Awards Presented at the 2012 Boating Ontario Conference and Tradeshow

Industry leaders were presented with special awards at the 2012 Boating Ontario Conference & Trade Show last week.  John Chippindale from HUB International, Brad Buck from Buck’s Marina, Dave Mayhew from The Boat Warehouse and Port Whitby Marina were presented with the top honours by Ontario’s recreational marine industry.

John Chippindale, Vice Chairman of HUB International graciously accepted the President’s Award for their outstanding contribution to the marine industry in Ontario.  John assisted Boating Ontario in creating an insurance product which crafted a new concept for marina and dealer insurance in Ontario.  Our industry will ultimately benefit from this insurance as it is owned by the Boating Ontario Association.  John was instrumental in creating this new insurance program that has extended to over 150 policy holders making it the largest insurance program for marina operators in the province.

Brad Buck, owner of Buck’s Marina in Wawa was presented with the W.J. Robertson Award for outstanding contribution to Boating Ontario.  Brad has been instrumental in representing the Boating Ontario Association in northern Ontario for over twenty years.  Brad was a key player in bringing Boating Ontario to Thunder Bay and the north while also serving on several tourism and other boating associations in the northern parts of Ontario.  Brad always attends regional meetings and the Boating Ontario Conference & Trade Show, not matter how far away from Wawa he has to travel!

Dave Mayhew, owner of The Boat Warehouse was honoured to receive the Gord Blake Visionary Award for visionary leadership within the marine industry. Dave Mayhew has been on the cutting edge of marketing that has helped his company establish two successful locations and be named the 2012 top dealer in the world for two major boat brands: Four Winns and Lowe Boats and Pontoons.  Dave’s creative marketing ideas and building new markets by partnering with major retailers made him the obvious choice as the recipient of this award.

Keenan Watters accepted the Robert Eaton Environmental Award on behalf of Port Whitby Marina for excellence in environmental practices within the marine industry. Although the staff at Port Whitby Marina are municipal employees, they approach their responsibilities with the enthusiasm and dedication some associate with privately owned businesses. Keenan Waters and his staff led the charge in 2012 with many innovations taking their Clean Marine Eco-Rating to a new high. In addition to their successful Clean Marine performance, Keenan goes out of his way to support the association by hosting meetings, training and workshops for members in his region.

Ontario Boating Board of Directors members Nancy Lundy and Gillian Organ were given special mention and thanks for their terms of service on the board.

Congratulations to the winners of these four awards for 2012.  The Boating Ontario Association would like to thank all delegates and guests who attended the Boating Ontario Conference to personally applaud the recipients and congratulate them on jobs well done!

For more information visit: www.boatingontario.ca