MDCE kicks off in Orlando
ORLANDO — For the third year in a row, the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo is undergoing substantial growth. More than 920 people — a nearly 25-percent increase over 2009 — have pre-registered for the event, which kicked off with a networking reception last night at The Rosen Plaza in Orlando. More than 440 of those people are dealers, and event organizers are already experiencing an influx of on-site registrations.
“Once again, we’ve been energized by the response to this event,” says Matt Gruhn, publisher of Boating Industry magazine, which co-produces the event with the Marine Retailers Association of America. “Dealers have once again shown their commitment to education and training, and the industry at large has turned out to show that they care about supporting dealers.”
Today, the MDCE Expo Hall opens, and a trio of bonus sessions begin at 10 a.m., leading up to this evening’s keynote address and another networking reception. On-site registration remains available — with both single-day and full passes — for the four-day event.
A total of 115 marine industry suppliers have signed up to sponsor and exhibit at this year’s event, including more than 40 boat builders. That is up from 22 boat builders and 75 total exhibitors in 2009.
To keep pace with the growth in attendance, the 2010 MDCE has added a third educational track, Powering Profits, to the event’s lineup. The new track joins the Sales & Marketing and Service Department tracks and is geared specifically toward dealer principals and general managers. All three tracks begin on Tuesday and run through Wednesday.
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