July 23, 2018

The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) is calling for nominations for the prestigious 2018 NMEA Product of Excellence Awards. The presentation of awards will be made at the 2018 NMEA Marine Electronics Conference & Expo, to be held September 25-28 at the PGA Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

All NMEA manufacturer members are invited to nominate their products within the awards guidelines approved by the NMEA Board of Directors. All products must be nominated by Friday, July 27, 2018, in order for the Awards Committee to review and approve all nominations.

Online voting for the awards by NMEA members will begin Tuesday, August 7. All voting tallies will be completed by an automated online voting program. All votes must be entered by 11:59 pm, September 26, 2018. Voting will be allowed the first two days of the NMEA Conference. The awards presentation will be made on September 27 at a banquet at the 2018 NMEA Conference & Expo.

“For the first time this year, the NMEA will also recognize a broader group of manufacturers through a designation of finalists,” said Mark Reedenauer, NMEA President & Executive Director. “Last year there were several product categories where the winner and runner up were separated by five or less votes. This is worth recognizing! There will still be only one winner per category, but close-voted categories will be recognized for those manufacturers.”

Any NMEA manufacturer member is welcome to submit products that fall within these categories. Non-NMEA members are asked to join the NMEA family before submitting products. The 2018 product categories include the following:

• Fishfinder
• Radar
• Autopilot
• Multi-Function Display (MFD)
• Satellite Communications Antenna
• Marine VHF Radio
• Satellite TV Antenna
• AIS
• NMEA 2000® Sensor
• Marine App-Aids to Navigation
• Marine App-Utility
• Multimedia Entertainment
• Marine Camera
• Underwater Light
• Safety Device
• Remote Vessel Monitoring System
• Commercial Product
• Marine Software

All nominated products must have been available for sale in North America no later than June 30, 2018. Complete guidelines, requirements, and a nomination form are available on the NMEA Expo website here.