Preparations before the cut.

Our 2012 Chrysler 300 is completed!   April 13th the conversion was completed.  One of our Chauffeurs’, Gene and his wife Marion flew out to Springfield MO. to bring our new limo home!   This was an 1,100 mile trip!  Gene, Marion and the new Chrysler 300 arrived around mid-night on Saturday evening safe and sound!

The Limo Lady is getting ready for another great spring!  Wedding and prom season are quickly coming and we are making sure we are ready for our clients!   We are adding a new vehicle to our fleet….. a black 2012 Chrysler 300 Limousine!   Chrysler has re-designed for 2012!!  At this time the limousine is being built by Imperial Coach Builders in Springfield Missouri.

The build actually takes about 6 to 8 weeks from the order date.  All builds are custom order.  The owner meticulously chose each and every item that will be inside the compartment.   The limo will have all of the standard items; CD, DVD, stereo,  fiber optics, cooler compartments, glass ware, color monitors.  We have chosen to have the very classic mahogany wood bar, two-toned leather seating and full-wrap cloth top!  Please check back here often for added photos!

Also, check us out on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/thelimolady  REMEMBER TO LIKE US!

(Please note, the photos of the build show our new car as white, BUT will be painted BLACK.)

Side section before attached.

side view

Freshly painted!

Cloth top is on!

Interior electrical between driver's seat and passenger's compartment.

Interior w/ fiber optics and mood lights

Final shot before leaving build.

Our Chauffeur Gene ready to travel from Springfield, MO to home!

 

Okay….here’s your checklist:

You’ve got the playoff tickets!  CHECK

You’ve got your game-day-gear all laid out!  CHECK

You’ve reserved a GAME DAY LIMO!?        YIKES….no!  I’ve got to call The Limo Lady at 410-663-7000 to reserve my Raven’s Package!!!!

Business owner driven to honor sister’s memory

Originally published on ExploreBaltimoreCounty.com

October 17, 2011 | 5:33 p.m.

The pink stretch limousine with the long black eyelashes on its headlights is fueled by equal parts cheers and tears, according to Cub Hill resident Joanna Fridinger.

“It’s my therapy,” said Fridinger, who runs The Limo Lady limousine service. “It’s so much fun to see people’s reactions; they just smile and laugh.”

But she also uses the distinctive pink vehicle to fight cancer, in memory of her older sister, Janice Horner, who fought the disease for more than five years before it killed her.

The pink limo has been a big hit for weddings, parties and other events.

Fridinger donates 10 percent of the rental proceeds to the Cancer Institute at St. Joseph Medical Center, in Towson. And on Oct. 27, she’ll team up with Bateman’s Bistro, in North Plaza, for a fundraiser that will also aid the institute.

Fridinger, 54, taught school at Immaculate Heart of Mary for 14 years before she left in 1997 to work part-time for a limousine service. She and her husband, Marty, who was a Baltimore City police officer at the time, had three young daughters, and it was too hard for her to get time off from work to keep up with their plays and concerts and activities.

“They’re only going to be young once,” she told Marty, who supported her decision.

Fridinger got lost on her way to the limo job interview in Perry Hall, but they hired her any way.

To make sure she didn’t get lost after that, her husband would get home from work at midnight and go out with her on the routes she’d have to take the next day.

That lasted a week before he took her to Readings and Greetings and purchased all the county ADC map books and said, “Here you go, we can’t keep doing this.”

When it got to the point where she was not only driving for the company — and never getting lost — and also answering the phone and handling the administrative duties, she decided to strike out on her own.

The family traded in its old Ford van for a used Lincoln town car. But they didn’t have any money for advertising, so she incorporated in 1999 under a name that would put them high in the Yellow Pages listings: All Around the County Transportation Services.

It worked. After six months they took out a home equity loan to buy a used stretch limo and she was able to double the pay of her highest paid employee. That was Marty — who worked for free.

“He’s been so supportive,” she said.

They added to the fleet later. Technically, the name of the company remains All Around the County Transportation Services. But in a male-dominated industry she was often referred to as “the limo lady,” so she now does business under that name.

A family’s fight

Fridinger still laughs and cries when she talks about Janice, who died Jan. 26, 2010.

“Janice had never married,” Fridinger said. “She was my older sister by four years. My three daughters were the apple of her eye. She was the typical spoil-the-kids kind of aunt, always there for their assemblies and tournaments.

“She was such a giving person,” she said of her sister. “She was close to so many people. She couldn’t go anywhere without giving somebody something.

“When my grandson was little, he called her ‘Aunt Beer’ because she’d always bring him the root beer he loved.”

Fridinger can still remember that day at the hospital in 2006 after the doctor had performed a hysterectomy on Janice and found a tumor.

“It doesn’t look good,” he told her. “It may be cancer.”

“I was devastated,” Fridinger said. “She was my best friend. My mom and dad had passed away. It was just Janice and me.”

The diagnosis turned out to be Stage 4 endometrial cancer. “When the doctor told her, Janice looked up at him matter of fact and asked what she could do to get rid of it.

“Janice and I made a pact at that point. She would take care of getting rid of the cancer and I would have all the emotions. ‘Blubberbutt,’ she always called me. She knew I was good at that.

“And I did a very good job.”

Janice kept working as a procurement officer for the Maryland State Police, but she started radiation treatments.” I would go with her,” Fridinger said. “We didn’t want her to be alone.”

“She made light of the cancer; she referred to it as ‘a minor inconvenience,’ “Fridinger said. “We had a ball picking out wigs, but she rarely wore one. She wore all these different color knitted caps a friend had made her, to go with her different outfits.”

“She was an amazing lady. She was always positive, optimistic. She wasn’t going to let it get her down, even as I’d hear her retching in the bathroom.

“Our daughter Melissa was her godchild, and she had asked Jan to be the maid of honor for her wedding. Jan arranged her chemo so it would be on the best week for the wedding.”

Her sister was so sick she couldn’t make the rehearsal dinner, but the nurses at the infusion center got her to the ceremony.

“One of my chauffeurs walked her down the aisle,” Fridinger said.” I remember her standing at the altar and she was so weak she was leaning on it to hold herself up. My husband and I were ready to jump up at any moment.”

The chemo stopped worked less than four months after that. The cancer was overwhelming.

“We initiated home hospice care in January of 2010,” Fridinger said. “We did the best we could to make her comfortable. We set up her bed in the family room so she wouldn’t miss anything.

“She passed away at 1 a.m. on a Tuesday. She was finally out of pain. We were all there. I think she would have liked that.”

The family decided on cremation. Since they had no cemetery plot, Marty suggested she keep the ashes “so where you go she can go.” The thought pleased her.

Night out to fight cancer

The idea of using a pink limousine to fight cancer came from a friend who owned a limo company in Raleigh, N.C., who had had gone down the same road with someone she loved.

Fridinger found a used stretch limousine in good shape, and had it shipped to Missouri to be outfitted and painted.

She found the eyelashes on the Internet when she was surfing to find ways to “pink-ify” the interior, she said.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, the Limo Lady and Bill Bateman’s Bistro, 8810 Waltham Woods Road, North Plaza, will team up for Fridinger’s latest effort to fight cancer. On that night, patrons who present a designated flier in person — on by smart phone to a server — will trigger a donation by Bateman’s of 10 percent of their check to the Cancer Institute at St. Joseph Medical Center.

That includes carry-out and bar service, but it applies only to Bateman’s at North Plaza. The flier can be obtained at St. Joseph Medical Center or downloaded at http://www.billbateman.com or http://www.StJosephTowson.com/Giving.

Patrons who are St. Joseph Medical Center employees won’t need the flier; they will be able to just show their badges.

The “Dine Out for a Cause” benefit will feature guest bartenders, guest servers, a silent sports memorabilia auction and the drawing for a raffle — the prize is three hours of limousine service, a $100 Bill Bateman’s gift card, a $50 Geresbeck’s Market gift card and “a basket of cheer.”

Tickets are on sale now, and are $2 per chance, or $5 for three chances. The winning ticket holder doesn’t have to be present when the drawing is held.

It didn’t take much thought to choose the Cancer Institute at St. Joseph as the recipient of the proceeds.

During her sister’s battle, “the nurses and doctors had become like second family,” Fridinger said. “I’m just giving back to the institute.”

“It’s funny,” she said. “My sister couldn’t go anywhere without giving something, and even though she’s not here anymore, she’s still giving.”

SPECIAL NOTE: Remember to always make a wise and educated decision when reserving a limousine! Take a moment and go to my website to view the link to: RENTAL TIPS. Especially in light of the economy, many limousine companies are not as they say and have strayed away from required licensing and insurance. As being the President of the Maryland Limousine Association www.marylandlimoassociation.com , I am seeing more and more often companies that advertise on the internet, yellow pages etc that are considered illegal. Educate yourself, be a wise consumer!

It is strongly suggested that you talk directly with the company you want to get information from. Many times the internet will provide false or misleading information like photos, pricing, locality etc. DO NOT place a reservation online with someone you have not talked with first. Take a moment to verify their authority to operate! DO NOT Place a reservation blindly! See below

There are two different classifications of For Hire vehicles and the REQUIRED Licensing and Commercial Vehicle Insurance is different for each. In addition, the CHAUFFEUR and or Driver is REQUIRED to have special driving license in order to operate ANY of these vehicles. Public Service Commission ,PSC, is Marylands governing Authority.

Limousines These vehicles could be 1 to 14 passengers. Examples of these types of vehicle could be Standard Lincoln Town Car Sedan, Standard SUV, 6, 8,10 or 12, 14 passenger stretch limousine, Van, 14 passenger or under shuttle or mini limo coach.

ANY person operating any of the above vehicles are REQUIRED to hold in their possession, a PSC For Hire Drivers License along with their MD Drivers License. If the company is licensed to operate in Maryland, you can go to the PSC website at: http://webapp.psc.state.md.us/Intranet/Transport/GetCarrier_new.cfm or call 410-767-8000, Transportation Division.

In addition, ALL vehicles MUST display a yellow Authority sticker and a Red and White sticker on the lower portion of their front windshield.

SUV Stretch, Limo Coaches, Buses These vehicles are rated as 15 passenger or more. Examples of these vehicles could be stretch SUVs, Stretch Hummers, Limo Coaches, Limo Bus, Limo Party Bus, Shuttle bus, Motor Coaches and LimBusines.

ANY person operating any of the above vehicles are REQUIRED to hold in their possession a CDL Drivers License with Passenger Endorsement along with their MD Drivers License.
If the company is licensed to operate they are REQUIRED to hold USDOT Authority and DISPLAY their USDOT numbers on both sides of their vehicle. To check to see if this company is legal to operate, go to http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx

Please refer to the information below based upon the type of vehicle you want to contract:

1. What is the size, color and what year is the limo?
2. What is the TOTAL cost for the rental of the limo? Does their TOTAL cost include gratuity (tip) for the chauffeur?
3. Is a contract written? And when are the deposit and the signed contract due back to the limousine company? Is the Deposit refundable or non-refundable?
4. Is the Chauffeur properly trained and properly licensed in the State of Maryland? Does the Chauffeur have a current PSC For Hire license?
5. Is this company currently holding a VALID PSC certificate? If so, what is their courier number? Every limousine and transportation company MUST be registered with the Public Service Commission.
6. Is the company properly insured in the State Of Maryland?
7. Does the company have a policy of NO ALCOHOL, NO ILLEGAL DRUGS?
8. Do they participate in county or school sponsored Prom Promise program?
9. Finally, can you view the car prior to Prom night?

Ask these questions of the limo company. If they avoid answering or cannot immediately answer these questions, then cross that company off of your list and call the next limousine company! Do not look for the cheapest deal. Look for a responsible company that is properly insured and licensed! After all, would you knowingly put a family member or loved one in a vehicle that you know nothing about?

Every year, students and parents end up rushing around looking for the above mentioned. Every year our phones ring off the hook with students and parents desperately looking for a limo two months before or up to the day of the prom. Sad to say, they end up with an outrageously priced limo, or a poorly maintained, dirty limo or without a limo at all! All of the reasonably priced and better limousine companies have been booked for months.

Right now YOU have the upper hand. You can choose which company and what type of limo you want for this unique evening. Start doing your Prom Homework NOW! I have listed below, a few questions you should ask limousine companies BEFORE you sign a contract or pay a deposit.

• What is the size, color and what year is the limo?
• What is the TOTAL cost for the rental of the limo? Does their TOTAL cost include gratuity (tip) for the chauffeur?
• Is a contract written? And when are the deposit and the signed contract due back to the limousine company? Is the Deposit refundable or non-refundable?
• Is the Chauffeur properly trained and properly licensed in the State of Maryland? Does the Chauffeur have a current PSC For-hire license?
• Is this company currently holding a VALID PSC certificate? If so, what is their courier number? (Every limousine and transportation company MUST be registered with the Public Service Commission.)
• Is the company properly insured in the State Of Maryland?
• Does the company have a policy of NO ALCOHOL, NO ILLEGAL DRUGS?
• Do they participate in county or school sponsored Prom Promise program?
• Finally, GO VIEW THE VEHICLE BEFORE signing the contract or putting down a deposit!

Ask these questions of the limo company. If they avoid answering or cannot immediately answer these questions… then cross that company off of your list and call the next limousine company! Don’t look for the cheapest deal. Look for a responsible company!

Please call our office to reserve your prom date. Don’t wait until the last minute; it’s best to reserve as soon as possible. If you have any special requests, we will do our best to serve you!