ORLANDO, FLA., December 10, 2023 — The MRAA Educational Foundation announced today that Angela Brayton, General Manager of Lakeview Marine in Webster, Mass., is the recipient of the Foundation’s 2024 Kevin Lodder Scholarship. This year’s scholarship recipient was unveiled at the Foundation’s awards luncheon in Orlando, Fla., as part of Dealer Week, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas annual conference and expo.
This scholarship celebrates the memory of Kevin Lodder of Lodder’s Marine in Fairfield, Ohio. Kevin worked in his family’s dealership and was dedicated to the marine industry from an early age until his untimely passing. The recipient of this scholarship receives tuition to attend the NCM Associates Total Management 1 In-Person Workshop in Sioux Falls, S.D., and a stipend to offset travel expenses.
Fourteen years ago, Brayton made career-altering decision, choosing the open receptionist position at Lakeview Marine rather than working at a big-box retail outlet. The marine industry was not on her radar and boating was not her area of expertise. However, throughout her time at Lakeview Marine, Brayton has made herself more valuable and, in doing so she has made vertical moves, earning her current general manager/showroom coordinator position.
Brayton, an advocate for daily improvement, seeks to grow as a manager because it will benefit her, the dealership and their customers.
“Being exposed to the best practices in the industry can only help myself grow as a manager and benefit our company” she wrote in her scholarship application. “Our dealership has increased sales and service volume over the years. We have a continuous goal of improving how we operate daily. My hope is that by attending the NCM Associates Total Management Workshop I can get a better understanding of key metrics and reports that will help our dealership continue to make strides in enhancing our customer relationships and employee satisfaction.”
The Total Management 1 Workshop, geared toward every decision-maker, leader and key employee, is NCM’s most widely-attended course, helping thousands of people succeed in business while helping businesses stabilize, grow and increase profits.
Workshop participants leave with a clear set of principles processes and tools to take their company to new levels of performance and profitability. The benefits include clear decision-making, right-sizing operations, bolstering margins, department score-keeping and profit planning, sound inventory preparation, enhanced communication and more. And that has a way of making their work vastly more enjoyable.
“We are proud to award this memorial scholarship to someone who is unwavering in their pursuit of personal and professional growth,” states Matt Lodder, Chairman of the MRAA Educational Foundation Board of Directors. “Given Angela’s dedication to Lakeview Marine, its culture and its customers, and the passion she has for learning, we are confident that she will leverage the scholarship to advance in her leadership, helping the dealership to improve.”
About MRAA Educational Foundation
As part of its mission to create a strong and healthy boating industry, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is committed to offering training, education and professional development opportunities to its members and the entire marine dealer community. In 2004, the association launched the MRAA Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 corporation, to provide financial support for education, training and professional development in the recreational marine trades. For more information or to donate to support the foundation’s mission, visit https://www.marineedfoundation.org/.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
