Equipment Finance Cares held an event in Roseville, MN, hosted by Honour Capital. The event featured 58 equipment finance professionals from 35 different organizations.

“EFC was excited to go back to where the initiative started in 2021,” Jesse Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing for JDR Solutions and founder of Equipment Finance Cares, said. “This was the biggest show of support for one of our regional meetings and we are excited for the momentum that EFC is maintaining in the equipment finance industry.”

The program offered two industry thought-leading panels. Deborah Reuben, CLFP, founder and CEO of TomorrowZone, moderated the “Human Side of Innovation” panel that featured Nancy Robles of Eastern Funding; Jeffrey Bilbrey of Leasepath; Daryn Lecy, CLFP, of Oakmont Capital Services; and Tawnya Stone, CLFP, of GreatAmerica Financial Services.

The second panel on emerging talent was moderated by Sean McKenna, sales executive at Great American Insurance Group, and featured Kristi Schon of Channel; Katie Thompson of Siemens; Jacob Fahl, CLFP, of Mitsubishi HC Capital America; and Mike Mroszak of Dedicated Financial GBC.

The panel discussions touched on topics such as building company culture, empowering your workforce to make their own decisions, how to engage the younger workforce and the best ways to recruit and retain younger talent.

“Thank you for the opportunity to participate. Not only did I make meaningful connections, but I had a chance to learn about other industry professional’s passions and how we can continue to make a difference. I appreciated the format — good mix of learning and engagement. I hope you get involved again in the future,” Thompson said.

“As a newcomer to the equipment finance industry, it was an honor to participate in this fantastic event where I was able to meet and connect with others professionally but also see first-hand how organizations are doing good and giving back to the communities we serve,” Schon said.

“This was my first equipment finance event and I enjoyed it so much,” Tracey Elfering, CLF, of Oakmont Capital Services, said. “It was [wonderful] having the opportunity to meet several people in our industry whom I’ve admired for several years.”

“ECF is a great opportunity to support organizations that are doing great work in their local communities and network in an intimate setting.” Kareem Jernigan from Leasing Associates said.