A New Classroom

At his essence, Tim Timpson is a teacher.
Teaching was his passion before he took the executive director position at the International Marina Institute. It was the focus of his energies while at IMI. And it’s part of his new role, heading up his own marina consulting business.
In fact, if it wasn’t for a particularly inspiring class of students he taught through IMI, he wouldn’t have taken the position in the first place.
“The teaching was the thing I enjoyed most about the position,” he explains.
The marina professional took his strengths and built on them, accomplishing much in his tenure with IMI. While he lists such things as enhancing the Certified Marina Manager program, boosting communications among members and making IMI more financially stable among his personal favorites, the unification that occurred under his leadership may be what others will remember of his time at IMI.
Only months after he joined IMI, Timpson brought the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association and the Marina Operators Association of America together with IMI to hold their annual meetings together for the first time. Because of its success, the conference and trade show is now scheduled to be held annually. The agreement to merge IMI with MOAA also took place during Timpson’s reign, though he says talk of consolidation had been going on for 10 years.
“It seemed like it was about time to get it done,” he explains. “A bunch of people were willing to sit at the same table who weren’t willing several years prior.”
In many ways his new venture, MarinaResource LLC, brings Timpson full circle. Content with what he achieved at IMI, he now will be able to pursue his love of teaching by helping others launch and grow their own marina businesses.
Ultimately, Timpson left IMI a little better than he found it. The educational programs he joined the group to preserve have been well nurtured. In all likelihood, their new home will be fertile ground where they can continue to grow. — Liz Walz

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