Aric Chaltry started his marine industry career in high school, cutting grass at Nestegg Marine. Shortly after graduating from Northern Michigan University, he spent summers building new docks and working in the service department. Over the last few years, Chaltry took courses through Mercury Marine, Raymarine and Lowrance. And in November 2013 he was awarded […]

Steve Baum got his start in the marine industry in 1981, as a barnacle scraper at Fort Lauderdale’s Cable Marine. From barnacle boy, Steve worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming president and CEO of Boat Owners Warehouse, a Cable company. He’s also served on the MRAA Board of Directors for a whopping 17 […]

 Why You Should Do Business with a Member of the MRAA 1.) Financial strength MRAA members gain financial strength using exclusive benefits and resources. 2.) Education MRAA members receive discounts to attend educational events, keeping them up to speed with economic trends and changes. 3.) Professionalism The MRAA’s mission is to provide opportunities for growth […]

I gave a speech the other day and I came in early to listen to some of their industry speakers to see if I could gain a better understanding of the most pressing issues they were facing. What I heard and saw in Power Point slides was incredibly confusing for this “Non-Industry” person. Acronyms were […]

Bill Gates said, “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” Couple that statement with one from former Intel Chairman Andy Grove, who said … “Only the paranoid survive. Paranoids believe someone or some force is out to get them,” and now you should have a better perspective on […]

Some people embrace change. Some people just go with the flow and deal with it only when they have to. Then there are those few, die hard, stubborn, inflexible, obstinate people out there who are going to fight changing to the bitter end. In today’s accelerating pace of technological change, I am finding that if […]

A good friend sent me the following article on a great way to make sure you have a successful New Year. I have no idea who the original author was and after doing some research I still don’t know, but the article is so good I wanted to share it with you. I know you […]

Thanks to Tropical Storm Debby dumping tons of desperately needed rain on our dealership I had some time this afternoon to catch up on my to do list. As I write, Discover Boating’s Facebook campaign has reached another milestone — we’re over the 450K fan mark and closing in on our goal of a half […]

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 […]