CHICAGO - Scott Okun, national director of sales and marketing for Auto Driveaway, passed away on Sunday, May 1, 2011. He was 51. He was born on July 23, 1959. Okun worked at Auto Driveaway in this position for the past two-and-a-half years. He is survived by his wife Jennifer and two children, McKenzie, 8, and Jack, 5.

At Auto Driveaway, company President and CEO Rodney Ruth spoke highly of Okun’s time with the company.

“Scott was a tireless worker and forever trying to ‘make the sale.’ He combined humor with business and always tried to figure ‘how we could’ instead of ‘why we couldn’t.’ Scott revived the sales efforts at Auto Driveaway. He tapped new markets and renewed old relationships that Auto Driveaway had from years past. Scott was an active dad and was involved with all of his kids’ school activities as well as in the community he lived in. Although Scott was not in the fleet community for long, he made an impact with his involvement and willingness to help. He will be missed by our Auto Driveaway Family.  We are thankful for the time he was with us and hope to build on the foundations he created.”

Okun also participated in fleet industry associations. He was involved with the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA) on its communications committee.

“On behalf of the Automotive Fleet and Leasing Association (AFLA) our condolences go out to Scott’s family and to Auto Driveaway,” said Lori Rasmussen, president of Professional Automotive Relocation Service (PARS) and president of AFLA. “Scott has been very instrumental within our organization and has played a big part in our association committees. We appreciate the time, commitment, and dedication that he put into our organization over the past few years. His contribution to the AFLA has been influential, and he will be greatly missed.”

Okun received his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Southern Illinois University in 1981. Okun began working with fleets in 2003 as general manager of I-Pass Operations for the Illinois Tollway. Okun’s other work experience included positions as national account manager and product manager for companies Arthur Anderson and GC Services.

He was the recipient of a number of awards during his career. He received the 2005 IBTTA Toll Excellence Award – I-Pass and the 2005 National Council of Public Private Partnerships Award. In his community, he received the 2008 Village of Bloomingdale Character Counts Award.

A memorial service for Okun will be held at the following address on Thursday, May 5.

Salerno’s Funeral Home
Rosedale Chapels
450 W. Lake Street
Roselle, IL 60172
Thursday, May 5
Visitation from 3-9 pm
Service at 7:30 pm

By Greg Basich