Oct 17, 2023

Two marine industry veterans were recognized at IBEX 2023 in Tampa by the National Marine Representatives Association (NMRA) as the recipients of the 2023 NMRA Mel Barr and Old Pro awards.

The Mel Barr Award was created in memory of Mel Barr, an independent marine rep deeply involved in our industry, one of the founders of the NMRA and its first president. On his untimely death in 1967, his family, along with the NMRA, established the award to honor an individual who has contributed to the improvement of the marine industry. It’s voted on by NMRA member rep groups.

The 2023 NMRA Mel Barr Award recipient is John Bender (shown left, above), Marine National Sales Manager for CRC Industries, who will be retiring next year after more than 50 years in the marine and automotive industry. John became an automotive sales representative with Echlin Inc., the owner of Sierra Supply and later received a promotion to account executive. He worked for many years on a national level, gaining experience in the marine aftermarket. He was promoted on average every 2 years, until he reached the position of general manager of Sierra International Inc. After many years at Sierra, John co-founded Mallory Marine, a division of Mr. Gasket High Performance Group. After his time at Mallory, John joined CRC as national sales manager for the marine division.

The NMRA Old Pro Award recognizes a NMRA member who actively contributes to the association and the marine rep profession as a whole.

The 2023 NMRA Old Pro Award recipient is Tim Groseclose (shown right, above), who is retiring after 33 years at the helm of North Pacific Marketing. Tim has more than 40 years of experience in the marine industry and before founding North Pacific Marketing, he was VP and General Manager of Polyform US Ltd.

NMRA is the leading professional membership organization for independent marine sales representatives. For more information, visit https://nmraonline.org.