As I'm sure most of you are aware, we're moving into Government Fleet's awards season. If you're new here, I'll quickly fill you in – each year, Government Fleet opens submissions for fleets, and fleet leaders who have overcome challenges, enacted change, and proven resilience with operations. 

Submissions can go into these categories: Leading Fleets, Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year, Hall of Fame, Legendary Lifetime Achievement Award, and Police Fleet Innovators. A lot goes into each award, and for those that do decide to throw their hat in the ring, for whatever category, it can be a time commitment.

 We pose multiple questions so that our judges (the majority being past winners themselves) can rank how well an operation or fleet leader has done. 

And while it’s an exciting time being at the Honors Celebration held at the Government Fleet Expo & Conference, I also love being able to see fleets move up through the ranks or a fleet manager finally take home that Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year trophy. It’s a testament to all the work that goes into being a part of this industry and seeing your operation, and the people within it, succeed. 

As we were prepping for the awards to open, I started thinking that not only can they be an excellent way to achieve recognition and show how far you’ve come, but the awards can also be used as a gauge to see how far you’ve come. 

And maybe some of you already do this by planning out your year and setting a goal to be at certain mile markers by the time submissions open. Or maybe you’re hoping two awards seasons from now you’ll have x, y, and z accomplished. Whatever it is, I challenge all of you to set those goals and see how different the operation, and even yourself, appears when that time rolls around. 

One thing I’m excited about for this year’s GFX is that we’ll be holding a session with past Leading Fleets winners so that those who submitted this year will get a chance to talk with the judges and find ways to improve. 

I think it’ll be a great time to evaluate your role and what your operation currently looks like. I’m rooting for you all, and I hope that these awards can become something to strive toward and be proud of when you see those goals met. 

And hey, celebrating with your team at GFX isn’t a bad way to celebrate a job well done either. Keep up the great work fleets; there are great things ahead.