Alan Lazowski was named NPA Innovator of the Year and Ruth Beaman was given the Women in Parking Impact Award at the NPA Conference held in October in Las Vegas.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the parking industry hard, Alan Lazowski doubled down on innovation and support for the industry and his employees. During the pandemic’s early days, Lazowski led advocacy efforts on behalf of the parking industry.
In addition, Lazowski supported the industry’s blue-ribbon commission to advance heightened sanitization, which LAZ Parking Vice President of Healthcare Services Stephanie Barnes co-chaired.
LAZ Parking was one of the first companies in the industry to become a PARKSAFE™ company. At LAZ, Lazowski and his founding partners voluntarily reduced their pay to zero for 90 days and established a $1 million Employee Relief Fund for furloughed employees.
“It’s the LAZ way to support each other within the company,” Lazowski says. “As leaders, we have the privilege and responsibility to do more and give more.” Lazowski also guided his leadership team to create innovations designed to help clients through the pandemic.
The company grew its e-commerce and touchless parking solutions and started several new service lines. “I’m proud to help lead an organization that uses innovation to ensure our customers and our employees succeed,” Lazowski says.
Beaman Receives WIP impact award
NPA announces its third Annual Women In Parking Impact award recognizing an amazing individual, Ruth Beaman, who founded the WIP organization now celebrating its 10th year, and who is also the founder and principal of IntegraPark.
Beaman has been at the forefront of the parking industry, leading at an exemplary level. She has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to all parking professionals, and particularly women.
Her long and distinguished career has touched many different aspects of the parking industry, including as an operator at Central Parking, in addition to currently leading the technology company IntegraPark.
Beaman will always be known as an industry innovator for having envisioned and launched WOMEN IN PARKING (WIP) in 2011. Through Beaman's leadership thousands of women have benefitted from mentoring, leadership development and skills development within the parking industry.
Her public speaking on integrity, hard work and making it in parking have encouraged a generation of women
to see themselves in parking as a career—not just a job. And her impact extends to Veteran’s in Parking, which she also supports.
“Ruth is a wonderful ambassador for parking and has diligently helped hundreds of women navigate their way to management and leadership roles with the advent of WIP," says WIP member, Marcy Sparrow, director of sales and PIE, Parking Today Media. “We are indebted to her vision, as she has permanently changed the parking industry.”
Beaman believes in giving back, and often supports scholarships for WIP membership and other learning opportunities. “If Ruth did not exist, we would have to invent her. Parking has changed significantly with technology, and Ruth has been at the forefront of that shift,” says WIP member Heidi Barker, senior director of marketing and sales ops at Parker Technology. “And through her many contributions, she’s ensured that women are not left behind, and further, that they are leading and impacting the industry.”
