ABYC elects new directors to board
EDGEWATER, Md. – The American Boat & Yacht Council recently confirmed the election of new board directors at its annual meeting held in Miami during mid-February.
Jim Ellis, the retiring chair of the ABYC Board officially welcomed and introduced the incoming board directors – Dan Gribble, F. Steven Herb, Jack Hornor, Eleanor Mariani, Tim O’Connor and John Sima – to those attending the annual meeting.
Past board directors Bret Bretnall – president, Raritan Engineering Co., Inc.; Greg Davis – president, Davis & Co., Ltd.; Gordan Grant – Attorney at Montgomery, Barnett, Brown, Read, Hammond & Mintz, L.L.P.; John Underwood – CEO of Lockwood Marine, Inc. and Bill Yeargin – executive vice president of Rybovich Spencer, all retired from three-year terms as board directors.
ABYC’s Board of Directors provides strategic direction and guidance in furthering ABYC’s core mission of developing standards, safety guidelines and supporting workforce education and training programs for small craft, marine professionals and the boating public.
– Dan Gribble is president and CEO of the Boatswain’s Locker. He also operates both a resale and marine refit business and is a Southern California distributor for Yanmar and MerCruiser.
– F. Steven Herb is a partner at the Nelson Hesse law firm in Sarasota, Fla., practicing primarily in the area of recreational boat law. He has been an active member of the Recreational Boat Law Committee of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and the Government Relations Committee of NMMA. Herb was awarded the Meritorious Service Award by the Florida Bar, the NMMA Recognition Award and has been a business member of ABYC since 1986.
– Jack Hornor is the president and CEO of Marine Survey and Design Co. He’s also a long-time surveyor, naval architect and supporter of ABYC and is a member in good standing of both NAMS and SAMS, having served in leadership positions in both surveyor associations. Hornor has been a sustaining member of ABYC since 1988.
– Eleanor Mariani is State Boating Law Administrator for the State of Connecticut and works directly for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Boating Division. She is member of NASBLA’s Waterways Management Committee and chaired the committee during its first three years of existence, beginning in 2000. Mariani recently completed one term on the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council.
– Tim O’Connor is a partner and vice president of LEM Products, Inc., a producer of labels for the marine industry. O’Connor is also the label manufacturer for NMMA, and has been an ABYC manufacturer member since 1992.
– John Sima is the owner/Operator of Sima Marine. He has been instrumental in starting boating organizations such as the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association and the Marine Retailers Association of America. He is the immediate past chairman of MRAA.
Also at this meeting, the 2005 Slate of Board Officers was announced.
Returning 2005 Board of Directors:
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