Fort Lauderdale, FL- The American Boat Builders & Repairers Association (ABBRA) is proud to announce the theme and dates for its upcoming 2014 Annual Boatyard Business Conference entitled “Reflect, Rethink, Refocus: Business Leadership for Tomorrow’s Boat Building and Repair Industry.” The conference will be held January 22-24, 2014 at the B Ocean Hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach and is a two-day event focused strictly on the business issues impacting boatyard owners, operators, managers, boat builders, and boat repair businesses.
“We’re building on our 2013 Conference success and will once again offer relevant topics and speakers who can provide our attendees with substantive and useful information that they can take away, or ideas they can apply in their operations,” says Gordon Connell, Executive Director of ABBRA. Noting that the conference aims to blend information sharing and relationship building in a fun atmosphere he added, “ABBRA’s conference is historically known for the camaraderie and bonds that are developed among our members and for the opportunities that they have to interact with their various suppliers, vendors, and marine business colleagues.”
ABBRA is also proud to announce that 2013 Presenting Sponsors Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage of Rhode Island and Great American Insurance Company – Marine Division based in Connecticut, have signed on again to be the Presenting Sponsors for the 2014 ABBRA Boatyard Business Conference.
“ABBRA is honored to welcome back two highly prestigious marine industry companies, Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage and Great American Insurance Company, as the presenting sponsors for our 2014 Annual Boatyard Business Conference. It is with their dedication to the improvement, advancement, and future success of the boat building and repair industry that the ABBRA Boatyard Business Conference is made possible. ABBRA would like to thank our sponsors for their continuous support,” said ABBRA President John Fitzgerald.
The program will be a combination of presentations and interactive sessions with experienced industry leaders, industry partners, and leading experts from related fields with several networking and business-to-business events. Speakers will offer national and international perspectives on changes seen in the recent marine industry business environment and what may be expected in the future.
“I would encourage anyone who has the ability to attend the upcoming ABBRA Conference to do your best and attend. I went with my operations manager Mike Cheney and the two of us had a great time. We learned an awful lot from some of the most experienced people in the marine industry. I hope to see familiar faces and meet many new ones at this year’s conference,” said Adam Cooper, General Manager of Manchester Marine in Manchester, Massachusetts.
Registration for the event opens in October. For more information about the conference or for sponsorship details contact ABBRA Executive Director Gordon Connell or President, John Fitzgerald at [email protected] or [email protected].
