It would seem that the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times and experience upheaval and trouble in your life," has come to fruition at Fleet Maintenance Magazine.
This past July, Fleet Maintenance's editor, Mark O'Connell, announced that he was stepping down to pursue new opportunities as an alternative fuels consultant, helping fleets transition to cleaner, affordable, sustainable fuels. He had served as editor for nine years, and did a fine job.
While we are sorry to see him go, we all wish him well.
Mark's leaving Fleet Maintenance left us with the challenge of finding an able replacement that fully appreciates our editorial mission of helping you keep your fleet on the road with minimal loss of operating time. My end goal was to put the magazine in the hands of an editor that will drive us to a higher level of editorial excellence. This is always a lofty goal, but with the belief that the right people must be in your organization, the mission is easier to accomplish. And accomplish it, we did!
I am happy to report that after a long search, we found an accomplished editor: David A. Kolman. He is a creative hands-on professional with a unique and valuable combination of diverse experience in the transportation and communications industries.
His background includes truck trade journalism, broadcasting, fleet and maintenance operations, long-haul trucking and truck owning and operating.
An award-winning business journalist, David is an involved member of the transportation industry, actively participating in a number of trade associations. He helped found the Used Truck Association and the Truck Writers of North America.
He has served on selection committees for national trucking industry award and honor programs, and has had some unique experiences. Ask him about helping deliver the Capital Christmas tree to Washington, DC, introducing Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glanville to the trucking industry and appearing on Late Night with David Letterman as a representative of the trucking industry.
For his work promoting traffic safety, David was commissioned an Honorary Colonel on the staff of the Governor of Kentucky.
He has kept his commercial driver's license and U.S. DOT medical card current and continues to occasionally trailer-truck to better keep his fingers on the pulse of the transportation industry.
To be sure, David knows vehicles and maintenance. We are confident he will be able to successfully fill the big shoes that Mark leaves behind.Let me assure you that our mission remains unchanged: To provide the best practices for maintenance management.
Through our publication and our website - www.fleetmag.com - we continue to serve as the sustaining resource for maintenance managers, providing you with the vital information you need to more effectively perform your roles in purchasing and maintaining a safe, efficient and profitable fleet.