BUSINESS COUNCIL UPDATES E Network with Your Business Sector in Palm Desert LFA’S BUSINESS COUNCIL STEERING COMMITTEES (BCSCs), which represent the fi ve key business sectors of the associa-tion membership, met in Washington, D.C., in May as part of the association’s Capitol Connections congressional out-reach program. Read about the committees’ activities below, and plan to attend the Business Council luncheon meetings at the 55th ELFA Annual Convention. Th e BCSCs are planning engaging meetings for each sector on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 12:45 p.m.–2:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to network with your colleagues and get up-to-speed on industry sector trends. Captive and Vendor Finance BCSC THIS COMMITTEE represents the constituency group within ELFA that provides vendor fi nancing programs, either as a subsidiary of a manufacturer or an independent, third-party organization. Th e committee is composed of 15 members, drawn roughly equally from captive organizations and third-party independents and banks. Th roughout the fi rst half of 2016, the committee conduct-ed regular conference calls to discuss the current business climate and the outlook for this sector going forward. Th is input is valuable to association staff —and members of the committee itself—as the association develops needs-based programming designed for member companies operating in this space. With a few exceptions in certain market sectors, most committee members reported a cautiously optimistic approach to the fi rst half of the year, in terms of originations and credit quality. At its May meeting in D.C., the group conducted the fol-lowing business: ● ● Reviewed ELFA’s membership retention and recruitment goals for the year. Reviewed the goals and objectives of the association’s grassroots public policy program, focusing on targeted contribution levels for members of the BCSC. ● ● Debriefed the successful Best Practices Roundtable con-ducted in Chicago in April. ● ● Made preliminary plans for the Captive and Vendor Fi-nance Business Council luncheon at the ELFA Annual Convention in Palm Desert. ● ● Reviewed the upcoming elections, which will be held to replace BCSC members whose terms expire at the end of 2016. For more information, contact Committee Chair Mike Sweeney (michael.sweeney@everbank.com) or staff liaison Bill Choi (BChoi@elfaonline.org). ● Financial Institutions BCSC COMPOSED OF 18 MEMBERS, this committee represents bank-related organizations and other fi nancial institutions involved in single transactions over $5 million. During the committee’s May meeting in Washington, D.C., the group discussed the following: ● ● Th e committee has made it a top priority to advance the un-derstanding of the equipment leasing and fi nance industry among university and college faculty and students. Th ey have been doing this by delivering the Guest Lecture Pro-gram, a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation designed to provide the basics and demonstrate why equipment leas-ing and fi nance is a viable option in the fi nancing/banking industry. To date, four members from the Financial Insti-tutions BCSC have presented the Guest Lecture Program. Other members of the committee have plans to present the Guest Lecture Program later in the year, including at Bry-ant University, Holy Cross and the University of Minnesota. To access the Guest Lecture Program, please visit: www. elfaonline.org/glp/. ● Th e committee debriefed the successful Bank Best Prac-tices Roundtable, which was held in April in Chicago. Th irty-nine members attended the 2016 roundtable and actively discussed technology trends in equipment fi nance, Contest Recognizes Membership Recruitment THIS SPRING the ELFA Membership Committee challenged each Business Council Steering Committee to recruit as many new members as possible in a two-month period. ELFA would like to extend a big thanks to all the BCSC members that successfully recruited a new member in 2016 and congratulate the Service Providers Business Council for recruiting the most number of members on a percentage basis. Congratulations! 18 JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 EQUIPMENT LEASING & FINANCE MAGAZINE ISTOCK / MATT JEACOCK