The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) announced the inaugural winner of its Advocacy Champions Award for 2019 is the Financial Institutions Business Council Steering Committee.

The award recognizes the Business Council Steering Committee (BCSC) that is most engaged with ELFA advocacy initiatives throughout the year. Financial Institutions BCSC Chair Kirk Phillips accepted the Advocacy Champions cup on behalf of the committee at the Community Luncheon during the 58th ELFA Annual Convention in Washington, D.C.

ELFA’s Federal Advocacy team created the Advocacy Champions Award to encourage member participation in the association’s advocacy programming. The award is a competition among the association’s five BCSCs, which represent the various segments of membership: Captive and Vendor Finance, Financial Institutions, Independent Middle Market, Service Providers and Small Ticket.

ELFA members earn points for their respective Business Council when they participate in the association’s annual Capitol Connections fly-in event, when their company hosts an in-district visit with a member of Congress, and when they reach their prior authorization goal for LeasePAC, ELFA’s political action committee.

The Financial Institutions BCSC was recognized for having the most participation in 2019. It had 39 members participate in Capitol Connections, where they met with elected officials and key regulators at select federal agencies and brought important industry issues to the forefront. In addition, one Financial Institutions BCSC member hosted a member of Congress and the committee reached its prior authorization goal for LeasePAC.

“Advocacy is a cornerstone of ELFA’s mission and we are excited to launch the Advocacy Champions program to celebrate members’ contributions to our advocacy program,” said ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta. “The Financial Institution BCSC’s award-winning participation is a testament to their commitment to educating policymakers about the importance of the equipment finance industry. We are excited to see this program grow over time as we encourage even more members to get involved.”