Along with the health battles, the economic battles and the ensuing emotional battles our society is faced with today, a new frontline battle has emerged for our dealerships: A philosophical battle.   For the past two weeks, there has been a frenzy of activity here at the MRAA and at our sister associations […]

Over the course of the last three weeks, your MRAA team has been in contact with thousands of dealerships, including hundreds of one-to-one phone conversations and hundreds more email conversations. Additionally, we’ve been keeping a pulse on dealership operations as the government imposes more and more “shelter-at-home” orders and businesses scramble for “essential” status to […]

Remember The Great Recession? How out of control things felt at that time? Can we agree that nothing has ever felt as out of control for our businesses as things do today? Forced shutdowns. Unfathomable spike in unemployment filings. The tenuous outlook of cash flow projections. It’s crazy. And that’s to speak nothing about the […]

I spent the better part of last week in San Diego at the International Boating & Water Safety Summit. I’m disappointed to tell you that, prior to joining the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, that I knew nothing about this event. But YOU should know about it. There are many outstanding groups in this […]

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is off to a great start in 2012! I’m thrilled to let you all know that not only is 2012 the association’s 40th anniversary, but we’re expecting this year to be one of our best years yet. Why? Well, we have numerous initiatives underway that will make membership […]

Historically, I’ve been fairly poor at understanding economics. I barely skated by in Econ 101 in college, and my collegiate-level understanding of supply and demand was warped by the ever-increasing demand for the libations of my classmates and the never-ending supply flowing from the local taps. The real world has taught me a lot more […]

The keynote at this year’s Marine Dealer Conference & Expo was by far the most talked about presentation the event has ever had. Not only was it entertaining through its incorporation of humor, but it also hit home because of the clear connection the topic had for the MDCE audience. The topic was simple: There’s […]

Back in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt was quoted as saying , “Every man owes part of his time and money to the business or industry in which is engaged. No man has a moral right to withhold his support from an organization that is striving to improve conditions within his sphere.” As I’ve discovered, in […]

In my work life, the only thing that rivals my passion for the marine industry is my passion for professional development. I’m a lifelong boater, and I’m also a lifelong learner. Unlike boating, it took me quite a while to love educational opportunities. I was an average student in high school, a below-average student in […]

Somehow, I wound up with the “event gene.” I’ve always enjoyed attending and organizing events of all sizes, whether they’re simply social gatherings at my house or events as large as the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo. When I cleaned out my desk at my last job, I emptied out 15 years’ worth of badges, […]