
Automotive Fleet magazine and the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) are proud to announce the 2022 nominees for the Fleet Hall of Fame.
These nominees all have over 10 years of industry experience and through the years have made an indelible mark within the fleet management industry. Honorees inducted into the Hall of Fame will be announced at the 2022 AFLA conference, which will be hosted October 10-13 in Tucson, Arizona. Inductions into the Hall of Fame happen once a year. Entering the Hall of Fame recognizes industry leaders and pioneers who have contributed significantly to the commercial fleet management profession. Inductees are selected by their peers through an online ballot available on Automotive-Fleet.com.
The Fleet Hall of Fame is sponsored by AFLA.
You may vote for the nominees by clicking this link. It also appears at the end of the article.
In no particular order, the nominees are:
Janice Sutton
- FMC; USFL; Fleet Management Weekly
- Years in fleet: 35+
For more than 35 years, she has contributed to the growth and betterment of the fleet industry. After starting her career at Hertz, Sutton held customer-facing positions at Wheels and US Fleet Leasing. She earned a reputation within those respective businesses for her accomplishments and within the industry for her teams’ customer excellence.
Since 2008 when she started publishing Fleet Management Weekly, Sutton has been a constant resource for fleet professionals. As a writer, editor, publisher, and business manager, she continues to inform and promote fleet through active involvement with NAFA, AFLA, and WIFM. As a generous, experienced, and successful mentor, Sutton has helped countless fleet professionals build and succeed in their own careers.
Dave Durepo
- President of Superior Chevrolet (Retired)
- Years in fleet: 47
Chuck Parker
- President, National Car Rental; Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR); Automotive Information Network; AutomotiveDigest.com
- Years in fleet: 40
In 1998, he created the first digital fleet publishing company – the Automotive Information Network, published the web magazine AutomotiveDigest.com, and distributed nine market segment e-newsletters. Parker has held significant positions in all the major fleet segments – President of National Car Rental, fleet leasing, truck leasing, and fleet publishing. Parker held senior executive management positions at Avis Leasing, National Car Rental, Rollins Auto Leasing, The LeMans Group, Colonial National Bank, and founded two automotive systems and marketing companies.
Starting in 1998, Parker served nine years as publisher of automotive print magazines at Bobit Publishing and held the role of director of electronic media.
Tom Coffey
- Senior vice president, fleet sales & consulting, Merchants Fleet; Donlen; GE Capital
- Years in fleet: 38
Throughout his career, Coffey has managed portfolios exceeding a billion dollars in assets for fleet clients across numerous industries, including utility, construction, engineering, and government. He has earned the business of hundreds of clients; represented hundreds of thousands of organic new business units; delivered over a billion dollars in savings to clients; led regional and national sales teams throughout North America; and facilitated dozens of innovative new business offerings to the fleet industry.
Prior to Merchants Fleet, Coffey served as the senior vice president of sales for Donlen for nearly a decade. He was also the senior vice president of financial solutions for GE Capital, leading business development and client services, as well as the company’s North American efforts in truck fleet services. Coffey also has extensive national sales experience, having held numerous regional fleet sales management positions in Atlanta, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh.
Coffey’s expertise is widely recognized by his peers throughout the industry, as is his commitment to building lasting client relationships. As a passionate advocate for innovation in fleet, Coffey continues to drive change by challenging people to think differently about the fleet industry’s role in making our nation more efficient, safe, and sustainable. Under his leadership, Merchants is driving fleet electrification throughout North America, including reservations of nearly 40,000 electric vehicles and $2.5 billion committed toward converting its mobility fleet to 50% electric by 2025, and 50% of its clients’ fleets electric by 2030.
Coffey is a valued and respected member of the fleet community, and Merchants Fleet is extremely proud to have someone of his tenure on the team.
Sherry Calkins
- Vice president, connected car & platform services, Geotab
- Years in fleet: 26
Tina Kourakos
- National commercial account manager, Subaru of America; Sanofi; Cigna
- Years in fleet: 30
Patrick (Pat) O'Connor
- NAFA
- Years in fleet: 20+
Larry Palmer
- National Car Rental; Wheels Inc.
- Years in fleet: 32
Sal Giacchi, CAFM, CFM (Deceased)
- GAF; Lorillard; Giacchi & Violi Transport LTD.
- Years in fleet: 30+

In 1971, Sal Giacchi became assistant fleet administrator with GAF. In 1974, he was selected to head the used-car operation and used-car marketing network. In 1981, he moved to Lorillard Tobacco. He was named AF Fleet Manager of the Year in 1996 and previously served as president for AFLA and NAFA. In 2001, he joined Anthony L. Violi Sr. to form Giacchi & Violi Transport Ltd.
Bob Berke (Deceased)
- NAFA
- Years in fleet: 30
Kathy Croze
- Hughes Aircraft Co.; Computer Sciences Corp.; The CEI Group
- Years in fleet: 30+
Paul Lauria
- Ernst & Young; MAXIMUS; Mercury Associates, Inc.
- Years in fleet: 35+
Russ Cass
- The Hawk Group; Piemonte National Fleet
- Years in fleet: 46
Jim Piccoli
- Chapman Auto Group
- Years in fleet: 40+
Congratulations to all the nominees!
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