The Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) Foundation reached a new milestone of 1,500 members. Sharon Pietras of Huntington National Bank if the 1,500^th CLFP.

“The milestone is such an achievement for the Foundation, as I am one of many that contributed to this experience,” Pietras said.

Pietras attended an Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals (ALFP) with a cohort of teammates from Huntington National Bank in mid-May. “Before the Academy, our Huntington cohort spent weeks together [preparing],” Pietras said. “The Huntington CLFP leaders — Andrea Schmid, Paul Knowlton, and Mike Gregan — spearheaded weekly review sessions with guest Huntington CLFP alumni who each gave us their unique perspectives on the subject matter we were studying that week. It was the best part of the whole experience; we felt like we were in it together.”

“The best encouragement I can give a new CLFP candidate is the same encouragement I received: ‘Trust the process and trust yourself’,” Pietras said. “There will certainly be some concepts or chapters in the Body of Knowledge that may be harder for you, or perhaps all of it feels like completely new territory.  Each piece of knowledge or learned skill is a step in the right direction. So, enjoy the journey and reward yourself for taking the first steps.”

“To see the camaraderie, support and teamwork across the many ALFPs has been inspiring. To reach the 1,500-member mark and see our CLFP family continuing to grow daily is incredible,” Mel Vinson, vice president of marketing and development at the CLFP Foundation, said. “I am deeply grateful for the individuals, companies, and CLFPs prioritizing our mission of building a better commercial equipment leasing and finance industry.”

“One consistent theme I saw in action during my CLFP Journey was the spirit of giving,” Pietras said. “From my classmates, Huntington leadership, and CLFP leaders, it was evident that CLFP is all about giving of ourselves to help our colleagues, our industry and the next generation of candidates.  I am happy to be a support for future CLFPs while continuing to learn and gain experience in the industry.  We’re all better tomorrow when each of us is better today.”