Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/601416
www.BoatingIndustry.com 22 | Boating Industry | December 2015 GORDY'S LAKEFRONT MARINE IN FONTANA, WIS., is always striving for improve- ment – even winning top honors as the Boating Industry 2014 Dealer of the Year doesn't slow them down. And entering the Top 100 Hall of Fame is not the end of the road. The dealership will continue its momentum by finding new ways to be better, thus continue to grow even bigger, in good times and bad. "There's always areas of the business that, as you grow and get bigger, you can focus on, tweak, improve and fine-tune a little bit better, a little bit more efficient, a little bit more stream- lined," said Steele Whowell, president of Gordy's. That's the true mark of a Dealer of the Year: a constant pursuit of bettering and growing the dealership, no matter what accolades the company may receive or what is happening outside its business. 2014 was such a year for Gordy's. In addition to its Top 100 honors, the dealership achieved the top CSI award for Cobalt both regionally and worldwide for the second con- secutive year. The dealership was also awarded the MasterCraft Rookie of the Year for its first full year selling the line. To top it all off, the dealership celebrated its 60th anniversary and its most profitable year in the history of the business. "We never had a better year in the company's history," said Steele. "There's no question that 2014 becomes our model year to strive for year in and year out on pretty much every level." Gordy's added several new processes to its business in 2014, looking to further streamline operations and continue to improve efficiency to keep up with its growth. One operation the dealership streamlined in 2014 was its budgetary process. As the business grew, the budget was tweaked year-to-year but needed reworking to make budgeting more ef- ficient and less time-consuming across all departments. The leadership team worked with the managers in each area of the business to simplify budgeting. The new budget also helps Gordy's better plan for not just the next year or two but five to 10 years down the road, better supporting and simplifying the process for planning infrastructure growth. "[The new process] helps us streamline our efforts into what it is that not only we're good at and enjoy doing but also what is most profitable and what should we focus most of our atten- tion on," Steele said. "And it ties into not just our monthly P&Ls but also our balance sheet, and as we look at capital planning and capital improvements and reinvesting in the business. That's something that was kind of separate in the past and we combined them to really be together." 2015 DEALER OF THE YEAR: Rallee and her dad, TW The Workman Family Gordy's Lakefront Marine Geri and TW