Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/750216
www.BoatingIndustry.com INDUSTRY NEWS 12 | Boating Industry | November 2016 the motorcycle industry, providing their moderation, leadership and training assis- tance to 200 dealerships. Starting in 2017, Dantzler will be expand- ing his marine dealership training to mod- erate 20 clubs, a peer review process that incorporates data sharing and best practices development. "The priority for our 20 clubs is ensuring dealership owners and GMs understand the potential of their stores," said Dantzler. "We pinpoint what your sales volume and prof- itability should be today, not focus on what you did last year. Our business mindset and staffing decisions have to reflect what is hap- pening in the dealership today, not what your sales volume was last year." Johnny Thomerson receives 2016 Mel Barr award The National Marine Representatives Asso- ciation presented the 2016 Mel Barr award to Johnny Thomerson, national sales manager at Lenco Marine. The award recognizes an individual who has contributed to the improvement of the industry and is named in the memory of marine rep Mel Barr, one of the founders of NMRA and its first president. Thomerson began his 44-year career at Dougherty Marine while still in high school. Quickly rising through the ranks, he assumed a broad range of duties in his 19 years at the company, but naturally settled into sales. Because of his success at Dougherty Ma- rine, he was recruited to work as a marine rep at Charles A. Perry and Company, and later, The Gartner Group. For 16 years, he represented a diverse range of companies and products. Scout Boats wins 'Roaring Twenties' S. Carolina business award Scout Boats has been named a Roaring Twenties award recipient - one of the 20 best-performing large companies in South Carolina -- for the third year in a row. This statewide honor is presented annu- ally by SC Biz News and recognizes South Carolina's best-performing small and large companies based on both dollar and percent- age increases in revenue from the previous year. A profile of Scout Boats will be pub- lished in the winter issue of SCBIZ magazine. "This is a prestigious statewide award and we're humbled that we were selected as one of the top 20 large companies for a third year in a row," said Scout CEO & Founder Steve Potts. "This has been quite an accomplishment for Scout, as I've been told few companies make it back-to-back years much less three consecutive years consider- ing thousands of nominations and growing every year." Harris Publishing acquires Great Lakes Boating Great Lakes Boating magazine, a publication dedicated to serving the needs of the more than 5 million boaters on the Canadian and U.S. sides of the Great Lakes, has been sold to Harris Publishing Inc., which will take over all responsibilities beginning with the December issue. Great Lakes Boating was started in 1982 by Ned Dikmen and his wife Karen, who have decided to pursue new adventures. Harris Publishing, which publishes more than a dozen national magazines, including Pontoon & Deck Boat magazine and Houseboat magazine, welcomes the third boating title to the publishing company, which was started in 1971 by Darryl Harris and today is still family-owned. "Mr. Dikmen reached out to us because of the similarities between our companies, and he wanted to ensure the magazine he founded would continue to grow," said Publisher Greg Larsen. "Plus with our other boating titles, especially PDB magazine, we're already very familiar with this region after 20- plus years of experiencing and featuring the Great Lakes in our other publications." Larsen will be the new publisher of Great Lakes Boating, while Executive Editor Brady Kay and his staff will handle all editorial re- sponsibilities including greatlakesboating. com and its social media sites. "It has been gratifying to address the issues facing recreational boaters and sportsfisher- men on the Great Lakes," Dikmen said. "For more than three decades, Great Lakes Boating has been the leading source of information and education for the region's boating com- munity, and we know that Harris Publishing will continue our long-standing tradition." Chris-Craft appoints regional sales director Chris-Craft announced Justin Short has joined the team as regional sales director. Short began his career in the marine in- dustry at SHOCO, a marine distribution and marketing business that his family owns and operates. Having spent the last 10 years with the Yamaha Marine Group, Short comes to Chris-Craft with an industry background in both sales and operations management. At Yamaha, Short served as a district manager in the Mid-Atlantic for many years and was most recently the supervisor of operations and supply chain management. "We are excited to have Justin join our team as a regional sales director. Justin has been in boating his entire life, and we wel- come his knowledge of retail, wholesale and the supply chain. We believe Justin's talents will help Chris-Craft nurture our Southern and Western region's dealer network — ef- fectively enhancing our customer's boating experience," said Gavan Hunt, vice president of sales at Chris-Craft. BoatUS President Margaret Bonds Podlich steps down After 23 years at Boat Owners Association of The United States, Margaret Bonds Podlich has announced that she has stepped down as president, effective September 30. A search has been initiated for a permanent replace- ment to lead the national boating advocacy, services and safety group. "We want to thank Margaret for her many years of service and dedication to America's recreational boat owners," said BoatUS CEO Kirk La. "She made boating better by mak- ing government more accountable to boat