Organizers of the 2014 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo will kick off the industry’s premier annual dealer educational event Sunday evening, Nov. 16, at a cocktail/networking reception on the Expo Hall Floor of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. MDCE runs at the convention center and adjacent Rosen Centre Hotel Nov. 16-19.
Sponsored by Dominion Marine Media, the 2014 MDCE Kickoff Cocktail Reception will feature live entertainment from acoustic group the Bayside Boys, as well as drinks, hors d’oeuvers, and plenty of time for conference-goers to mingle and network in advance of the Pre-Conference Workshops that take place Monday morning, Nov. 17.
The opening night reception begins at 6 p.m. and is open to all MDCE registrants.
“Dominion Marine Media is excited to again sponsor the official kickoff to MDCE, as it’s the largest and most comprehensive dealer event of the year,” says Courtney Chalmers, Dominion Marine Media vice president of marketing. “This reception is highly anticipated and provides an ideal setting for dealers and industry professionals to catch up with one another and meet new friends before the conference commences. We’re proud to partner with MDCE to make this event possible, and we’re looking forward to another successful year.”
MDCE’s opening night reception is the first of three opportunities hosted throughout the three-day event for conference attendees to network with their peers, show organizers and key conference speakers.
“Networking opportunities are one of the most valuable components of MDCE that we can offer attendees,” says Amy Collins, publisher of Boating Industry, which produces the annual event in partnership with the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. “Once again, we look forward to hosting a fun, fabulous event to get the conference started on a high note and get dealers excited about the days’ education opportunities that are to come.”
The 2014 MDCE offers more than 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. A Closing Keynote address also has been added this year.
The MDCE has attracted an increasing number of dealers every year since 2007. 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 more than 30 sessions. 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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