front of me…of course I drank it, ya dummy!…not a scandal, but I could’ve done without it.

These two characters nailed me in the silent auction, as well. After it was over, TriStar ended with half the prizes, sneaking right behind me, bidding one dollar more than me on some prizes. There was a minimum bid required on other items, but I elected to forego some of these, even though they were items I wanted. I thought the minimum was too high. Not to be out done here, Ignacio goes and bids “well below” the minimum and sure enough wins the prize. Just another testament to the fact you can always learn something at an “education conference” and most definitely off the cheeky, younger crowd.

This wasn’t one those boring detached conferences where participants were loathe to be there and the panelists and moderators clearly enjoyed the sound of their own voice. There was an engaged repartee between the two sides and vigorous Q & A throughout, with the audience genuinely anxious to emerge with any tidbit or morsel of knowledge or information, that may give them a competitive edge, whether on defense (e.g,, tax audits), or offense (marketing strategies).

There were many good and informative sessions throughout the day. My only small complaint, is that many ran concurrent, thus you were forced to miss some that you may have wanted to attend. Bob Rodi kept us entertained with his frequent questions and jocular repartee with the moderators….and had the audience in laughter with some witty remarks at the Keynote Speaker’s lunch, a presentation by a comedic self-help physician specializing in putting the emphasis on the self for good, clean, stress free living as a way to promote long healthy lives…in a nutshell, watch your diet (reduce fats), exercise, keep stress to a minimum, (and you may drink a little…which is good news for this crowd!)…laugh a lot and generally keep everything in balance…nothing radical, but his delivery is humor and he has the audience in tears and it’s good to be reminded of this common sense from time to time.

I remember seeing Paul Menzel (Senior Vice President and General Manager of Santa Barbara Bank and Trust) tearing up the dance floor in San Diego and was anxious to see the “Dapper Don” of Santa Barbara “at work” again. But alas, the band got stuck in a nightmare traffic situation …a couple of jack-knifed T/T rigs on the 10, or something…and so we were stuck with just the dinner and not the dance on Saturday night and thus, were deprived of seeing Senor Menzel, who always looks like he just emerged from the pages of Gentleman’s Quarterly, rip it up…you always look good, Paul!

However, this gave us a chance to chat with many of the personalities in the business, many frequently heard of in these pages….the likes of Bill Grohe, Bob Teichman, Dwight Galloway, Steve Geller, Larry La Chance, Bruce Kropschot, Charlie Litt…et al. I managed to finally meet and speak to a lot of good people heretofore, I’ve only read about…too many to mention here, but all gentlemen and ladies to a fault.

The hotel, food, weather, location, company, accommodations, Keynote speaker all partnered in a successful production.

Mark

Mr. McQuitty is a principal in Preferred Leasing/CapitalWerks. He

wrote a three-piece article on "Whatever Happened to Republic

Leasing of Anaheim"

http://www.leasingnews.org/articles.doc/newsletterMcQuitty.htm

Here is his biography when he served as Top Gun Sales Manager

at the UAEL San Diego Conference.

http://www.leasingnews.org/PDFFiles/Mark's_BIO.pdf

[Headlines]

Four recruiters in leasing; 75 years leasing industry and recruiting expertise in one office! The Blass Group, Inc. has appointed Fred St. Laurent as a Managing Director of Recruiting in their Financial Services Group.

"I am delighted to have Fred join The Blass Group's recruiting team. With his broad base of experience and prior achievements recruiting in the equipment finance industry, we look for Fred to play an integral role in the continued growth and success of our firm," stated Ben Sillins, the Senior Managing Director of the firm.

Fred St. Laurent is a seasoned marketing professional with a real understanding of the Financial Services Industry. He has been a member of ELA, UAEL and NAELB, an active member of the Leasing News Advisory Board, a participant in many forums concerning ethics related issues, and has published articles and spoken publicly about his views concerning topics related to the future of the industry. He began his recruiting career training in the trenches as a Project Coordinator with Management Recruiters International, learning from thousands of financial professionals before being promoted to a Senior National Recruiter.

Fred will be instrumental in the implementation of The Blass Group's strategy to be the industry leader in providing performance recruiting services. "The Blass Group's management and employees are clearly exceptional. Our value proposition to the industry is having the largest number of recruiters with the greatest amount of domain expertise in the leasing business. Four recruiters with one point of contact. That has to appeal to a busy Sales Manager or Senior Executive while managing through these turbulent times" related St. Laurent

The Blass Group is an executive search firm specializing in Financial Services, Financial Management and the Legal Industries. We target, recruit, and deliver high-impact Executive, Sales, Marketing, and Operations talent for our clients' critical needs. Our mission is to be the preferred and pre-eminent provider of these staffing services in the North American Financial Services, Banking and Commercial Finance markets

.For information about The Blass Group visit www.theblassgroup.com or contact Ben Sillins at 770.668.0000 x20, or Fred St. Laurent at 770.668.0000 x14 or fred@theblassgroup.com.

Comdisco Declares Dividend to Common Stockholders; Recovery To Creditors Will be Approximately 87 Percent; Payment To Be Made to Contingent Distribution Rights Holders

announced that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $73.33 per share on the outstanding shares of its common stock, payable on May 22, 2003 to common stockholders of record on May 12, 2003. Comdisco Holding Company has approximately 4.2 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Mellon Investor Services will serve as paying agent for the dividend to common stockholders. Comdisco intends to treat this distribution for income tax purposes as the first in a series of liquidating distributions in complete liquidation of the company.

Comdisco's First Amended Joint Plan of Reorganization, which became effective on August 12, 2002, requires that holders of Comdisco's contingent distribution rights (OTC:CDCOR) be entitled to share in proceeds realized from the company's assets once certain minimum recovery thresholds are achieved

. Former common shareholders of Comdisco, Inc., the predecessor company to Comdisco Holding Company, Inc., are entitled to exchange their old common shares, which have been cancelled, for contingent distribution rights on a one-for-one basis.

In order to receive contingent distribution rights, former common shareholders must properly complete a transmittal form and surrender their old common shares to Mellon Investors Services LLC. As of April 30, 2003, over 99 percent of the old common shares of Comdisco, Inc. have been exchanged for contingent distribution rights. As required by bankruptcy court order dated March 27, 2003,

Comdisco has established a reserve to hold contingent distribution rights relating to old common shares that have not yet been exchanged and any cash payments made in respect of such reserved contingent distribution rights. Failure to surrender old common shares prior to August 12, 2003 will result in the forfeiture of all rights and interests in respect of such old common shares, including the right to receive contingent distribution rights and participate in any distributions pursuant to the Plan.

The recovery to Comdisco's general unsecured creditors, after giving effect to the dividend announced today, will be approximately 87 percent, calculated as provided in the Plan. As a result, the company also announced today that it will make a cash payment of $.01793 per right on the contingent distribution rights, payable on May 22, 2003 to contingent distribution rights holders of record on May 12, 2003. The aggregate cash payment to a particular holder of record of contingent distribution rights will be rounded to the nearest $0.01 (up or

down), with $0.005 being rounded down. Comdisco Holding Company has approximately 152.8 million contingent distribution rights outstanding. Mellon Investor Services will serve as paying agent for the payment to holders of contingent distribution rights.

The purpose of reorganized Comdisco is to sell, collect or otherwise reduce to money the remaining assets of the corporation in an orderly manner. Rosemont, IL-based Comdisco (www.comdisco.com) provided equipment leasing and technology services to help its customers maximize technology

functionality and predictability, while freeing them from the complexity of managing their technology. Through its former Ventures division, Comdisco provided equipment leasing and other financing and services to venture capital backed companies.

Alexandria, VA –- The American Automotive Leasing Association (AALA) announced the official launch of its new website, www.aalafleet.com. Development of the site marks the beginning of a new communications tool for use by AALA Members, Associate Members, industry suppliers and vendors, and other interested parties. While designed primarily for use by AALA Members, the site will feature links to industry-related sites, as well as to addresses where visitors can see news from around the industry that may be of interest to a broader audience.

Among other things, the website will serve as a central source of general information relating to legislative and regulatory issues that are being tracked by the automotive fleet leasing industry, as well as for periodic updates on industry projects and events.

AALA’s site will offer general association information, a Members page listing the entire AALA membership (including direct links to their respective websites), a current membership directory (members only), a general Industry page highlighting timely issues, a Links page listing other businesses or associations affiliated with or sharing interest in AALA issues, Meetings and Announcements pages, and the all important "Contact Us" page.

The AALA website was developed with the generous assistance and guidance of many of its members. The site is, and will remain a "work in progress." We welcome your input and feedback and encourage you to send all comments, compliments and constructive criticism to peters@aalafleet.com. It is the intent of AALA to present a site that is easy to navigate, imparts useful, timely and pertinent information, and rises to the usual high performance standards consistent with the AALA membership.

Duckhorn Vineyards invites you to a spring Open House at the Estate winery in St. Helena, highlighted by a preview barrel tasting of the limited production 25th Harvest Cuvee. Join us for educational tours, tastings of Duckhorn Vineyards bottlings, a selection of international food pairings, and musical entertainment.

For more information or to make a reservation for this event, please contact us at the Estate House by calling us toll-free at 888.354.8885, or by e-mailing us at welcome@duckhorn.com