WILLIAM A. “BILL” MEKRUT, retired vice president and treasurer of FM Global, was recently elected as chairman of the national AAA board of directors at the federation’s 116th annual meeting in Chandler, Ariz. Mekrut first joined the AAA Northeast board in 2008 and was elected to the national board in 2015, serving as vice chairman. He is the former board chairman for Delta Dental and currently serves as a member of the Providence College President’s Council and as an advisory board member of the Providence College School of Business.
What prompted you to first become involved with AAA at the local level? AAA has always been a part of my family’s life. My parent’s membership gave the family peace of mind whether we were traveling down the road or out of town. Now I’m excited to be a part of that very organization that provides more than 59 million members with that same sense of security and so much more, including automotive, travel, insurance and financial services through its federation of 34 motor clubs and nearly 1,100 branch offices across North America. The fact that AAA is also the leading traffic safety organization in the U.S. is also a major factor for me.
In what ways has your financial expertise helped better the organization? AAA is a unique, service-oriented organization with an unwavering focus on delivering the highest-quality roadside assistance, valuable discounts and market-leading travel and financial products. Applying my financial background and expertise to helping this nonprofit optimize its resources to accomplish its goals is very rewarding.
What are the biggest things currently impacting travelers and motorists and how will AAA address those concerns? From our first TripTiks to today’s digital guides on our mobile app, our members’ needs come first. Our travel agents provide travel information, resources and advocate for the traveler to keep them safe.
AAA is a leading advocate for transportation, traffic safety and mobility issues at a critical moment in history where we are witnessing the evolution of our transportation system. AAA is actively engaged to help motorists understand and safely use the emerging autonomous vehicle technologies. But realizing the benefits of those technologies will require continuous analysis and research. AAA Research and Engineering and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety evaluate AV technology at several leading universities and some AAA clubs are driving AV research with autonomous vehicles under controlled conditions.
What new initiatives do you have planned for AAA as board chairman? Our roadside assistance, travel, insurance, discount and other offerings are ever-evolving to serve members’ changing needs, while providing the level of excellence and reliability people have come to expect from AAA. It’s an exciting time at AAA and I’m proud to be a part of this organization as we continue to negotiate the rapidly changing transportation environment.
