The National Equipment Finance Association (NEFA) announced the 2019 National Equipment Finance Summit held in Newport Beach, CA, on March 13 through March 15 set new records for conference registrants and first-time attendees.
For the first time in NEFA’s history, conference registrants exceeded 350 with a total of 358 registered attendees, and more than 80 first-time attendees – comprised of equipment finance professionals and service providers from across the U.S., Canada and as far as Australia.
Attendees enjoyed NEFA’s trademark networking events – providing funding sources, lessors, brokers and service providers multiple opportunities to meet, conduct business and create new relationships.
This year’s National Equipment Finance Summit Co-Chairs, Bob Rinaldi, of Bob Rinaldi, LLC and Paul Fogle, CLFP, of Quality Leasing Co., Inc. assembled a schedule of highly informative and very well-attended educational sessions for conference attendees.
“It was our intent to make sure we would want to attend every session we planned for the attendees. It was humorous to see Paul and I run into each other as we bopped in and out of all the sessions just to see what we were missing! It was a pleasure and an honor to serve as this year’s Co-Chair with Paul. I would like to thank all the presenters and their panels for the excellent and thoughtful jobs they did and their hard work and dedication,” Rinaldi said.
Fogle added, “For myself and several people I spoke with, this was the best NEFA conference we ever attended! The Southern California weather, the facility, the record-breaking attendance, the networking and educational sessions were all top notch. The NEFA staff executed the conference flawlessly, the speakers (and topics originated from NEFA members) were excellent and the attendees were extremely up-beat!”
NEFA’s Executive Director, Michael Toglia said, “This historical event is indicative of the unique value proposition NEFA provides professionals serving the equipment finance industry from all parts of our industry. The event was alive with activity from beginning to end, and the enthusiasm and optimistic outlook of the attendees was spectacular. We thank all our sponsors, exhibitors, session speakers and attendees for their contributions to the success of this conference and look forward to our Annual Funding Symposium Oct. 2 – 4, 2019 in Atlanta, GA.”
NEFA’s President, Marc Keepman, of KLC Financial, Inc. said, “We have just concluded the largest and possibly the most successful NEFA event ever. With over 350 attendees, over 80 first-time attendees and sold out vendor space, the NEFA Finance Summit brought equipment finance people together from all over the U.S, Canada and even Australia. We are pleased with the turnout, the networking and the educational offerings at the conference. All indications are that the NEFA members are experiencing growth and expect continued prosperity.”
During a sunny outdoor luncheon, the CLFP Foundation presented several awards and the Chris Walker Education Fund, which hosted a golf outing attended by more than 35 golfers on Wednesday morning, presented various awards to the golf event participants.