Albemarle executive named Woman of the Year

LAS VEGAS – Albemarle Boats executive Carol Ricketts was presented with the 2005 Darlene Briggs Woman of the Year Award on Thursday during a luncheon at the Marine Retailers Association of America Convention in Las Vegas.

The Darlene Briggs Woman of the Year Award is presented each year to an outstanding woman in the boating business who demonstrates leadership and commitment to the recreational marine industry. The recipients also must demonstrate a willingness to volunteer their time and effort in their communities and social organizations.

The award was established in 1987 in honor of Darlene Briggs of Wayzata Marine, who exemplified these qualities, serving as the first retail marine saleswoman in Minnesota and the first female member of her state marine trades association. It is sponsored by Boating Industry magazine, MRAA Spader 20 Group 103 and MRAA.

The award was presented to Ricketts, Albemarle Boats senior vice president of finance and administration, by the sponsors along with Dawn Johnson, manager of dealer and consumer support and warranty of BRP U.S. and last year’s award winner.

Ricketts, the daughter of a shipbuilder, spent the majority of her career moving up through the ranks of a family-owned boat manufacturer, but her first job in the recreational marine industry was for a marina and yacht broker, an experience that she says has proven invaluable.

Today, our award winner is involved with all facets of her company’s business, from production scheduling and research and development to inventory control and dealer development.

In addition, she has been very active in her community, working toward the development of a well-trained labor pool for her region’s boat builders through positions on a Workforce Development Board and as founding member of a local college’s Boat Builders Committee, created in 2003.

This commitment to her own business, industry and community was illustrated in the comments of the person who nominated her, herself a former Darlene Briggs Award winner.

This person highlighted the value of the award winner’s contribution to her company, which was exemplified when the boat builder was recently acquired by the decision to retain her in a leadership position.

In addition to Johnson, other past recipients of the Darlene Briggs Award include: Joan Maxwell, president of Regulator Marine Inc.; Kris Carroll, president of Grady-White Boats, Inc.; Lynn Fiorenzano of Silver Spring Marine; Kimberly Bors, a former Brunswick Boat Group executive and former president of Chris Craft; and Maureen Dickson, president of Cap Sante Marine.

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