Registrations for the 2014 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo are at a record high of 683 following the close of the event’s Early Bird registration period, which ended at midnight Central Time on Friday, Sept. 19.
This number represents a 14.4-percent increase over registration figures at the same time last year. Last year’s Early Bird total of 597 registrations represented a new record for the event, as does this year’s even higher total.
With the Early Bird deadline expired, there are now less than two months until the event kicks off Nov. 16 at the Orange County Convention Center and Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla.
“We’re thrilled by the response to this year’s event,” explains Liz Walz, director of education for the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, which produces the annual event in partnership with Boating Industry. “With more educational sessions than ever before, MDCE promises a huge return on investment for those who attend, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see so many dealers — and the companies that serve them — are planning to join us.”
With more than 1,100 total registered attendees recorded in 2013 (615 of which were dealers), Early Bird registrations in 2014 have already exceeded projected forecasts.
Dealer attendance at MDCE has grown every year since 2007, and 2014 is on tap to exceed all previous attendance records. Of the 439 dealers currently registered for MDCE, a total of 120, or 27.3 percent, are attending for the first time ever.
“This MDCE is shaping up to be the biggest and best in the event’s history,” says Boating Industry editor-in-chief Jonathan Sweet. “We know that once dealers attend the event, they come back year after year, so the large number of first-time attendees is especially exciting.”
The 2014 MDCE will offer 30 educational sessions in all, the most the event has ever offered, including seven Pre-Conference Workshops. The conference has traditionally included three educational tracks, but in 2014, it has expanded to four tracks: Leadership, Sales, Marketing and Service Plus. Each of the tracks has a total of five sessions. A Closing Keynote address also has been added this year.
The MDCE is scheduled for Nov. 16-19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. It has attracted an increasing number of dealers every year since 2007. In 2013, MDCE featured double-digit growth in dealer attendance. MRAA’s goal is to grow the event to more than 1,000 dealer attendees. To learn more, visit MRAA.com/MDCE.
About the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo
The Marine Dealer Conference & Expo is the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas’ annual conference and member meeting. As the marine industry’s only dealer-specific educational conference, the MDCE offers an in-depth lineup of educational topics, a full-featured expo hall and a series of fixed networking opportunities, all of which are designed to help marine dealers connect with and learn from others who can foster their success. The MDCE is co-produced by MRAA and Boating Industry, and it features Pre-Conference Workshops, Opening and Closing keynote presentations, four tracks of educational content and 30 sessions in all. It will be held Nov. 16-19 at the Orange County Convention Center and Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla. For more information, visit MRAA.com/MDCE.
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