Hello from the road! It’s summer, the time when AAMVA’s “road show” hits its stride. It’s the time when our regional conferences, planning meetings and Annual International Conference take place.

Suffice it to say, AAMVA’s Meetings and Conference Team is going non-stop. It takes a lot to hold a successful meeting and I want to thank our AAMVA staff and jurisdiction member staffs who make it all possible. From the early planning stages, held jointly with the host jurisdiction, through procurement, program development, notice, registration, guest arrival, launch and travel home—there are myriad details that we attendees do not have to worry about, or even know about!

From start to finish, the customer service elements of producing a great conference, both internal and external, are demanding, rewarding and sometimes unsung. In fact, even further behind the scenes than our conference team are the finance, HR, IT and support professionals who develop the budgets, presentation materials, schedules, audio-visual and connectivity. These folks deliver internal customer service to their peers and give others the foundation on which to carry out the public production.

That’s what service to others is—demanding, personally rewarding, dynamic, unappreciated and unnoticed unless it’s missing. And it takes hard work and support from the top to keep trying new ways to get it right consistently and at ever higher speeds and volume. Outstanding customer service is vital to our success and I’m excited for you to read the article “Next-Level Service” in this issue of MOVE. It brings us into today’s customer service challenges and the technology, innovations and people-centric approach AAMVA leaders are taking.

Technology and innovation are two words that bring automated vehicles to mind and the approach members of the AAMVA community are taking. While self-driving vehicles may be slow to arrive, Automated Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) are here and calling out for attention…and for understanding. The community of driver examiners across the U.S. and Canada are faced daily with ADAS-equipped vehicles and license applicant test-takers who do not know how to use them. What’s an examiner to do?

Thanks to the shared commitment in the AAMVA community to embrace change and emerging technologies, AAMVA jurisdiction members have come together through the Automated Vehicle Working Group to develop standards for examiners to incorporate into their testing practices. In the search for uniform approaches to this challenge, guidance is on its way!

We are so fortunate to work with government and industry professionals who are committed to facing challenges, finding solutions and sharing best practices to move the ball forward until the next challenge comes along. They have a driving interest in adopting best practices to voluntarily improve uniformity and reciprocity throughout North America and they work hard to deliver all of this with outstanding customer service!

I hope I see you at an AAMVA meeting this summer—it’s where you’ll find the solutions you’re looking for and the network of trusted colleagues in whom to confide.