Association President Dick Peever and Al Donaldson, Executive Director opened the Boating Ontario Conference and Tradeshow on Sunday, December 4 at Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville Ontario.

They addressed the largest group of conference attendees in the past 5 years. Al Donaldson announced with pride that there were 35 new marina attendees to the conference this year.

Our observation was that the crowd seemed younger this year and the 35 new attendees may be a reflection of the fact that a number of marinas are either changing hands, perhaps due to retirement, or are being passed on to younger family members.

Two of the new attendees were Gerry Buzzi and Lori Buzzi. Previously, they had owned and operated a motel in Thunder Bay, but last year they approached Michele and Hub Steenbakers to purchase Collins Bay Marina in Kingston Ontario.

Hub and Michele had been dedicated marina owners, enjoyed the enthusiastic support of their customers and were among the earliest pioneers of the Clean Marine program, winning recognition and awards. They had also devoted a lot of personal time and resources to advancing their knowledge and education levels as marina operators.

It comes as quite a surprise to see that they have retired, especially as they both look very young and fit, but as Hub said, he has had 25 years of running the marina and  even worked with his father when he started Collins Bay 40 years ago.

“It’s been fantastic!” Hub said, “and it’s very hard to sell a business you’ve put so much into. Of course, our home was on the property, so we sold that as well and moved our family as of last August when Lori and Gerry took over. It’s been a great life and we wish them great success in the future.”

It’s very encouraging to see so many new faces at the Boating Ontario Conference. Including the exhibitors at the sold-out tradeshow being held Monday, December 6, there are approximately 400 attendees. A full agenda of interesting speakers and peer-to-peer group sessions provide real value to the attendees.

A substantial level of sponsorship support, particularly through the tradeshow helps the association to raise revenue while keeping the conference costs down. A special deeply discounted hotel rate at the luxurious Deerhurst Resort is only part of the benefit. Excellent food in elegant surroundings, open bar receptions and entertainment each night make the conference registration costs of $350 per person seem remarkably inexpensive. You don’t have to be a Boating Ontario member to attend and if you missed this wonderful conference, don’t make the same mistake again in December of 2012!

Photo: Gerry Buzzi (far left) and wife Lori Buzzi are new Boating Ontario Conference attendees, having bought Collins Bay Marina from Michele Steenbakers and her husband Hub (far right) last August.