In 1999 a small group of local South Florida storage operators met to form a local networking association. With the direction of David Blum of Storage USA and Mike Conlon of Shurgard, a steering committee was formed comprised of Norman Schulman (Sentry Self Storage), Richard Mathews (Stor-all), David Brown (Budget Mini Storage), and Loren Minz (Plantation X-tra Storage). Together we arranged for Michael Kidd of the SSA to address our first luncheon. The attendance confirmed that there was much interest in continuing with our efforts. Thus the South Florida Self Storage Association was formed in August of 1999. By the summer of 2000 we had over 100 members and planned our first event, an evening table top EXPO. The attendance was overwhelming. We held a meeting shortly thereafter where Michael Kidd encouraged our group to expand and reach out to encompass the whole state. By January 2001 not only had we changed our name to the Florida Self Storage Association (FSSA), formalized our “Not for Profit” status, held elections, and formed our first board, we had hired our first part time Executive Director and began planning our first state-wide annual trade show and EXPO in Orlando for that summer. We have moved this group forward addressing issues that concern every operator in Florida, representing the state at all national SSA meetings and state council sessions. We developed and made available for our members an approved, certified Florida lease. The latest improvement has been to add a professional association management company to move us to our next level. We look forward to continuing to add services and programs that will enhance and assist members with their business in the storage industry in Florida. The mission of FSSA is to ensure the stability and growth of the self storage industry by providing a forum in which members may increase knowledge through educational opportunities, exchange information, and promote an established unified voice.