Jim Thorpe and family, of Spring Brook Marine sent a letter to friends and business partners announcing the sale of their family business. Spring Brook Marina is a longtime MRAA member and Jim served on the MRAA board for 17 years.
TO ALL OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS:
In 1960, when my mother, father, and myself put the first shovel in the ground, we never imagined that we would build such a successful family business. From the beginning until now, Spring Brook Marina has grown from 7 acres of land and 15 small boat slips to 50 acres of land and over 200 boat slips. We went from hand building Chris Craft kit boats in our basement to one of the largest yacht dealers in the country. After purchasing the first 7 acres of land, we started digging the first of 3 harbors. My father and I built the docks by hand and installed them in the spring of 1961. We quickly sold out of docks the first year, built a workshop, and purchased a travel lift. Our family business was off to a great start.
In 1988, my son, Steve joined the team full time, and in 1989, my daughter, Tammy joined in making for an even clearer path to success. In 2003, we hired Kyle Stenzel. Even though Kyle was not from the marine industry, he learned very quickly and sold his first boat at the 2003 Racine Boat Show. In 2007, Kyle received the Number 1 Salesperson award from our yacht manufacturer. After several years, he took over the responsibility of sales manager, and in 2012, was instrumental in signing on with Prestige Yachts, which has led us to selling and servicing over 55 of these beautiful yachts. Now in 2017, Kyle will be introducing Fairline Yachts, with the first one coming this winter.
We have grown this family business in leaps and bounds over the past 56 years, and now we have decided it’s time to release the reigns and sell this family legacy to Kyle Stenzel. Myself and the current Spring Brook crew are confident and totally onboard with supporting Kyle in this new venture. We can assure you Kyle, along with Tammy and Steve, will continue to offer and provide the exceptional customer service and support that you are accustomed to from Spring Brook Marina.
I will still be around, helping out at boat shows, flying the crew to where they need to go, and providing advice, if needed. I plan to do some traveling, play some more golf, and relax a little more.
I would like to thank my family, our employees, and all of the Spring Brook customers for making Spring Brook Marina the success that it is today, and for your continued support in the future.
Sincerely,
Jim Thorpe
Tammy Murphy
Steve Thorpe
