Freedom Boat Club holds first 20 Group meeting

Venice, Fla. – Freedom Boat Club held its first ever 20 Group meeting this week in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Moderated by respected industry leader David Parker of Parker Business Planning, the Freedom Boat Club 20 Group brought together Freedom Boat Club franchise owners from throughout the country for three days of strategic business review, best practices and discussions.

According to Parker, it’s the first time in history to his knowledge that a boat club owners group has ever organized a 20 Group.

“This was an exciting new 20 Group program for Parker Business Planning and I am very enthusiastic about the outcome,” Parker said. “While there are certainly distinctions and differences between boat retailers and boat club franchise owners in terms of the business model, the process, protocols and systems work equally well. The Freedom Boat Club group was very open, receptive and enthusiastic. Much was achieved in our inaugural session.”

Added Freedom Boat Club CEO and President John Giglio, “At the corporate level, we endorsed and highly promoted this program to our franchise operators because we know how well it works at the retail level among boat dealerships. As part of our research, we held meetings with David Parker and spoke with others involved in 20 Groups, and we were convinced it would be highly advantageous for our franchisees to have this type of organization to work within. The feedback from this first meeting has been very positive.”

Freedom Boat Club Chief Financial Officer Joe Bettley said, “The first 20 Group meeting was simply phenomenal and was so beneficial for all participants. I firmly believe this format will allow us to take Freedom Boat Club to a whole new level.”

Captain Matt O’Connor, general manager of Freedom Boat Club of Greater Boston and Cape Cod, agreed.

“We loved our experience at the Freedom Boat Club 20 Group in Daytona Beach. This group allowed us to learn from likeminded franchise owners who are interested in keeping Freedom Boat Club on the cutting edge of the boat club industry. Without a doubt, the ideas discussed and learned over the past few days will make our business both more streamlined and more profitable. We can’t wait for the next meeting in Jacksonville!”

And Stu Taft of Freedom Boat Club of Tampa Bay added, “The three days in Daytona have been exceptional. The sharing of experiences and the ability to gather so many entrepreneurs in the same industry is not easy to come by. I feel everyone left the meeting with new and fresh ideas that will help our businesses reach new levels.”