Ed Bobit: Riding on Top of the World

When is the last time you really savored something special? A superb gourmet meal, and you didn't have to pick up the check? A quiet, .serene drive during the fall in Michigan or New England? The feel of 450 horses under the hood of a straightaway? The innocence of a little girl smiling with delight? Those arc the kinds of things that we remember with affection and pleasantly stir our memory from time to time.

In youth, we yearn and dream of some wild good fortune that would gift us with a satchel full of money, a red Ferrari, striking out the whole Yankee lineup, a night with a Sharon Stone or Tom Cruise, and living in health to be 100.

In the real world, we grow up learning that the closest we get to our dreams is reading about them. In reality, we share a goal of survival. In the business sphere, goals are often set for us. Our accomplishments usually mean more to us individually than they do to anyone else. Sometimes our satisfaction is held within ourselves, and there is no one understanding to share it with; in a way, we savor our own reward. That's kind of what it's been like for me in 39 years of fleet publishing.

Until last month, that is, during a fateful week in Nashville. At the awards luncheon at the Automotive Fleet and Leasing Association's 25^th anniversary meeting, the members and board presented me with a special plaque commemorating some contribution to a group that means a great deal to me. They even redubbed the award to include my name. It touched me greatly, and I'll always value it.

Two days later, during a closed-door-editorial and sales meeting for our magazine, with all of our troops involved, I was unexpectedly called out to meet with two industry moguls about a unique business opportunity that needed immediate attention. Dressed casually, I was embarrassed to intrude into this huge, darkened ballroom where the National Association of Fleet Administrators were conducting their ceremonial salute to their new officers and board. Seeking a seat in the back and looking for my contact, I was impatient not locating him. My focus was not on the stage and oratory.

Suddenly, I caught a familiar phrase that struck me as uniquely pertaining to me. God! Gordon West, NAFA's outgoing president, was talking about me; he was saying some very nice things. I listened with rapt emotion. The next few minutes are kind of fuzzy.

Never in my fondest dreams had I ever thought that NAFA would bestow the ultimate recognition upon me. I was guided and struggled to reach the stage in a most humbled state. I was fully aware that some 1,600 industry people were giving me a standing ovation, and my head and heart couldn't believe it. Gordon West and Patsy Brownson (the incoming president) presented me with NAFA's Honorary Member Award, congratulated me (I hugged them, I think), and I was moved beyond concept. Aside from a few personal and family happenings, it truly was the finest moment of my life.

Never have I been so moved and honored (and surprised). You'd have to be there and experience it to fully understand my feeling. I can only hope that each of you can get that wonderful "top of the world" feeling at least once in your life as I have.