AAA Reports 2010 as Best Year in Company's 72-Year History

NEWS RELEASE CONTACT: Kevin Bakewell, Sr. Vice President, Public & Government Relations, AAA Auto Club South, (813) 289-5057 office, (813) 334-2700 cell, KBakewell@AAASouth.com Jessica Brady, manager, Public Relations, AAA Auto Club South, (813) 288-7294 office, (813) 532-5327 cell, JBrady@AAASouth.com

DESPITE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, 2010 BEST YEAR IN TAMPA-BASED AAA AUTO CLUB SOUTH’S HISTORY

Nation’s Third Largest AAA Affiliate Has Grown Every Year Since Its Founding

TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2011) — In a year when many organizations struggled to grow, AAA Auto Club South (ACS) recorded its best year in the company’s 72-year history during 2010, and posted a record breaking 558,000 new membership sales within its assigned territory of Florida, Georgia, West and Middle Tennessee and Puerto Rico.

Since its founding as the Tampa Motor Club in 1938, with only 97 members, AAA Auto Club South has never experienced a year when total membership declined.

Led by new President and CEO, John Tomlin, ACS ended the year with 4,164,000 members; a net increase of 35,000 over 2009 and the largest increase since 2007. ACS’ staff also grew by 3 percent – from 2,886 to 2,970 – with a primary focus on hiring experienced travel counselors and insurance agents.

Tomlin succeeded Tom O’Brien who retired December 21, 2009 after 33 years with ACS. “When I took office, I continued to place emphasis on three things I knew would help the organization as whole—consumer value, employee accountability, and corporate responsibility,” said John Tomlin, President and CEO, AAA Auto Club South. “Because of the financial hardship faced by so many consumers, we had to find ways to make a AAA membership even more valuable. It’s not about selling products people don’t need; it’s about offering services that will make life a little easier for our members.”

Since taking over, Tomlin has placed an expanded emphasis on training that encourages employees to uncover a customer’s true needs by asking probing questions in an effort to offer products and services that best meet a members needs. “Our biggest challenge is a lack of understanding by our members about how they can easily pay for their AAA membership by using AAA for services and products they buy or use every day,” said Tomlin.

One of Tomlin’s top priorities is the growth of the company’s AAA Dollars rewards program, in which certain purchases made at AAA offices, online at AAA.com and with a growing list of partners result in “AAA Dollars” being credited to a member’s account.  These “AAA Dollars” lower their dues at renewal time.

“Our goal is not only to deliver value, but to keep the out-of-pocket cost of our membership product as affordable as possible,” said Tomlin who was excited about Money Magazine’s recent proclamation that buying or renewing a AAA membership is a ‘no brainer’ thanks to AAA’s value-added discounts and emergency roadside services.

From a staffing perspective, Tomlin has restructured ACS to best serve the needs of local members, whether they are in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee or Puerto Rico. “Recognizing our members’ needs and the best way to serve them often differ by market, so we moved to what we call an ‘Area Executive’ structure which has empowered our local leaders to make decisions based upon local demands,” said Tomlin.

ACS recently received national recognition for its comprehensive employee wellness programs in the form of the prestigious Well Deserved award from UnitedHealthcare. ACS is one of only 10 companies in the nation and the only company in the Southeast U.S. to receive this honor. “We are committed to providing health and wellness programs for our employees that actively decrease health risks, focus on preventive education and empower our employees to take ownership of their health,” said Tomlin.

As for being a good corporate citizen, expanding the role of ACS as a leading traffic safety advocate is also one of Tomlin’s priorities and has motivated the recent formation of the Auto Club South Traffic Safety Foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity.

“The Auto Club South Traffic Safety Foundation is all about expanding our current efforts to reduce traffic-related deaths, injuries and crashes in our communities,” said Tomlin. “For nearly three-quarters of a century ACS has funded such programs as the AAA School Safety Patrol which has more than 75,000 student participants in our elementary schools. ACS will continue to fund these programs, but the Foundation will now allow us to do much, much more.”

ACS annually spends more than $500,000 to support traffic safety programs including car seat safety checks, senior safety and mobility, driver improvement, DUI prevention and bicycle and pedestrian safety. ACS officers and other inaugural donors have already donated or pledged almost $100,000 to the Auto Club South Traffic Safety Foundation over the next five years.

AAA Auto Club South (ACS) is the third largest affiliate of AAA, with 79 branch offices serving more than 4.1 million members in Florida, Georgia, Middle/West Tennessee, and Puerto Rico. ACS is the largest membership travel organization and one of the top independent insurance agencies in the Southeast US.

NEWS RELEASE CONTACT: Kevin Bakewell, Sr. Vice President, Public & Government Relations, AAA Auto Club South, (813) 289-5057 office, (813) 334-2700 cell, KBakewell@AAASouth.com Jessica Brady, manager, Public Relations, AAA Auto Club South, (813) 288-7294 office, (813) 532-5327 cell, JBrady@AAASouth.com

DESPITE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, 2010 BEST YEAR IN TAMPA-BASED AAA AUTO CLUB SOUTH’S HISTORY

Nation’s Third Largest AAA Affiliate Grows in All Business Lines

TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. XX, 2011) — In a year when many organizations struggled to grow, AAA Auto Club South (ACS) had its best year in the company’s 72-year history in terms of new memberships sold during 2010. Led by new President and CEO, John Tomlin, ACS reported strong growth in all business lines.

Sales of new memberships were a record breaking 558,000 within ACS’ assigned territory comprised of Florida, Georgia, West and Middle Tennessee and Puerto Rico. ACS ended the year with 4,164,000 members, a net increase of 35,000 over 2009 and the largest increase since 2007. ACS’ staff also grew by 3 percent – from 2,886 to 2,970 – with a primary focus on hiring experienced travel counselors and insurance agents.

Total sales for ACS’ in 2010 were close to $952 million from its combined sales operations which include membership dues, insurance premiums, tours and cruises, attraction tickets and luggage. The 2010 net income of $11.5 million was the second highest in the company’s history. As a private, Florida not-for-profit corporation, ACS exists primarily for the benefit of its members with net income used to enhance or expand services that support the company’s purpose.

Tomlin succeeded Tom O’Brien who retired December 21, 2009 after 33 years with ACS. “When I took office, I continued to place emphasis on three things I knew would help the organization as whole—consumer value, employee accountability, and corporate responsibility,” said John Tomlin, President and CEO, AAA Auto Club South. “Because of the financial hardship faced by so many consumers, we had to find ways to make a AAA membership even more valuable. It’s not about selling products people don’t need; it’s about offering services that will make life a little easier for our members.”

Since taking over, Tomlin has placed an expanded emphasis on training that encourages employees to uncover a customer’s true needs by asking probing questions in an effort to offer products and services that best meet a members needs. “Our biggest challenge is a lack of understanding by our members about how they can easily pay for their AAA membership by using AAA for services and products they buy or use every day,” said Tomlin.

One of Tomlin’s top priorities is the growth of the company’s AAA Dollars rewards program, in which certain purchases made at AAA offices, online at AAA.com and with a growing list of partners result in “AAA Dollars” being credited to a member’s account.  These “AAA Dollars” lower their dues at renewal time.

“Our goal is not only to deliver value, but to keep the out-of-pocket cost of our membership product as affordable as possible,” said Tomlin who was excited about Money Magazine’s recent proclamation that buying or renewing a AAA membership is a ‘no brainer’ thanks to AAA’s value-added discounts and emergency roadside services.

From a staffing perspective, Tomlin has restructured ACS to best serve the needs of local members, whether they are in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee or Puerto Rico. “Recognizing our members’ needs and the best way to serve them often differ by market, so we moved to what we call an ‘Area Executive’ structure which has empowered our local leaders to make decisions based upon local demands,” said Tomlin.

ACS recently received national recognition for its comprehensive employee wellness programs in the form of the prestigious Well Deserved award from UnitedHealthcare. ACS is one of only 10 companies in the nation and the only company in the Southeast U.S. to receive this honor. “We are committed to providing health and wellness programs for our employees that actively decrease health risks, focus on preventive education and empower our employees to take ownership of their health,” said Tomlin.

As for being a good corporate citizen, expanding the role of ACS as a leading traffic safety advocate is also one of Tomlin’s priorities and has motivated the recent formation of the Auto Club South Traffic Safety Foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity.

“The Auto Club South Traffic Safety Foundation is all about expanding our current efforts to reduce traffic-related deaths, injuries and crashes in our communities,” said Tomlin. “For nearly three-quarters of a century ACS has funded such programs as the AAA School Safety Patrol which has more than 75,000 student participants in our elementary schools. ACS will continue to fund these programs, but the Foundation will now allow us to do much, much more.”

ACS annually spends more than $500,000 to support traffic safety programs including car seat safety checks, senior safety and mobility, driver improvement, DUI prevention and bicycle and pedestrian safety. ACS officers and other inaugural donors have already donated or pledged almost $100,000 to the Auto Club South Traffic Safety Foundation over the next five years.

AAA Auto Club South (ACS) is the third largest affiliate of AAA, with 79 branch offices serving more than 4.1 million members in Florida, Georgia, Middle/West Tennessee, and Puerto Rico. ACS is the largest membership travel organization and one of the top independent insurance agencies in the Southeast US.