On the final day of the Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA) Annual Meeting held at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation in Amelia Island, Fla., the TRALA Board of Directors unanimously elected Kevin Coughlin, Manager, Contract Maintenance, of Daimler Trucks North America of Portland, Ore,, as the Association’s new Chairman. Coughlin addressed the membership for the first time during the Association’s Awards Dinner held March 18.

Coughlin addressed the membership for the first time during the Association’s Awards Dinner held March 18. “I am honored to accept this gavel and grateful to the Board of Directors for electing me to serve TRALA as its Chairman over the next year,” said Coughlin during his acceptance speech.

Coughlin focused on the legislative issues TRALA will face in the coming months during his speech, “TRALA has already filed at least three amicus briefs with various courts of law this year, including one to the U.S. Supreme Court, to defend our industry from attacks on the Graves Amendment and overreaching state mandates. These briefs that TRALA has filed over the years have largely resulted in “wins” where the judge or panel of judges has agreed with us. Work like this can be costly, but I know that TRALA staff and leadership use great discretion when deciding whether or not to get involved in an issue via courts of law, and I think their record of success proves that and I will continue to support and promote TRALA’s Legal Action Fund while Chairman." 

“On the legislative front, Congress will have to act on the federal highway bill within the next couple of months, and there are also some preliminary discussions about corporate tax reform taking place between members of Congress. These are just some of the areas where TRALA’s government relations team will be promoting and protecting our interests. We are a unique, but important industry, and I think we have a great story to tell on Capitol Hill, in state capitals, and even to our customers. We put the newest, safest, cleanest and most technologically advanced trucks into service. We are a vital part of the U.S. economy,” said Coughlin.

In addition to Coughlin, the TRALA Board of Directors elected the following members as officers:

Doug Clark, CEO for NationaLease, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was elected vice chairman, Steve Lawrence, CEO for Lawrence Leasing,  Red Wing, Minnesota, was elected secretary, Tom Brown, president of Brown NationaLease, Des Moines, Iowa, was elected treasurer Daniel Murphy, President and CEO of Idealease, Inc., North Barrington, Illinois, was elected immediate past chairman.

Also at the annual meeting, the following members were elected by the TRALA membership to the association’s Board of Directors for a new 2015-2018 term:

Tom Bylenga, president of Star Truck Rentals, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan; Brian Hogan, president of Hogan Truck Leasing, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri; Michael McMahon, president and CEO of McMahon Truck Leasing, Charlotte, North Carolina; Larry Price, director of operations of Palmer Leasing Group, Indianapolis, Indiana; and BT Steadman, managing member of Vacuum Truck Rentals, LLC, Richland, Mississippi.

In addition, the following members were appointed to the Board of Directors to serve one-year terms for 2015-2016:

• Dean Vicha, President of NationaLease, Downers Grove, Illinois;

• Terry Dubowick, national account manager of the Mack Leasing System/Volvo Truck Leasing System, Rural Hall, North Carolina;

• Dan Murphy, president & CEO, Idealease, Inc., North Barrington, Illinois;

• Neil Vonnahme, president of PACCAR Leasing Company, Bellevue, Washington;

• Ed Crawford, executive director/sales performance, Isuzu Commercial Truck of North America Inc., Anaheim, California

• Rob Henry, vice president, leasing sales, Navistar, Inc. of Lisle, Illinois; and

• Bob O’Donnell, strategic OEM/Fleet Account Manager of CMA, LLC/Double Coin Tires of Monrovia, California.