Maine Groups honored by National Marine Association
Warren, R.I.—Both the Kittery Point Yacht Yard and Susan Swanton from the Maine Marine Trades Association (MMTA) received high marks for innovation and training from the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association (ABBRA) at the association’s Annual Conference, held in New Bedford, Mass., in July.
Kittery Point and Swanton are two of six groups nationwide to receive a prestigious ABBRA award, offered on an annual basis and designed to recognize individuals and companies from the boatbuilding and repairing industry for their excellence throughout the year.
Kittery Point Yacht Yard, with two locations on the Piscataqua River and known for its 22’ custom dayboats, received its award for the changes manager Tom Allen and his team were willing to make to build a strong productive team and a profitable boatyard business after a crippling fire in 2008.
Susan Swanton, the executive director for the Maine Marine Trades Association based in Portland, Maine, received her award for, among other accomplishments, helping to create and implement the Maine Marine Trades Apprenticeship Program, the Maine Clean Boatyards & Marinas Program, and a number of other environmental initiatives in partnership with the EPA. In addition, she was instrumental in creating the Marine Systems Training Center in Thomaston, which focuses on providing high quality, high demand training for incumbent workers. She also co-chaired Maine’s North Star Alliance Initiative, a $14.4M federal grant that supported an economic development initiative including workforce development centered on Maine boatbuilding and the marine and composite industries.
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