2009 MDCE Testimonials

“I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you and your staff accomplished last week in Orlando. Not only was it the best-attended MDCE, it was easily the most informative and more importantly, most invigorating. You have to know you are on to something very special to get that type of turnout in probably the worst economy this industry has ever seen.” — Don MacKenzie, Boats Incorporated

“It was better than I thought it was going to be. I didn’t expect to feel as re-energized as I did.” – Rosanna Aiello, Davey Marine Center

“I want to thank your group again for putting on an incredibly educating event! It was certainly the best industry training event I have attended in the 20 plus years I’ve been involved in our industry. The entire event was like a giant 20 group meeting of best practices and best ideas.” — Jerry Brouwer, Action Water Sports

“The convention was the most positive vibe and momentum I have felt in the marine industry in years and you are a major part of causing that. Great Job!!!” — John Spader, Spader Business Management

“I wanted to thank you and your team for doing such a fantastic job for putting on this year’s MDCE conference and Top 100 Program. I personally came away with four pages of typed notes and 18 immediate action items from this year’s MDCE conference to help grow and improve our business. Keep up the great job!” — Jeff Strong, Strong’s Marine

“I always enjoy the ideas I get out of the conference. I usually get a good 15 pages of notes that I bring back. The educational information is the best in the industry. We’ll be back next year.” – Charles Campbell, Texas Marine

“For the amount invested in time and money, you walk away with many ideas. It’s well worth the investment. We came back with a list of at least 70 items that we can implement rather quickly at little expense.” – Travis Hayes, Hayes Marine

“When you surround yourself with a positive environment, you can’t help but learn how to get better. I would advise anyone who wants to succeed to attend.” – Chuck Thompson, South Shore Marine

“The attendance was exciting. There were more people to connect with and build relationships with. There was a lot of take-home information that was very applicable.” – Tom Whowell, Gordy’s Lakefront Marine

“The entire event was excellent. These are troubled times, so it would be foolish not to attend.” – Don Wolfard, Drakes Creek Marine

“This conference was the best they’ve had in years. It was the best in attendance, too. It was great to see so many dealers there. Every marine dealership that can afford it needs to be there if they’re going to survive in this market.” – Barbara Woodard, Woodard Marine, Inc.

“I just wanted to congratulate you and your team on what I thought was an excellent conference. I think it went above what anyone expected and was a great service to the industry.” — Scott Anderson, Merrick Bank

“I thought it was worth my time and money and would definitely do it again.” – Marc Curreri, Bahia Mar Yachting Center

“The whole conference was an A+ all the way through.” –Don Galey, Galey’s Marine

“This was my first conference I’d been to like that, and I was extremely impressed.” – Mike Lueneburg, Wake Side Marine

“It’s just a good atmosphere to meet with your peers and learn from them.” – Doug Malone, Sail & Ski Centers

“You are all to be commended for organizing and producing an outstanding conference. The conference agenda was packed with top-notch presenters with excellent takeaways for sales, service, marketing and finance. And thanks for putting it all on a USB stick so we can share it with our team members.” — Larry Russo Sr., Russo Marine

“Just wanted to drop a note to you to say thanks to you and your team’s effort in putting on last week’s conference. I found it interesting and timely considering today’s market.” — Paul Cummings, MarineMax, Inc.

“Thanks for all your assistance and the effort that you put into this show. You truly did an amazing job and are an asset to BI and this industry as a whole! All in all it was a great show and I am telling everyone, including prospects that I am speaking with, that this will be the “go to” event for the marine industry next year.” — Robert Coffey, B.i.T Dealership Software, Inc.

“The knowledge from the presenters, and to have that amount of marine dealer knowledge in one place, was priceless.” – Patrick Desmond, 3A Marine Service, Inc.

“The classes were excellent. It was nice to be able to ask questions and get the answers. I give them five stars all the way across the board.” – Oscar Ferrandiz, Davey Marine Center

“The whole industry has been backwards for lack of a better term. It’s nice to see people bringing professionalism to it. That’s what this conference did. It was amazing to see the level of people’s visions.” – Jim Marshal, Pride Marine Group

“I believe what Boating Industry has done and the efforts of the MRAA have had a huge impact on the professionalism of the industry. The conference reflected professionalism 100 percent. It was done first class.” – Chris Meredith, Longshore Boats

“I really want to thank you for making me feel like a VIP at the MDCE Conference and Top 100 Celebration. Since it was my first time at this conference I wasn’t sure what to expect. From the minute I arrived to set up our booth on Sunday to the final goodbye at the Top 100 Dinner, I felt respected, important and of value to the conference. The energy and enthusiasm shown by you and your staff was contagious, and I’m so grateful I was able to catch every bit of it. Normally a work conference like this will leave me exhausted and depleted of energy, but this conference has me energized and more enthusiastic than ever about being a part of this amazing industry. Thank you for putting on the best of the best in our industry and allowing me to be a part of it.” —Joni Giordano, Boat Trader

“I got a lot out of it, and the interaction with other dealers is worth every bit you spend.” – Rick Rosenberger, Captain’s Cove Marine

“We liked some of the panels they had on the service side. They’re the things you should be doing but tend to lose sight of. It was a slap upside the head for some of us managers. It was a big positive, especially in this economy.” – Bret Skonicki, MarineMax, Inc.

“It was definitely worth my money.” Mark Smith, Eagle Marine

“Just a quick note. to tell you that the Marine Dealer Conference and Expo that you and the staff of Boating Industry put on was spectacular. I realize you know that the attendance was up and that the manufacturers had more displays and were more involved, but those were really just the sidebars. What really made a difference was the content.

I have been to as many dealer meetings, industry conferences, and seminars as anyone in this business, and have always come back with some idea that we had never thought of or tried before. That is the reason we go, to learn get better and implement. It has been said many times that sometimes you cannot see the forest through the trees, and that you need to learn something new every day.

This conference was different. First of all you could follow two distinct paths, one for service and the other for sales. The problem we found was that with just two of us from the dealership we were running like crazy to get to all the talks, panel discussions and presentations, because they were all that good.

I have never gone to a marine meeting and not picked up something, but this year we found ourselves talking at night and on the way home trying to figure out what to do first. This year we have already put two items into play and are working out the logistics to implement another dozen or so. To us that is incredible!!!!!!

You and your staff have set the goal extremely high and next year have a tough act to follow. Normally I would be emailing you to thank you in our placement of the Top 100 and the respect and admiration you give us for doing so, but this year at least for us at the Marine Center, it took a backseat to the incredible amount of extremely valuable information you provided us with by putting on such an outstanding conference.

You and your staff deserve a great big pat on the back, and I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us next year.

Thanks again.” — Michael A. Hoffman, Marine Center of Indiana and Sea Ray of Indianapolis

“This year’s conference was especially useful. The first weekend we got home, Mark held an internal sales lesson on things he had learned at the conference. Two quotes particularly stand out to us from the conference and we repeat them daily. The first is “Get real, get a plan, get going.” The second has been distributed to all of our employees, “It may not be our fault, but it is our problem.”

As we enter a traditionally quiet time in the marine business in Northern New York, it is an exciting time as we have lots to work on from the conference. We are so glad the conference was in November and not in March heading into the busy season!” — Mark and Wendy LaLonde, Hutchinson’s Boat Works, Inc.