2007 TLPA Limousine & Sedan Operator of the Year

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2007 TLPA Limousine & Sedan Operator of the Year










Transportation Leader
Fall2007 31
2007 TLPA
Limousine & Sedan Operator of the Year
Sam Amato, President of Amato Industries, Inc., dba
Gateway Limousines Worldwide, Burlingame, California,
has been selected as the TLPA 2007 Limousine & Sedan
Operator of the Year.
Sam Anthony Amato was born in 1954 in San
Francisco. He is proud to have been raised in the North
Beach neighborhood known as Little Italy as was Joe
DiMaggio. His family owned two supermarkets where he
worked when he was young. He married Karen Williams in
1977. They were blessed with two children, Gina and Joel.
In 1975, while he was attending the City College of
San Francisco, Sam became an assistant manager and wine
buyer for Petrinis. In 1978, his father-in-law, Bill Williams,
started Gateway Limousines, as a hobby, driving daily
between San Francisco and Marin County. Bill bought a
black 1968 Cadillac stretch limousine from a funeral parlor.
After gaining his first contract, from the Sheraton Hotel at
Fishermans Wharf, Bill asked Sam to help with the evening
hours. In 1979, Sam bought his first limousine. By 1981,
Sam transitioned full time into the limousine business.
In 1982, the Sheraton bought their brand new 48
American Coach stretch limousine. A contract was crafted to
manage the Sheraton vehicle where Sam got office space and
parking spaces for the limousines. The office was staffed by
Gateway personnel to provide service for hotel VIPs along
with a corporate limousine shuttle for business and leisure
guests. For this service, the hotel paid Gateway $35/hour for
3 hours in the morning and for 2 hours at night. In addition,
Gateway was allowed use of the limousine for business
outside of hotel operations at no charge as long as they
provided insurance coverage and car maintenance.
Sam got together with his good friend, Rich Azzolino,
who helped him with his corporate shuttle, tours and
airport service. As a classic automobile enthusiast and
collector, Rich owned a 1939 Buick limousine and a 1953
Packard Caribbean Convertible that came in handy for
the wedding market. In 1984, Sam was able to procure a
contract with Gray Line of San Francisco who had tour
desks in over 40 hotels. By 1986, Gateways fleet had grown
to 8 stretches, 1 sedan and 2 classic cars.
In 1992, Rich Azzolino became Sams administrator
and right-hand man. They left the hotel business in pursuit
of corporate business that they had begun cultivating
through their corporate shuttle business. Also, Gateway
began offering transportation to other cities nationwide
through Carey, Metropolitan and a few affiliate contacts
that Sam made through his attendance at various limousine
shows and conferences.
In 2000, Gateway had their biggest year ever until the
fall of the dot.com industry followed by 9/11. As a result,
a fleet of 42 had to be scaled down to 25 vehicles. Today,
Gateway operates a great a