Nov 24, 2021
Freedom Boat Club, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) and the world’s largest boat club, held its annual franchise conference in early November to celebrate another year of record growth for the business. Since Freedom joined the Brunswick family in May 2019, it has experienced unprecedented expansion now serving nearly 70,000 members across nearly 300 locations. Freedom’s total footprint now also includes Fanautic Club, the largest boat club operator in Spain, acquired in July 2021 adding an additional 23 locations to the Brunswick portfolio.
The three-day event was attended by franchisees from across the country – adhering to strict COVID-19 protocols – marking the first in person gathering of the network over the past 24 months. It was an opportunity for leadership within Freedom and Brunswick, including CEO Dave Foulkes, to share their vision for the business.
“Every Freedom member has a multiplying effect on the industry as their time on the water is most often shared with family and friends,” shared Brenna Preisser, President, Business Acceleration. “This is why inspiring our franchise partners and supporting them with leading technology, contemporary marketing and operational excellence is essential to deliver the best member experience.”
“Our 2021 annual conference provided us a tremendous opportunity to both reflect on all our successes, as well as share ideas and best practices to accelerate our continued growth,” said Cecil Cohn, President, Freedom Boat Club Network. “As the undisputed market leader, the engagement and inspiration among our franchise owners over our three-day event was a testament to the strength of our network. We are energized by the direction of our organization and the passion of our members and franchise operators who are committed to growing our presence around the world.”
“As a new franchisee, I was warmly welcomed by Freedom Boat Club staff, vendors and owners the moment I arrived at Freedom Forum 2021,” said Steven Gordon, Freedom Boat Club of Corpus Christi. “With prior franchise experience, I was blown away by the honest and freewheeling sharing of ideas and best practices far exceeding my expectations. It is also overly apparent that Brunswick is deeply committed to our success.”
“Freedom Forum is a great opportunity to gather with peers and partners across the Freedom Boat Club ecosystem, to celebrate the successes of the past year(s) and plan for future growth and innovations in our offerings and operations,” said Bev Rosella, Freedom Boat Club of Delaware, South Jersey, Lower Hudson Valley, DC/Maryland. “It is so energizing to be back together in person, nurturing prior relationships and building new ones, sharing best practices and new ideas, and just having fun with like-minded friends and our Freedom Boat Club family!”
“We always look forward to bringing our team to the Freedom Forum conference and this year we were even more excited to be able to get back together,” noted Steve Arnold, owner of Freedom Boat Club of Maine. “There’s an immense amount of talent in the FBC network and the networking we are able to engage in at the conference with the other franchises is invaluable.”
The conference concluded with an award ceremony recognizing many franchisees for their performance and contributions over the past year. For 2021, the Franchise of the Year was awarded to Tom, Bev and Josh Rosella from Freedom Boat Club of Delaware, South Jersey, Lower Hudson Valley, DC/Maryland. The awards ceremony also included a tribute to John Giglio, owner of Freedom Boat Club from 2011-2019, providing an opportunity for Brunswick, Freedom leadership, and Freedom franchisees to recognize his tremendous contributions with a video tribute, gifts, speeches, as well as renaming the President’s Award in his honor.
Other award recipients included:
• Guardian of Reciprocity – Freedom Boat Club of Palm Beaches, Dan Lund
• Territory Expansion – Freedom Boat Club of Delaware, South New Jersey, Lower Hudson Valley, Maryland & DC , Tom, Bev, and Josh Rosella
• Highest % of Revenue Increase – Freedom Boat Club of Anacortes, Shawn Ottenbreit
• Pacesetter Club Award (Recognizes clubs who meet specific financial growth benchmarks)
• Freedom Boat Club of Toronto
• Freedom Boat Club of Delaware and South New Jersey
• Freedom Boat Club of Northern New Jersey
• Freedom Boat Club of Maryland and DC
• Freedom Boat Club of Lake St. Clair
• Freedom Boat Club of Wilmington
• Freedom Boat Club of Palm Beaches
• Freedom Boat Club of Nashville
• Freedom Boat Club of Northern Virginia
• Freedom Boat Club of Dallas
• Marketing National Brand Champion – Freedom Boat Club of the Grand Strand, Karen Berry
• Marketer of the Year – Freedom Boat Club of Delaware, South Jersey, Lower Hudson Valley, DC/Maryland, Tom, Bev, and Josh Rosella
• Membership Executive of the Year –
• Freedom Boat Club of Jacksonville & St. Augustine, Bill Edinger
• Freedom Boat Club of Daytona Beach, Sam Swanger
• The John R. Giglio President’s Award – Freedom Boat Club of Puget Sound, Nick Hooge
• Rookie Franchise of the Year – Freedom Boat Club of Corpus Christi, Steven Gordon
