The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has opened the nomination period for the Third Annual Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes marine retail professionals who have made fundamental, significant and sustained contributions to the marine industry. Applications are due October 18, 2019. Last year, Gary Briggs of Wayzata Marine, Wayzata, Minn., was named the second recipient of ...

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has strengthened the voice of the marine dealer in Washington, D.C., with the appointment of Adam Fortier-Brown as MRAA’s government relations manager. Fortier-Brown, whose family owns and operates Clark Marine, a Manchester, Maine-based boat dealership, graduated from the University of Maine magna cum laude, with a Bachelor’s degree in economics and political science. ...

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas recently announced the education lineup for its inaugural Dealer Week Conference and Expo, which includes experts from inside and outside the marine industry; and a mix of professional educators, consultants and innovators from the front lines of marine retail. “At the MRAA, everything we do is motivated by our vision statement, which calls ...

BoatPAC, the joint political action committee of NMMA and MRAA, will host two upcoming events in Florida with key members of Congress and industry champions.  Next Tuesday, Aug. 27, BoatPAC will host Congressman Mike Waltz in the Orlando/Daytona area at Mission Inn from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  BoatPAC then heads to Tampa for an event with key industry champions ...

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas says more than 120 marine dealerships completed the inaugural year of the association’s Continuous Certification program. The all-new Continuous Certification program was launched in January 2018 as a powerful revamp to the previous “Re-Certification” process. The new program was built specifically for Certified Dealers and not only qualified dealers to maintain their Dealership ...

MRAA announced that it will divide its education during its new Dealer Week conference into three main classrooms, or Education Pathways: The Dealership, The Customer and The Employee. Each of these Pathways will feature sessions, case studies, workshops, dealer-to-dealer interaction — and a top marine industry trainer as host. These dedicated “Education Hosts” will act as guides throughout the week ...

MRAA recently launched an open “Call for Solutions” to solicit educational partnerships throughout 2019. Instead of a traditional “Call for Speakers” for a single event, MRAA is interested in potential solutions across all of its educational offerings, including both its annual conference and expo, Dealer Week, and a host of other educational initiatives. “Some topics are perfectly suited for a ...

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas launched registration for its new annual conference, Dealer Week. Attendees can sign up for the event now at DealerWeek.com. Attendees can sign up earlier than ever before with a new price point, Earliest Bird, that lasts through March 31. Earliest Bird offers pricing of $424 for MRAA Members and $524 for Non-Members. “We’ve ...

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has announced the hiring of Mike Davin as the association’s new Director of Education. Prior to joining MRAA, Mike served as Director of Marketing and Communications at The Event Group, where he partnered with clients on marketing, strategic planning and event management. In his role, he helped produce events of all sizes, from ...

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas named Gary Briggs of Wayzata Marine as its 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Recognizing Briggs at the MRAA Opening Awards Ceremony at its annual conference last month, MRAA celebrated his numerous accomplishments in the marine industry over the last 51 years. Briggs opened a start-up selling and servicing marine equipment in 1967 and ...