Equipment Finance Cares (EF Cares) held its first event of 2023 last week at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, TX. Over 60 equipment finance professionals attended, representing 38 different organizations.

“We were excited to kick off EFC’s first event of 2023,” said Jesse Johnson, President of Consult Disrupt and founder of Equipment Finance Cares. “Wintrust Asset Finance was an amazing host, and we were able to showcase seven charities and foundations affiliated with the equipment finance industry.”

The program offered two industry thought leading panels. Sean McKenna, Great American Insurance Group moderated the “Human Side of Leasing” panel which featured:

• Travis Melchior, LTi Technology Solutions;
• Kareem Jernigan, Leasing Associates;
• Blair Dawson, STRIPES Leadership; and
• Riley Nemeth, Wintrust Commercial Finance.

Johnson moderated the second “Best Practices” panel which featured:

• Kirk Phillips, Wintrust Commercial Finance;
• Jill McKean-Bilby, BOK Financial Equipment Finance;
• Dave Fate, Stonebriar Commercial Finance; and
• Patrick Hoiby, Equify LLC.

Panel discussions touched on topics such as: mental health of employees, DE&I, engaging with the younger work force, work/life balance, current state of equipment finance, women in leasing, succession planning, and maintaining company culture in a hybrid environment.

The foundations that were showcased during the event were: Neuro Assistance Foundation, St Anthony’s Academy- Dallas, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, First Tee Foundation, Love Life Now Foundation, Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, and the Chris Walker Education Fund.

Attendee Quotes:

“The Equipment Finance Cares Texas Event was everything I hoped for. A chance to hear from both experienced leaders and the next generation discuss current events and most importantly-a chance to showcase the charities and programs that members of our EFL family are supporting with their time, talent, and treasure.” – Kirk Phillips

“I enjoyed hearing about the various causes and personal stories.” – Dave Fate

“These regional events are a great addition or alternative to big association-based annual events and much more intimate.” – Bob Rinaldi, Rinaldi Advisory Services

“Perfect use of time to hear updates from leaders discussing challenges and issues they face along with time allocated for networking.” – Eric Bunnell, Arvest Equipment Finance

The next Equipment Finance Cares event will be on Tuesday, June 13 and will be co-hosted by Quality Equipment Finance and NEFA in Baltimore, MD. If you are interested in hosting, being on a panel, or sponsoring a future EFC event please reach out to Johnson: Jesse@equipmentfinancecares.com