Tim Sather and Jake Jostand, co-owners of Oak Hill Marina in Arnolds Park, Iowa, are two of the newest — and youngest — marine dealership principals in the U.S. Jake says working at Oak Hill has been the only job he’s ever really known, advancing his way from teenaged gas dock attendant to showroom […]

  Minneapolis — The Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program has hired a full-time program coordinator to assist with dealer communications, program administration and marketing efforts. With a background in corporate planning and logistics, Liz Marsha will ensure marine dealers have everything they need to work through the Certification process as efficiently as possible. In addition […]

Marine Center of Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis, needed a better way to catalog service orders and share information across the dealership — so they took a page from the airline industry’s playbook and successfully implemented a modern, employee-friendly process to track boats and streamline team efficiency. Fred and the department managers at Marine Center […]

Minneapolis — New data indicates dealerships completing the Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program continue to receive higher CSI scores than their non-Certified counterparts. “We’ve been doing this since the inception of the NMMA CSI Program, about 2003, and we’ve surveyed about 70,000 consumers,” Pizzolato said. “We think we’ve surveyed a high percentage of owners in […]

Mervyn Wood recently joined the MRAA team as a consultant for the Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program. Born in England and now a full-time resident of Tampa Bay, Merv comes to MRAA after more than 30 years in the automotive business — which included owning or partnering in dealerships across several southern U.S states. “Having […]

Jerry Brouwer has spent his career in the boating industry and currently owns Michigan-based Action Water Sports. All three of Jerry’s locations have completed the MICD Program journey, and Jerry recently sat down to talk candidly about the boost his business has enjoyed as a result. “One thing I’ve found about being Five Star Certified, […]

Bob Longstreth has rejoined the Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program and will immediately begin huddling with boat dealers engaged in the Certification process. A resident of southeast Michigan, Bob previously served as the national sales director for Mr. Norm’s Sport Club and as a consultant for Five Star Solutions.              […]

Industry expert and boating enthusiast plans to make an immediate impact on MRAA’s certified dealership program.  Bob McCann, recognized as a trailblazing marketer, innovative business development specialist and professional educator, has been named Lead Consultant of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas’ Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program. “We are incredibly excited to have Bob […]

All great businesses start with a plan. Plans help keep things running smoothly and ensure that proper procedures are followed and executed each and every time, so customers always have a repeatable, positive experience. It’s important for MICDs to not only create process maps, as is required for program participation, but also continuously refine them […]

The Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program was recognized this summer for its continued evolution and development by the prestigious Midwest Society of Association Executives. MSAE presented the MICD Program with its 2015 Award of Excellence June 11 at a special ceremony held during the association’s 59th Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. Since the Marine Retailers Association […]