Cobalt celebrates 55 years with dealer event
Cobalt Boats continued its series of popular World Class Dealer Network annual celebrations with a special four-day event from September 18-21 at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla. Held annually to recognize dealer accomplishments, this year’s edition marked Cobalt’s 55 years in business, with founder Pack St. Clair and his son, former Cobalt President Paxson St. Clair, driving the company’s newest boats, the R35 Sterndrive and R35 Outboard, in a reveal to the 361 dealers, vendors, VIPs, Cobalt associates and guests in attendance.
Along with the regional sales conferences, highlights of the dealer schedule included the general business meeting with state-of-the-industry and state-of-Cobalt recaps, sales updates, and a product development report. Other events included a cocktail reception, a Cobalt Fun Run/Walk and, of course, boat demos with Cobalt staff.
The meeting also gave the company the chance to recognize the dealerships that earned Cobalt awards for sales promotion and customer service excellence in 2022.
Breakout sessions covered business development discussions with an emphasis on such topics as “Deliver the Experience Your Customer Deserves,” “Keep Your Talented Employees on Board” and “Handle the Heat,” the latter focusing on improved customer service.
Complementing these activities were boat-testing opportunities and a vendor mall where many of Cobalt’s top partners displayed products. The meeting’s grand finale was a cocktail reception and awards banquet honoring the Cobalt dealers with the top rankings for sales and customer satisfaction, listed below.
| Top Sales: | |
| Singleton Marine Group, Buford, GA | Rambo Marine, Hazel Green, AL |
| Seattle Boat Co, Inc., Seattle, WA | Parks Marina, Okoboji, IA |
| Village Marina, Eldon, MO | Boats By George, Inc., Lake George, NY |
| West Coast Boat Center, Rocklin, CA | Hagadone Marine Group, Coeur D’Alene, ID |
| Premier Marine, LLC, Middleton, MA | The Boat House of Cape Coral, Cape Coral, FL |
| Gordy’s Lakefront Marine, Fontana, WI | Boat Town, Inc, Austin, TX |
| Slalom Shop, Lewisville, TX | Action Water Sports, Hudsonville, MI |
| River Valley Power & Sport, Inc., Rochester, MN | Futrell Marine, Nashville, AR |
| The Harbor, Branson, MO | Marine Connection, West Palm Beach, FL |
| Arrowhead Boat Sales, Afton, OK | |
| World’s Largest Dealer- | |
| Singleton Marine Group, Buford, GA | |
| World’s Largest Single-Market Dealer- | |
| Seattle Boat Co, Inc., Seattle, WA | |
| Customer Satisfaction Awards- | |
| Western Region: Hagadone Marine Group, Coeur D’Alene, ID | |
| Central Region: The Harbor, Branson, MO | |
| Eastern Region: O’Hara Marine, Inc., Brookfield, CT | |
| International: Cobalt Australia, Queensland, Australia | |
| Worldwide: The Harbor, Branson, MO |
The awards evening culminated in a Margaritaville-themed, Jimmy Buffet-style “55 Years of Paradise” celebration to commemorate the 55-year anniversary.
