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Contact:      WorldGroup Advisory
                  Cheryl Georg
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Specialty Transportation Rental Association (STRA) is Launched By Exotic Auto Rental Companies to Serve Many Transportation Niches and Consumers
Interests Include Exotic and Luxury Vehicles, Motorcycles, Yachts, Aircraft and Off Road
 
Fort Worth Texas, August 29, 2006-A new organization known as the Specialty Transportation Rental Association (STRA) has been formed and will be holding its first annual meeting next month.  Membership in the group will be open to qualifying companies in North America and elsewhere who serve a select and discerning public with rentals of luxury and exotic automobiles, aircraft, yachts and other watercraft, limousines, off road vehicles, motorcycles and snowmobiles.  The new association is the brainchild of entrepreneur Ron Sturgeon, owner of DFWEliteAutoRental.com, which serves the Texas market.  The first meeting will be held September 23, 2006 in Las Vegas, with details to be announced.
 
“This organization fills an unmet need in the marketplace,” say Sturgeon.  “I know from my own business that the luxury and exotic car rental industry is really starting to take off, yet it is fragmented, and there is little recognition for this niche.  I did some research and learned that this is also true for other high end forms of transportation rentals, from aircraft to yachts, limousines to motorcycles.  By working together as specialty transportation companies to serve our exclusive clients, we can make the pie bigger and everyone’s slice of the pie bigger in turn.”
 
“I know that a lot of people want to drive luxury and exotic automobiles.  By renting them, a dream for many can come true,” says Sturgeon.  “One of the association’s first and most important jobs will be to make consumers aware of the luxury and exotic transportation rental opportunities that exist in a number of cities across North America. Of course, we also want businesses to understand the benefits of such rentals, including use for incentives for employees and other business uses.”
 
Luxury and exotic cars go beyond the high-end cars available to consumers from the large multinational rental car companies.  Revered marques such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, and Bentley aren’t typically found on airport rental cars.  The same is true for other specialty transportation vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft that will be a part of STRA. 
 
“When I got into this business I was very surprised that there wasn’t an association to join already,” says Shane Atwood, president of Precious Metals Inc., (http://www.preciousmetalscars.com) providing luxury and exotic car rentals in the greater Savannah, GA and Hilton Head, SC area.  “Having an association to be a part of will help leading companies standardize important aspects of our business, such as conduct, service, and training.  It will also give us a forum to exchange helpful information.  It will be of great value to the businesses, and to customers as well.”
 
“It’s appealing to me to have a group of people in this industry working together,” says John Kiland, president of Rent-A-Vette, (www.rent-a-vette.com/) with locations in Las Vegas and Phoenix.  “There hasn’t been any cohesiveness in the luxury auto rental industry, and we need a national marketing campaign.  Working together as a group, we can raise awareness of the incredible experiences we can offer customers.”
 
Final plans will be worked out by the organization’s founders who will gather in Las Vegas at the historic inaugural meeting.  Using a tried and true structure, Sturgeon will propose a board structure known as the ‘Board of Managers’.  Less than ten in size, it will consist of leading owners and managers from the membership.  The organization will be funded by dues and other fees collected from members. Benefits to association members should include co-operative advertising, insurance, purchasing power, and media representation. Consumers will benefit from standardization of customer service levels, ease of location, and the higher standards of service associated with membership.
 
Sturgeon gained a lot of valuable experience in getting an association off the ground when he served as a co-founder of the United Recyclers Group (URG), a trade association for the automotive recycling industry.  Raising over $4 million from new members in a short period was just a part of the legacy he left at URG, as were his efforts to help reposition the image and marketing for automotive recycling. One person with a front row seat for this was Carol Roedder, a past URG manager, co-owner and corporate secretary for Modern Imports, Inc., an automotive recycling firm in St. Louis.  She served on the URG Board of Managers with Sturgeon for four years and was impressed.
 
“Ron Sturgeon is that perfect combination of entrepreneur with both great ideas and the ability to make them happen,” she says.  “I saw him in action at URG meetings and saw the organization grow in value to its members, and he was successful in his efforts to raise the stature of our industry.  I predict the same thing will happen for the specialty transportation rental industry.  Ron is very passionate about what he does.” 
 
“I invite my visionary colleagues from the specialty transportation rental businesses from across North America to join me in Las Vegas next month for a meeting to launch the new association for this exciting and dynamic industry,” says Ron Sturgeon.  “The leaders who participate will have a strong voice in helping us form an organization to serve our members and customers in ways that are not possible unless we all work together.”    
For more information on the Specialty Transportation Rental Association please contact Ron Sturgeon, one of the founders, at rons@DFWEliteAutoRental.com. The association website is www.specialtytransportationrentalassoc.com.
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Related Links Mentioned in Press Release
Ron Sturgeon http://www.dfweliteautorental.com/resume.htm
Association Web Site http://www.specialtytransportationrentalassoc.com
DFW Elite Auto Rental.com http://www.dfweliteautorental.com
Precious Metals http://www.preciousmetalscars.com
Rent-A-Vette http://www.rent-a-vette.com/
United Recyclers Groups (URG) http://www.u-r-g.com
Modern Imports http://www.modernimports.com
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