PRINCETON, N.J. – National Association of Fleet Administrators, Inc.,(NAFA) members and affiliates have overwhelmingly endorsed a recommendation that the association adopt the new “d/b/a name” of NAFA Fleet Management Association. The NAFA Board of Trustees made the recommendation earlier this month after deciding against changing the incorporated name of the association.

“Several factors led to the trustees’ recommendation,” noted NAFA President Gayle Pratt. “First, it became apparent after due diligence that it was unlikely we would obtain a trademark on the desired new name because it was not unique. Plus, it was also clear the NAFA name has very strong brand recognition and value to our stakeholders and potential members.”

As a result of the vote, there will not be a change in the legal name under which the association is incorporated. Instead, the association will adopt NAFA Fleet Management Association as the new name under which it will do business. As such, the public name and all communications will simply refer to the association as NAFA Fleet Management Association or just NAFA, without reference to the words for which those letters stand.

“In essence, we are adopting NAFA as a name, rather than an acronym,” said NAFA Executive Director Phillip Russo, CAE. “For example, just as the name AT&T stands by itself and is no longer an acronym for the American Telephone & Telegraph Company, the word NAFA will now stand by itself.”

There were 874 votes cast in the two-week online poll, with 80 percent in favor of the recommendation. The poll received a 26.5-percent response rate.

In a related question in the poll, voters also chose a new tagline for the association. A tagline is a short, memorable phrase that embodies the organization and its image. Voters selected “Fleet Solutions for Fleet Professionals” as the new tagline. Voters also selected a new logo, to be unveiled later this year.

“We are working with the Board of Trustees to finalize action plans for incorporating the new name, logo, and tagline into everything the association does,” said Patsy Brownson, CAFM, chair of the branding oversight committee. “We plan to follow the example of Cingular and AT&T and slowly phase out one name and logo and phase in the other.”