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www.leasingnews.org Friday, March 29, 2002 accurate, fair and unbiased
news for the equipment Leasing Industry Headlines---- Board
Member of Tyco Unit Owed Millions to 2 Executives Fitch Rates GreatAmerica Leasing Receivables
2002-1, LLC Fitch Ratings Lowers GATX Financial
To 'BBB-/F3'; Rtg Outlook Neg GE Way or the Highway.” Solutions for Employment—New
Web Site Bits and Pieces of the ELA Newsletter Golf Handicap Explained April
11 “Inter-Association Committee” Meeting in Orlando, Florida
and other Equipment Leasing Association
Conferences ###
Denotes Press Release ____________________________________________________________________ Board
Member of Tyco Unit Owed Millions to 2 Executives By
ALEX BERENSON New York Times As
Tyco International) was negotiating last year over how much it would
pay to buy out the public shareholders of its fiber optic division,
an independent director of that unit owed Tyco's two top executives
$14.1 million. Neither
Tyco nor the fiber optic division, TyCom, ever publicly disclosed
that Warren V. Musser, the TyCom director, and Hilary Grinker Musser,
his wife, borrowed the money from L. Dennis Kozlowski, Tyco's chairman,
and Mark H. Swartz, Tyco's chief financial officer, in December 2000.
At the time, the Mussers were in financial distress. Tyco
went on to buy the public shares of TyCom, repurchasing a stake that
it had sold in an initial offering in July 2000. The
round-trip deal proved very profitable for Tyco, although not for
TyCom shareholders. The price of $864 million in stock that Tyco paid
for TyCom in October 2001 was half what it had sold the shares for
15 months earlier. Mr.
Musser was one of three independent directors on TyCom's six-member
board, which accepted the offer from Tyco in just two weeks. The speed
of the deal, and the decline in TyCom's value, spurred several lawsuits
from TyCom shareholders last year, contending that Tyco and TyCom
had not negotiated in good faith. Months
after Tyco and TyCom reached agreement on the deal, the Mussers repaid
the loan, which was backed by Nantucket property they owned. TyCom
builds underwater fiber optic networks for communications companies
and has spent billions of dollars on its own network. Tyco —
which is run from Exeter, N.H., but has its corporate headquarters
in Bermuda — has 240,000 employees and makes everything from
syringes to electronic connectors. Its shares have fallen 45 percent
this year as investors became more concerned about its accounting
practices and growth prospects. Yesterday, Tyco closed at $32.32,
down 33 cents. A
company spokesman, Brad McGee, said in an e-mail message on Tuesday
that the loan carried a market rate of interest, was fully backed
with collateral and was disclosed to the TyCom board. TyCom formed
a special committee of its other independent directors to evaluate
Tyco's offer, and Mr. Musser did not participate on the committee,
Mr. McGee said. The
loan, Mr. McGee said, did not represent a conflict of interest nor
"put Mr. Musser in a position to compromise his fiduciary responsibility
to the shareholders of TyCom." Mr.
Musser did not return calls for comment. On
Dec. 4, 2000, the Mussers borrowed $14.1 million from Mr. Kozlowski
and Mr. Swartz, according to property records at Nantucket's registrar
of deeds. Mr.
Musser was then chief executive of Safeguard Scientifics (news/quote),
a public company that makes investments in information technology
start-ups. A day after the loan was made, Safeguard announced that
Mr. Musser had sold 7.5 million Safeguard shares, or 80 percent of
his stake, to pay off margin loans. In
1999 and 2000, at the height of the Internet boom, Mr. Musser had
borrowed almost $100 million to buy shares in Internet companies,
according to an article in Fortune magazine in March 2001. Mr. Musser,
75, and Ms. Musser, 36, also spent lavishly, according to the Fortune
article, building his-and-hers tennis courts on their Nantucket estate
and spending $100,000 on special garage doors. The
property — which the Mussers named Higgins' Haven, after Mr.
Musser's golden retriever — also has a pool, a main house and
four other buildings, according to Nantucket tax records. Ms. Musser
bought the property for $4.1 million in 1998. As
the Internet bubble burst, the value of Mr. Musser's holdings in Safeguard,
which were worth almost $1 billion early in 2000, plunged. So did
other investments. To repay his loans, Mr. Musser was forced to sell
most of his Safeguard stake, and borrowed $10 million from Safeguard
in October 2000. According
to the Nantucket property records, as security for the $14.1 million
loan, the Mussers provided Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz a mortgage
on Higgins' Haven and a vacant oceanfront lot next to it. Mr. Musser
also pledged a mortgage on a third nearby property, which the Mussers
planned to develop and sell. The
loan was not disclosed in TyCom's 2001 proxy statement, which was
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 29, 2001,
or in any other TyCom filings. It was reported by The Philadelphia
Business Journal in January 2001. As
additional security for the loan, the Mussers pledged the furniture
and other personal property at Higgins' Haven. In a handwritten addendum,
Ms. Musser noted that the pledge did not include the couple's clothing,
jewelry or collection of Majolica ceramics. The
loan may have helped the Mussers' personal finances, but Safeguard's
stock price seemed to be little help. On April 11, 2001, with Safeguard
shares trading at $3.72, Mr. Musser resigned as the company's chief
executive. In October, he stepped down as chairman. At
the time, he owed Safeguard $25 million, which he had borrowed in
May in his effort to work out his debts. Still, Safeguard agreed to
pay him a $650,000 annual pension. Safeguard stock closed yesterday
at $3.01, down 97 percent from its high. On
Oct. 4, 2001, Tyco offered to acquire the 11 percent of TyCom it did
not already own for stock worth $14 a TyCom share. The offer soon
led to lawsuits by TyCom shareholders, since Tyco had sold the shares
to investors for $32 in 2000. Tyco
noted that the bid represented a 48 percent premium to the stock's
Oct. 3 closing price, although it was below trading levels for most
of the summer. With the communications industry suffering from a glut
of capacity, the stocks of many telecommunications and equipment companies
fell last year, and the sector has shown few signs of recovery. To
evaluate the offer, TyCom created a special committee of two of its
independent directors, Brenda C. Barnes and Frank P. Doyle. Mr. McGee,
the Tyco spokesman, said Mr. Musser had not been appointed to the
committee to avoid "the appearance of a conflict of interest." Ms.
Barnes, who is also a director of The New York Times Company (news/quote),
and Mr. Doyle did not return calls for comment. On
Oct. 11, Ms. Barnes and Mr. Doyle asked Mr. Swartz, Tyco's chief financial
officer, if Tyco could increase its offer, according to a November
proxy statement from Tyco. The next day, Mr. Swartz agreed to raise
the bid by 4.5 percent but no further. On
Oct. 18, after receiving an opinion from J. P. Morgan that Tyco's
new offer was fair, Ms. Barnes and Mr. Doyle recommended that TyCom
approve the offer. The six-member TyCom board, which included Mr.
Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz as well as Mr. Musser, unanimously agreed. Tyco
and TyCom announced the new terms the next day. At
its current price, the Tyco stock that TyCom shareholders received
is now worth about $10 a TyCom share. According
to Nantucket property records, Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz released
the mortgage on Higgins' Haven on Dec. 14, 2001. The Mussers replaced
it with a $4 million mortgage from Washington Mutual Bank. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ############## ################################################## Fitch
Rates GreatAmerica Leasing Receivables 2002-1, LLC CHICAGO--Fitch
rates the GreatAmerica Leasing Receivables 2002-1, LLC $51,698,228
class A-1 notes 'F1+', the $38,294,984 class A-2 notes 'AAA', the
$84,887,215 class A-3 notes 'AAA', the $37,529,084 class A-4 notes
'AAA', and the $10,722,596 class B notes 'AA'. The
class A ratings reflect credit enhancement provided by the subordination
of the class B notes (4.20%), the class C notes (4.25%), the class
D notes (5.35%), the initial reserve account (1.00%), the booked residual
cash flows (5.69%), and the issuer's retained interest (3.00%). The
class B rating reflects credit enhancement provided by the class C
notes, the class D notes, the reserve account, the residual cash flows,
and the issuer's retained interest. The ratings address the timely
payment of interest and the ultimate payment of principal in accordance
with the terms of the legal documents. The
underlying pool of contracts backing the GreatAmerica 2002-1 notes
consists primarily of small-ticket equipment leases purchased for
commercial purposes. The initial collateral balance is approximately
$255.3 million. The pool contains 25,618 contracts with major equipment
types being Copiers, Printers, Telephones, and Fax Machines. In
determining the required level of credit enhancement, Fitch took into
consideration performance of GreatAmerica's past securitizations,
as well as its total managed portfolio. Fitch analyzed cash flow models
and assessed the trust's ability to pay off the notes under various
stressed cash flow scenarios. Cumulative losses on static pools that
have not fully paid down were extrapolated based on the historical
timing of losses. In addition, Fitch applied a haircut to residuals,
while incorporating a front-loaded loss curve to address the potential
timing mismatch of residual receipts and small-ticket losses. Ultimately,
credit enhancement levels were sized to withstand multiples of static
losses at each rating level over the life of the transaction. Headquartered
in Cedar Rapids, IA, GreatAmerica Leasing Corporation originates and
services small-ticket commercial equipment leases to small businesses
through a nationwide network of office equipment and telephone dealers.
Great
America Leasing Receivables 2002-1, LLC, will be the fourth GreatAmerica
securitization rated by Fitch. GreatAmerica Leasing Receivables 2000-1
is the only outstanding term transaction and is performing within
Fitch's expectations. CONTACT: Fitch
Ratings Brigid
Keyes, 312/606-2361 John
Bella, 312/368-2058 Matt
Burkhard, 212/908-0540 (Media Relations) ##################### ############################################### Fitch
Ratings Lowers GATX Financial To 'BBB-/F3'; Rtg Outlook Neg NEW
YORK--(This is a revised version of a press release issued Thursday,
containing updated leverage information in paragraph 4) Fitch
Ratings lowers GATX Financial Corp.'s senior debt and commercial paper
ratings to 'BBB-' and 'F3' from 'BBB+' and 'F2', respectively, and
removes them from Rating Watch. The Rating Outlook is Negative. Approximately
$3 billion of securities are covered by Fitch's actions. While
recognizing GATX Financial's strengths as a solid originator of complex
transactions within well-defined industry niches and asset remarketing
acumen, Fitch's actions were driven by a combination of concerns relating
to the company's liquidity and funding as well as capitalization and
leverage. Management has taken steps in 2002 to bolster the funding
available to the company, including issuing $175 million of convertible
securities at the GATX Corp. level and issuing $364 million of secured
debt. While the financial flexibility of GATX Financial is adequate,
Fitch remains concerned that the company's balance sheet will become
increasingly encumbered as management seeks to source additional financing.
As such, unsecured bondholders may become increasingly disadvantaged.
GATX
Financial has sufficient liquidity and committed funding sources,
including bank credit facilities, to meet current year committed capital
expenditures and debt maturities. However, based on the financing
options currently available to the company, new business originations
are likely to be well below the levels achieved in 2000 and 2001.
This could have an adverse impact on GATX Financial's franchise value
as management may not be as opportunistic as its competitors in sourcing
attractive business. Capitalization
and leverage are also concerns. Fitch evaluates capitalization and
leverage at the GATX Corp. level due to the relative complexity of
the funding structure. This approach highlights the parent's use of
double leverage in providing seemingly sufficient levels of equity
capital to the subsidiary. Leverage, measured by the strictest definition
-- recourse balance sheet debt divided by tangible equity, stood at
4.34 times (x). While GATX Financial has allowed underperforming loans
and leases financed by non-recourse debt to falter in the past, it
is unrealistic that the company would walk away from all the assets
financed in this manner. This action could have an adverse impact
on the company's franchise value and relationships with other institutional
investors participating in the joint ventures. As such, Fitch's calculation
of leverage includes all on- and off-balance sheet debt, non-recourse
debt, and an allocation of non-recourse debt in the joint ventures.
Using this metric, GATX Corp.'s lev erage stood at 8.01x at Dec. 31,
2001, continuing a four-year rising trend. For the rating category,
leverage is high. Fitch
notes that secured debt as a percentage of capitalization, including
off-balance sheet debt, including joint venture debt proportionally
allocated to GATX, stood at 50.88% at Dec. 31, 2001, up from 38.73%
at Dec. 31, 1997. Fitch remains concerned that this trend will continue
thereby negatively impacting the position of senior unsecured creditors.
Additionally, GATX Financial may encounter incremental margin compression
resulting in lower profitability and internal capital formation. A
significant change in either metric may result in additional rating
actions. Based
in Chicago, GATX Financial Corp. is a specialized finance and leasing
company and the principal operating subsidiary of GATX Corp. The company
is one of the largest commercial aircraft and railcar operating lessors
in the world. CONTACT: Fitch
Ratings Philip
S. Walker, Jr., 212/908-0624 (CFA) John
S. Olert, 212/908-0663 James Jockle, 212/908-0547 (Media) “GE
Way or the Highway.” Have
you done any investigation into what is going on with the new GE-Express
Financial Solutions Office, where Colonial business is being directed
now. We are still doing business with them, but feel
that it is crumbling
beneath our feet as we speak. I am very surprised that GE is allowing
a transfer to happen like this, I always thought of them as a first class
outfit, but who ever was in control of this transfer is MIA. I
think you will be surprised at what is uncovered. (
Name With Held ) We
reported on Wednesday that two CPL employees threw up their hands and
returned to Oregon. Thursday we also printed their good-bye. We
have had several reports of “sick out,” but GE is not talking,
and the employees and people, like yourself, who are dealing with
this office are afraid to not only tell us more, but sign their name. When you sign your name, you give a lot more
credence to the eMail. GE bought the
company and wants to run it the “Neutron Jack” way. They have been a highly successful
company, who’s top executives become CEO of major companies. It evidently
is either the “GE Way or the Highway.” ############# ####################################### SOLUTIONS
FOR EMPLOYMENT PositonFiller,
LLC 770
Great Highway #B San
Francisco, CA, 94141 FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE (March 28, 02) - PositonFiller, LLC,
an employment company specializing in placing sales,
management, marketing and technology professionals
based in San Francisco, CA, has launched its
employment site (www.positionfiller.com), a new Internet
service offering a carefully compiled searchable
database of professional resumes. PositionFiller,
LLC is intending to change
the way of recruiting
by allowing companies to search, post, and receive
resumes automatically free of charge.
Compared to
other employer paid competitors, PositionFiller, LLC provides
a cost effective way for all companies to fill their
hiring needs. "The site
offers one centralized stop
on the Internet containing a vast collection of carefully
edited and compiled resources." says Don Franks,
President and CEO. ### ################################# (Employees
pay $39.99 for one month, $49.99 for two months, $69.99 for three
months plus a 30 minute interviewing and resume consultation with
experienced recruiters. (Leasing
News besides the classified ads of jobs wanted http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm help wanted http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostingsWanted.htm outsourcing http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostingsOutsourcing.htm attorneys http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/JobPostingsAttorney.htm also has
a recruiter section of those who specialize in the leasing industry:
http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/Recruiters.htm plus
other places to post jobs http://65.209.205.32/LeasingNews/Classified.htm Some
are free, some charge money as Positionfiller.com does. editor ) Bits
and Pieces of the ELA Newsletter **************************** Equipment
Leasing Association ELT E-Leasing Newsletter 3/28/02 ******************************** The
Equipment Leasing Today E-Leasing Newsletter is published every Thursday and
is sponsored by the Equipment Leasing Association and its co-sponsor.
To Get
Full-Text Stories, go to the web page associated with the story you
wish to
read. The links to news stories require an ELA MEMBERS-ONLY NAME AND PASSWORD.
To receive a password, please contact Daniel Aubain at database@elamail.com
or phone 703/516-8377. NOTE:
Address change/unsubscribe instructions and contact information can
be found
at the end of this e-mail. If you received this e-mail (but it was
NOT forwarded
to you by someone else) you are ALREADY subscribed. ***********
The E-Leasing Newsletter is SPONSORED by: ****************** NASSAU ASSET MANAGEMENT Recovery and Remarketing
Specialists 1(800)462-7728 or 1(800)4-NASSAU GO HERE>>>>>> http://www.nasset.com
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all 50 states and Canada *Fastest turn around *24 hour reporting
via Web *Highest resale prices Call Nassau now for a complete assessment of your needs!!! http://www.nasset.com ****************************** 2. Sixty ELA Members on Their Way to Capitol
Hill ****************************** It
was reported in the March 25th edition of the American Banker that several
hundred bankers attending the American Bankers Association's (ABA) legislative
summit had just spent the day on Capitol Hill doing their annual grassroots
lobbying. "It
took a long time for the banking industry to convince Congress to eliminate
the prohibition on interstate banking," observes ELA's V.P. Federal
Government Relations, Steve Fier. "And it took an even longer
time for
them to convince Congress to deregulate them and allow them to engage
in securities,
insurance and real estate activities. But the laws were ultimately
amended in a pro-banking manner primarily for one reason: because hundreds
of bankers go up to Capitol Hill every year and meet with their members
of Congress," says Fier (who himself was once an ABA member back
in the
early '80's). "I've known many of the ABA lobbyists for years,
and without
hesitation they would all tell you that at the end of the day, members
of Congress don't do things for them, they do them for their bank constituents
back home, and that's why the ABA brings it members to Washington
and sends them up to Capitol Hill every year". To
date 60 ELA members have registered for ELA's Capitol Hill Day. "As
an industry
that employs over 200,000 people and that will provide over $240 billion
in financing for productive assets in 2002 alone, we must get our message
out now so that whenever Congress acts, it clearly understands the impact
of its actions on the industry, its customers, and the U.S. economy," Fier
says. ELA members are the best messengers and lobbyists we have",
Fier said.
There are 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 100 U.S.
Senators, all of whom get to vote on every piece of legislation as
its ultimate
fate is being decided. That's a lot of ground to cover. Here's
what Professor Peter Drucker, the noted authority on corporate management
says on this topic: "Few relationships are as critical to the business
enterprise itself as the relationship to government. The manager has
the responsibility for this relationship as part of his responsibility to
the enterprise itself. To a large extent, the relationship to government results
from what businesses do or fail to do." "The
bottom line," Fier said, "is that members of Congress know
that business
people who are willing to take time away from running their business
to visit them in Washington are people who vote, and that's why they
will listen to what ELA members have to say when they go up to Capitol Hill
on April 10th". Senator
Bob Graham (D-FlA), a distinguished member of the Senate Finance Committee
and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, will be
talking to attendees Tuesday evening, April 9th. Register
today at www.elaonline.com/events/2002/capthillday. There is no registration
fee and you still have time to schedule your Hill visits. (Contact
ELA's Bridget Alexander with questions at 703-516-8381 or at balexander@elamail.com). *************
The E-Leasing Newsletter is sponsored by: ************* KABOOM!
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* BRINGING CERTAINTY TO AN UNCERTAIN WORLD! http://www.quiktrak.com/sp/Comic-Cover-Ad.html ****************************** 4. What Takes 24 Hours, Doesn't Cost A Penny
and Will Impact Your Company's
Earnings Well Into the Future? ****************************** Participating
in ELA's Capitol Hill Day April 9-10th....when ELA members from
all across the country will come to Washington and meet with members
of Congress
to explain the need for amendments to the recently enacted 30% bonus
depreciation provision and to caution lawmakers of the potentially devastating
negative impact the enactment of overly-broad, sweeping corporate
tax shelter legislation will have on the U.S. economy and the equipment
leasing and finance industry. "ELA
understands that its members are working harder than ever to maintain
a profitable
business in a sluggish economy and may feel that they don't have the
time or can't afford to spend 24 hours in Washington", said Michael Fleming,
ELA President, "but we have to keep things in perspective". "Remember",
Fleming said, "that if ELA members had not gone up to Capitol Hill
last year prior to 9/11 to promote the enactment of legislation to incent
investment in equipment, there would be no 30% bonus depreciation provision
in effect today...and now Congress needs to hear from business people
that there are technical corrections that need to be enacted quickly if
the provision is going to have the simulative impact on the economy Congress
and the Administration intended. Clearly,
the stakes are high any time Congress takes up legislation to address
an explosive issue like "abusive" corporate tax shelters.
"Time after
time," Fleming said, "history clearly demonstrates that
even when legislation
is not necessarily targeted at equipment leasing and finance products,
our industry can suffer unintended consequences". "And
it's not just the tax area where the stakes are high", Fleming continued.
"Despite a favorable and correct Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
ruling in the Claremont case upholding a lessor's rights under an ELA
pro-leasing amendment enacted in 1994, some courts choose to ignore
the Appellate
Court holding and interpret the provision in an anti-leasing manner",
according to Fleming. "And while every Congress since 1997 has passed
a bankruptcy reform bill containing the ELA amendment which would codify
the Ninth Circuit ruling and fulfill Congressional intent, the ELA amendment
still hasn't been signed into law because it is included in controversial
consumer bankruptcy reform legislation which year after year dies
of its own weight", said Fleming. "And while ELA's lobbyists
have urged Congress
to move the provision on its own and to stop holding the ELA amendment
hostage to the broad consumer bankruptcy bill which never gets signed
into law, unfortunately it's all too clear that it won't happen any time
soon", according to Fleming, "unless ELA members go up to
Capitol Hill and
tell their elected lawmakers that enough is enough...stop holding
our amendment
hostage and pass the ELA amendment on its merits". Members
of Congress know that people who take time away from their business to
visit them in Washington are people who vote. That' why they listen
to what
you have to say! Come to Washington April 9-10th to spread these critically
important messages. Register today at: http://www.elaonline.com/events/2002/capthillday
or call Bridget Alexander at
(703) 516-8381. ****************************** 5. ELA Circulates Amendments To Ohio Up Front
Sales Tax ****************************** Industry
supported amendments to the Ohio upfront sales tax have been distributed
in Columbus, Ohio. Technical amendments would define the due date
of the tax payment as when the lessee makes an initial payment and
make tax
due only on the incremental change in the tax base when there is an add-on
to existing leases. A more ambitious request for credits is also included
but opposed by many state policymakers.
Separately, the state legislature
replaced the one-ton carrying capacity for trucks with a criterion
applying upfront tax to vehicles having a gross vehicle weight of 13,500
pounds or less, a standard opposed by ELA as too high. The minimum term
of a lease was also revised from at least 28 days to at least 30 days. To
join ELA members currently receiving periodic email updates on efforts
in Ohio
contact dbrown@elamail.com with your name and company in the request. To
learn more about ELA supported amendments see http://www.elaonline.com/news/MembersOnly/news_report.cfm?id=3681 ****************************** 6. BUSH Signs Stimulus Package With ELA Endorsed
Provisions ****************************** March
20, 2002, the IRS posted on its website revised tax forms related
to the
30% bonus depreciation. They are revised forms 4562 and 2106. Those
who have
already filed 2001 returns may amend them using forms 1040-X or 1120-X. For
more on this story, visit http://www.elaonline.com/news/MembersOnly/news_report.cfm?id=3657 ****************************** 7. Nationwide Leasing Cooperative Sets Path
Forward ****************************** American
Leasing Alliance and MainStreet Cooperative Group announced plans today
to launch a nationwide cooperative owned by independent equipment lease
financing companies. The cooperative, OneWorld Leasing, Inc., will serve
as a marketing and loan syndication company for small- and medium-sized
companies in the industry. The cooperative expects to have 7 founding
members and plans to have 77 member businesses with an aggregate lease
loan value of $770 million USD by the end of 2004. For
more on this story, visit http://www.elaonline.com/news/MembersOnly/news_report.cfm?id=3680 ****************************** 8. PFSC Announces BackupPlus ****************************** Portfolio
Financial Servicing Company (PFSC) announced the launch of a new, standards-setting
product for back-up and successor servicing of asset-backed
portfolios. Available immediately, BackupPlus provides the most comprehensive,
customized services and analysis available for leasing portfolios.
PFSC announced that BackupPlus is being provided at the same cost
as regular backup servicing for asset-backed securitizations and funding
conduits. The new product complements the primary servicer's report by
providing additional forecasts, highlights, and PFSC's operational, business,
and financial perspectives. For
more on this story, visit http://www.elaonline.com/news/MembersOnly/news_report.cfm?id=3676 ****************************** 10. ELA Update on the National Funding Exhibition ****************************** 400
ATTENDEES REGISTERED and ADDITIONAL NEW EXHIBITORS READY TO TAKE APPOINTMENTS! The
ELA National Funding Exhibition April
22-24 at Chicago's Fairmont Hotel More
new exhibitors have signed up for the ELA Funding Exhibition, and they're
waiting for YOU to make appointments! Registering on line is FAST and
EASY and gives you the immediate ability to schedule appointments
with exhibitors.
Join the other 400 attendees at this unique opportunity to "Expand
Your Funding Possibilities". Log
on to http://www.elaonline.com/events/2002/fundingexhib/FundExHome.cfm and
simply follow the instructions. If you have already registered, continue checking
the funding site for available appointments with new exhibitors that
you might want to see. The site is in a constant state of flux (appointments
getting canceled and added) and you may be able to schedule with
a funding source that wasn't previously available. FUNDING
SOURCES-Limited exhibition space is still available! Don't wait any
longer. Contact Sally Maloney, Vice President, Meetings & Conventions
at smaloney@elamail.com ****************************** 11. Plan to Attend the ELA Annual Convention ****************************** MARK
YOUR CALENDAR! ELA
41st Annual Convention October
13-15, San Francisco, CA Registration
Information Available the end of June Interested
in sponsoring an event at the Annual Convention? Check out the opportunities
that are still available on ELA Online http://www.elaonline.com/events/EventSponsor.htm#conv ****************************** 12. How Do You Protect Your Business From Fraud? ****************************** Join
us at our local ELA Metro meeting on April 11th to find out business fraud
trends, what business fraud is, the increasing trends in business fraud,
and the red flags of fraud. This presentation will be followed by
an important
open discussion on topics of importance to you in the leasing industry. For
further information and to sign up, please go to: http://www.elaonline.com/events/2002/metros/ ***
FOR MORE NEWS For
more leasing news, visit ELA Online's News Home Page at http://www.elaonline.com/news/ ***
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newsletter is free to ELA members. Forward it to a co-worker! Copyright
2002 by the Equipment Leasing Association http://www.elaonline.com/ Phone:
703/527-8655 Fax: 703/527-2649 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Golf
Handicap Explained Just
a golf handicap note. Whoever says they have a 40 handicap means they are
shooting 117-120 per round. (handicap for USGA represents 96% of the over
par totals accumulated from 20 rounds of golf or more) When
posting scores there are strict rules about putting double bogeys,
triple bogeys and up
on the card. Assuming a 40 handicap (which I personally doubt) one
can only
post 2 triple bogeys on the whole round; NO 10+'s are allowed. I suggest
that he spend some time with a professional to learn how to post proper
scores. See you on the range, sir. Thanks Bill
'wish I had more time to play' Clark ELO bclark@leaselo.com (
Gordon Roberts is president of Centerpoint Financial, former president
of the
United Association of Equipment Leasing( UAEL). His wife is Pat, a “super broker”, active
in the industry, former director and officer of UAEL, also married
to Gordon. I
simply did not know that you could have a 40 handicap. I was told Jim Merrilees at
14 was considered a good golfer, and Gordon Roberts at 18 isn’t
too bad. I thought
they were pulling my leg with the 40 for Pat---but now that I understand it,
you can even have a higher handicap. I imagine the more you play,
take lessons, concentrate
on the “ball,” the lower the handicap until you are a “par”
player, which
is usually a professional golfer. editor ) April
11 “Inter-Association Committee” Meeting in Orlando, Florida
In
fairness to Equipment Leasing Association, and as you reported, ELA
President Mike Fleming had a conflict on the day of our planned inter-association
meeting. We're at work on an agenda and hoping for a really good meeting
in Orlando. Barry
Marks (
In fairness, a representative or “ambassador” could be sent
in his stead. Mr. Fleming is
the person who opened the door toward more “cooperation:”
" Just to clarify. Non-members may attend ELA Conferences at least once. In addition, we have suggested to other associations that
their members could attend conferences if the organization endorsed or promoted the conference." ELA
Communication’s Director Amy Miller stated due to the Capital date
of April 9-10 and board meeting they could not attend. The board meeting is April 10.,according to
a board member who emailed me this information. The Orlando date
is April 11. Perhaps it could
even been extended to April 12 or 13? (However,
it is definitely easy to see the timing is not best for Mr. Fleming, and
evidently he wants to be involved directly, it appears, and that is
perhaps one of
the reason ELA has been a very successful organization. (Hopefully
the participants can work out a “relationship” which would
not only benefit
their members, but the industry as well, plus potential leasing association members
and those who want to attend meetings and conferences who have a “limited”
budget. editor ) National
Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers Conference Orlando
April 11 - 14, 2002 at the Caribe Royale “Join
our fearless leader, Mike Meacher in a "Brokers Only" session. This will be "live"
and lively survey. The audience will evaluate each lender's strength
and weaknesses from the broker's perspective. After the session each lender will be sent
their individual scorecard. Register now at www.naelb.org http://www.naelb.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joint
Eastern Association of Equipment Leasing
and United Association of Equipment Leasing Las
Vegas Conference Deadline This
is a reminder that the Early Bird deadline is March 31st for the Spring
Education Conference. If you
have not already done so, please get your registration forms faxed
or postmarked by the 31st to save $$$.
Also,
the room block cut-off date is the 31st as well. Oscar DeLaHoya is boxing in Vegas on the Saturday night of our conference
and EVERYONE wants a room. So make sure to get your special EAEL/UAEL
group rate TODAY by calling Caesars Palace directly at (800) 634-6661 See
you in Las Vegas! Joanie
Dalton joanie@uael.org (In
addition to Oscar DeLaHoya boxing in Vegas on the Saturday night, Don Rickles is also
playing that weekend---He used to open Frank Sinatra’s Rap Pack
Act and bring
in Joey Bishop, too. He is one of the last great “insult”
comedians, fantastic in person,
your stomach will ache afterwards from laughing so much. Also the conference fee goes up if you don’t
register on line or fax to the UAEL office. Association
of Government Leasing and Finance 21st
Annual Spring Conference - Back to Business In Baltimore May
1-3 * Renaissance Harborplace
* Baltimore, Maryland The
AGL&F is pleased to announce that the program for the Spring Conference is
out and should be in your mailboxes shortly. In the meantime, you
can download
a copy of the registration brochure........ click
on the following link for more information....... http://www.aglf.org/tell/spring_conference.html Before
April 15---$425 members/$580 Non-Members (
If you want to get involved in municipal and government leasing, a
growing marketplace, this is the conference to attend. To learn more
about the agenda, here is an Adobe download: http://www.aglf.org/aglfspring.pdf Graham
Hauck Executive
Director Association
for Governmental Leasing and Finance 1255
23rd Street, NW Washington,
DC 20037 202.742.AGLF
(2453) fax:
202.833.3636 email:
gsh@aglf.org http://www.aglf.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAEL
18th Annual Golf Invitational and 4th Annual Warm Up Golf Weekend (Merrilees invited as Guest by Clyde D. Cady,
Facility Capital) May
20th The
MidAmerica Association of Equipment Lessors (“MAEL”), Equipment Leasing
Association’s largest regional affiliate, will be hosting it’s
18th Annual Golf Invitational on May 20, 2002 at Harborside International
Golf Center in Chicago, Illinois. Harborside is crafted in the links
tradition of treeless, windswept English, Scottish and Irish seaside
courses and is located 16 minutes south of the loop. With two championship
courses reserved at Harborside, there is space for 320 golfers. The
“storm-proof” lakeside clubhouse can accommodate up to 400
people for the reception and dinner. We expect participation this
year to be at capacity, which is up from last year’s 254 golfers
and 290 for dinner and reception. Our after dinner speaker will be
announced in the very near future. The
MAEL Invitational will be preceded by the 4th Annual Warm Up Golf
Weekend with mid-day tee times reserved on May 18th at Ruffled Feathers
Golf Club in Lemont, IL and on May 19th at The Course at Aberdeen
in Valparaiso, IN. Sponsorship opportunities are available for all
events. Arrive on Friday the 17th or Saturday the 18th, enjoy two
or three great rounds of golf and plan your Year 2002 Chicago business
appointments for the 21st and/or 22nd. Reserve your place today to
participate in our industry’s largest golf related networking
opportunity. Hotel accommodations have been blocked for your convenience
at Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, 30 North Orleans Street, Chicago,
Illinois 60654 (312) 836-5000 (reservations should be made prior to
April 1st). During the day, non-golfing companions/spouses can sample
Chicago’s fine cultural and shopping environment and evenings
are free for entertaining and socializing. Register on-line @ www.mael.org
or e-mail events@mael.org for further information. |
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