EUFMC quickly became a must attend event and invitations were sought after by fleet managers and manufacturers alike. To attend the conference, from its early years until today, utility and supplier representatives have to be invited.

That tradition has ensured that a high quality group of attendees at EUFMC continues as the conference has grown from a local and regional event into one that is national and international in scope.

Today, EUFMC is an educational conference attended by representatives of fleets from across the U.S. and Canada that operate, manage and maintain utility equipment.

Representatives from over 100 North American manufacturers and suppliers of vehicles, equipment, products and services for utility fleet operations attend EUFMC. The event includes a drive-through utility equipment demonstration and an equipment show that is the site of more than 60 displays.

The First EUFMC Logo

EUFMC 1954 Group Photo
Photo Courtesy of Baker Equipment

"I have been attending EUFMC for 58 years. The conference has always been about attaining knowledge from fellow attendees that you could not get anywhere else. Vendors and utility representatives come here with knowledge of products and what works in their operations. I don't think there is another conference in the country where the contacts and knowledge gained by utility people and vendors can be surpassed."

Lenny Fernandez Utility Sales Manager Reading Truck Body

"Some things never change and that's a good thing about EUFMC. At the conference, fleet managers were concerned about how to save maintenance costs, and we were very interested in new technologies, such as electric, natural gas and light-duty diesel trucks. EUFMC has always been a great conference where we could learn about fleet ideas and make more effective decisions."

Ven Burwell Retired Fleet Manager, Duke Power EUFMC President 1991-1992

EUFMC has always been organized by utility fleet representatives for utility fleet representatives. The Board of Directors consists entirely of utility fleet executives, all volunteers who devote time to the conference with the support of their companies.

Decade-by-decade EUFMC has served the changing needs of utility fleets and addressed the continuing advent of new technologies. Conference programs listing topics of discussions across the years tell the story:

1963

Review of Hydraulic Derrick and Digger Combinations
Winches-Power Take Offs
Aerial Devices
Portable Electric Generating Equipment
Service Trucks
Medium-Duty Line Trucks
Heavy-Duty Line Trucks
Truck Bodies

1973

Trucks
Truck and Trailer Brake Systems on Utility Vehicles
Passenger Cars
New Aspects of DOT and OSHA that Pertain to Utility Vehicles
New Developments in Battery Operated Devices for Aerial Baskets
Radio Controls for Aerial Baskets and Derricks
Survey Results - Operating Costs for Regular and Specialized Equipment

1983

Alternate Fuels
Passenger Cars and Light-Duty Trucks
Front Wheel Drive Vans
Heavy-Duty and Medium-Duty Trucks
Digger Derrick and Aerial Device Rotation Systems
Hydraulic Electric Overload Protection
Material Handling Man Lifts
Design, Manufacture & Testing of Fiberglass Structures
Automated Fuel Control Systems
Vehicle Utilization
Allocation of Vehicle Costs to Users
Vehicle Acquisition

1986

Drive Through Video
Original VHS tape provided by Mark Mazur | Transferred to digital by Chase Gilbert

1993

The Challenge of Change
Team Building
Fleet Benchmarking
Vehicle Disposition
ANSI Hydraulic Digger Derrick Standard
Hurricane Restoration
Government Regulations, Bridges, Fuel Storage and Air Conditioning Maintenance
An ADA Action Plan for Fleet Managers
Clean Air—Electric & Alternate Fuel Vehicles
Bucket Truck Boom Ratings and Capacities

2003

Managing Environmental Compliance without Sacrificing Your Bottom Line
The World of Fuels Futures: Risk Management Through Hedging Activities
Federal Excise Tax Update
Maximize Your Warranty Recovery Dollars
Federal Legislative/ Regulatory Issues
Navigating Through Change; Meeting the Challenges of Workplace Restructuring
International Standards for Equipment
AFV Technology Update: HD Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Power Distribution and Control for Electric Utility Vehicles
Multiplex Electrical Technology: Delivering Greater Functionality with Less Complexity
The Next Generation of Fleet Management Software

2013

Vehicles and Equipment
Life Cycle Cost Models
Purchasing and Specification Practices
Best Practices in Preventive Maintenance
Diesel Engines - Current and Future
Shop Safety and Technology
Fuel Management
Regulatory Issues
Fleet Metrics

Today

After 70 years of educating utility fleet professionals, EUFMC continues to offer timely and relevant educational information, and it continues to serve as a forum where fleet professionals can discuss mutual challenges, find solutions and develop best practices through close cooperation with other fleets and suppliers.

To meet today’s most pressing utility fleet management challenges EUFMC is focused on Driving Safety, Sustainability & Technical Expertise. Recent educational topics have included:

Safety Culture
Electrification Planning and Charging Infrastructure
Fleet Sustainability
Telematics
Legal Perspectives
Maintenance Metrics
Replacement Planning
Regulatory Updates
Specification and Maintenance Best Practices

"As a fleet manager on the west coast, I regularly read about the invitation-only fleet managers' conference held in Williamsburg each year. After ten years as a fleet manager, I received an invitation to attend and was thrilled as could be. All the larger and more innovative utilities seemed to be in attendance each year and I was excited to finally meet some of the movers and shakers who were often highlighted in the trade journals. The attendance, organization and cutting edge presentations and activities were everything I had anticipated."

Ted Horobiowski Retired Fleet Manager, Avista Utilities EUFMC President 2005-2006

EUFMC Drive Through - Baker "Scavenger" Pressure Digger
Photo Courtesy of Baker Equipment

Over the years, EUFMC has grown. In 1961, 28 fleet managers and about 25 suppliers attended. By the early 1970s, attendance had expanded to include roughly 35 to 40 fleets and an equal number of suppliers. In the 1990's, attendance figures showed about 60 fleets and the same number of suppliers were on hand. By the 2010’s, EUFMC was hosting 100 fleet managers and over 250 representatives from more than 95 manufacturers and service providers annually.

In 2022, EUFMC hosted 157 representatives from fleets operating utility equipment, including 70 first-time attendees, and nine new companies sent fleet professionals to the conference. Also in attendance were 337 representatives from 87 manufacturers and providers of vehicles, equipment, products and services for utility fleet operations.

Traditionally, EUFMC has been the time and place for manufacturers to showcase new products and services for utility fleets. As vendor support for the conference grew so did the venues it used.

The original equipment demonstration on the lawn of the Williamsburg Lodge moved to a parking area that is now the site of Tazewell Hall. At one point in time, the annual drive-through demonstration took place alongside the Williamsburg Lodge on South England Street. Other locations have included the parking lots of the Golden Horseshoe golf course and the Bruton Heights School, as well as the Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center parking area used today.

"About 45 years ago when I first started attending EUFMC the event was less organized, and of course it was much smaller. There were also special needs to be met. For example, we had to use ramps to get equipment over curbs safely, and in front of the golf course we often removed and replanted shrubs, and even trimmed trees so aerials could be put in the air."

Bill Caulkins Vice President Sherman & Reilly

"While some of the original manufacturers at EUFMC are no longer in business, there has always been an effort by suppliers to bring engineers to the show, people who can talk to fleets, listen to their suggestions and solve problems. That's one reason it was always desirable to be invited. It's an original concept that still stands because it's a good one."

Dick Rosenmeier Retired Fleet Manager Public Service Electric & Gas Company EUFMC President 1982-1985

"The quality of the people who attend EUFMC has always been great, and that includes the way the conference involves spouses. Having your family there made it more like a working vacation, and that was enjoyable. It has also led to many personal relationships with people who are our friends to this day."

Richard Kester Retired Fleet Manager South Carolina Electric & Gas EUFMC President - 1999

Many industry conferences and equipment exhibitions have come and gone over the last 70 years, but the Electric Utility Fleet Manager's Conference has continued and been successful because it has not lost sight of its original mission - to bring together decision makers from both sides of the partnership between fleets and manufacturers.

EUFMC Drive Through - Baker B-10 Digger Derrick
Photo Courtesy of Baker Equipment

"EUFMC is a close knit group that accomplishes a lot in a short amount of time. It was always a pleasure to work with other fleet managers. The bottom line is that this was a good organization and it still is."

J.C. Castleberry Retired Fleet Manager Alabama Power Company EUFMC President 1975-1976

For many long-time attendees, EUFMC is known as "the Williamsburg Show." After 70 years, the event is well established in the nation's most famous Colonial Capital.

Williamsburg, Virginia was founded in 1699. In 1693, the College of William and Mary was established there as a center of learning. It has also been a place of innovation and at the center of history. Located in Williamsburg is the first hospital in America for the care and treatment of mental illness, and it was there in 1781 that General George Washington assembled the Continental Army for the siege of Yorktown and the winning of American independence. It was also in Williamsburg, in the early part of the 20th Century, that Dr. Goodwin persuaded philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. to finance the restoration of Virginia's colonial capital to its 18th Century grandeur.

Those examples of visionary thinking are what make up the fabric of Colonial Williamsburg. A vision also led the founders of the Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference to establish an annual tradition that has stood the test time for six decades. In its own way, EUFMC constitutes a "treasure the value of which will increase with the passing years."

EUFMC Presidents

Since 1951, when the first meetings to plan the inaugural EUFMC in 1953 took place, 36 fleet managers from operations across the United States have served as president of the conference.

1951-1953: Jean Y. Ray, Virginia Electric & Power Company
1954-1956: Joseph A. Dodge, Potomac Electric Power Company
1957-1958: Edward W. Jahn, Baltimore Gas & Electric Company
1959-1960: G. Fred Murphy, Appalachian Power Company
1961-1962: J. Hopkins Davis, Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co.
1963-1964 Joseph A. Jones, Jr., Duke Power Company
1965-1966: G. Fred Murphy, Appalachian Power Company
1967-1968: D. Frank Shiphorst, Florida Power Corporation
1969-1970: Robert E. Donnelly, Georgia Power Company
1971-1972: C. Clyde Crockett, Louisiana Power & Light Company
1973-1974: John W. Phillips, Jr., Florida Power & Light Company
1975-1976: J. C. Castleberry, Alabama Power Company
1977-1978: W. E. Caesar, Union Electric Company
1979-1980: G. R. Harrington, Philadelphia Electric Company
1981: A. L. Stebar, Appalachian Power Company
1982-1985: R. O. Rosenmeier, Public Service Electric & Gas Company
1986-1987: J. R. Archer, Tampa Electric Company
1988-1989: H.A. Hanson, Georgia Power Company
1990: C.W. Paugh, New York State Electric & Gas
1991-1992: V. B. Burwell, Duke Power Company
1993-1994: G. J. Harter, Monongahela Power Company
1995-1996: W. G. Doggett, Kentucky Utilities Company
1997-1998: P. R. Allums, Alabama Power Company
1999: R. J. Kester, South Carolina Electric & Gas
2000-2001: H. E. Hughes, Jr., TXU Business Services
2002-2003: F. J. Wooldridge, Progress Energy-Florida
2004: K. A. Dinan, American Electric Power
2005-2006: T. A. Horobiowski, Avista Corporation
2007–2008: R.M. Mento, The United Illuminating Co.
2009-2010: W. C. Keller, PPL
2011-2102: George Survant, Florida Power & Light
2013-2014: Gerald Owens, Oncor Electric Delivery
2015-2016: Jack Abraham, Nova Scotia Power
2017-2018: Mike Allison, Duke Energy
2019-2020: Chuck Bunting, NiSource
2021-2022: Jeff Schneider, Louisville Gas & Electric-KU
2023-2024: Dave Meisel, Quanta Services

"It's hard to imagine that any group can stick to its founding principles after so long. But this group of industry professionals seems to be endowed with a healthy 1950s work ethic of "an honest day's pay for an honest day worked." Yes it has grown significantly, and the topics of conference discussions have changed with evolving technology and work practices, but the groups' fundamental reason for assembling in the Colonial Capital year after year hasn't. Fleet managers come to Williamsburg to learn and share."

Skip Baker President Baker Equipment

"EUFMC is the most beneficial and educational event that I had the privilege to attend as a fleet manager. The subjects covered in the General Session provided a wealth of resources that assist the attendees in managing a utility fleet. The relationships that developed from participating in the annual conference also proved to be extremely valuable and long lasting, and many of those relationships evolved into life-long friendships."

Gerald Owens Retired Fleet Manager, Oncor Electric Delivery EUFMC President 2013-2014

"The uniqueness, the magic, the beauty of EUFMC is how it stays true to the tradition of educating fleet managers. Today, that is still seen in how current challenges facing the industry are interwoven with the tradition started by its founders. Lasting relationships that come from participation are also part of the foundation of EUFMC where fleet managers can ask for help, realize they are not alone on an island and instead have an entire world of support available to them from other fleets and suppliers."

Chuck Bunting Retired Fleet Manager, NiSource EUFMC President 2019-2020

"EUFMC was a wealth of electric utility fleet information during my years attending the conference. The contacts I made and networking were extremely beneficial. The daily operation of an electric utility fleet is quite unique in the fleet industry and meeting with peers provided more insight than I found anywhere else. New procedures with electrical testing, biofuels, mobile fueling, fleet licensing, and seeing the latest aerial device technology, were just some of the subjects that you can't find anywhere else in one location."

W. C. Keller Retired Fleet Manager, PPL EUFMC President 2009-2010

“I first attended EUFMC in 1983. As the previous fleet manager for a telephone company, I had little experience with equipment used in electric utilities. As a newcomer, EUFMC immediately gave me great insight into equipment and practices, and more importantly the networking was invaluable and a resource of great knowledge. Now, I could connect with people who gave me answers or helped me find them. One of the best things about EUFMC has always been the quality of the content that is presented. This conference is the most complete and beneficial event a fleet manager can attend. I’ve been to a lot of different conferences, but nothing compares to EUFMC.”

W. G. Doggett Retired Fleet Manager, Louisville Gas & Electric/ Kentucky Utilities Company EUFMC President 1995-1996