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Congratulations to the Six Winners of the 2021 National Boating Industry Safety Awards!

Posted By Kim Perry, Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Updated: Tuesday, December 14, 2021

The National Boating Industry Safety Awards recognizes the best boating safety work in the for-profit section of the recreational boating industry. Sponsored for the second year by KICKER Marine Audio, the six top contest winners were announced December 8th during the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas national Dealer Week. The National Boating Industry Safety Awards are in their 3rd year having started in 2019. The awards are judged by members of the Sea Tow Foundation’s Boating Safety Advisory Council.

 

Top awards were given in the following categories:

POWERBOAT MANUFACTURER – Sea Ray Boats

Winning for the third year, Sea Ray went above and beyond with their boating safety effort this year bringing aboard a TV star to be featured in their videos with topics like docking, safety drills and communication. In addition, Sea Ray hosted a life jacket giveaway on social media in advance of Labor Day weekend to end the summer on a safe note and create additional buzz for boating safety!


 

 

GEAR AND EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER – Garmin International

Garmin has established itself as a true leader in enhanced situational awareness by making the boating environment safer through their Navionics app, g3 cartography, inReach satellite communication capability, AIS and VHF systems, and GPS systems. In addition, they launched a social media campaign over National Safe Boating Week with their primary goal being to help educate the wave of new boaters that have joined the boating community in the last two years.

 

 

MARINE RETAILER with up to 3 locations – Emerald Coast Marine Group

Headquartered in Northwest Florida, Emerald Coast Marine Group created a new series of boating safety videos, including a custom video during National Boating Safety Week that featured every member of the dealership team wearing life jackets. The dealership also underwrites the cost and promotes in-person boating safety classes in partnership with the USCG Auxiliary.

 

 

MARINE RETAILER with 4 or more locations – MarineMax

MarineMax takes the honor for the third year by utilizing multiple methods of outreach including face-to-face opportunities in their locations, printed flyers, social media, emailed newsletters, YouTube, podcasts, and their website to promote boating safety. MarineMax also celebrated National Safe Boating Week and specifically mentioned the importance of life jacket wear and designating a sober skipper in its social media posts that week. 

 

 

MARINE MEDIA OUTLET – Lafferty Media Partners

Lafferty Media Partners was contracted to work with the U.S. Power Squadrons, also now known as America’s Boating Club. Their efforts resulted in the development of America’s Boating Channel. They produced a video educations series, offering a very broad set of relevant topics that will continue to grow as the library is built. Lafferty Media Partners even adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and showcased content specifically focused on how to help boaters through these tough times.

 

 

MARINE MARKETING & OUTREACH – Kenton Smith Marketing

The Kenton Smith Marketing team were contracted to work with The Water Sports Foundation. Their work entailed building content for the newly launched “National Boating Safety Media Resource Center,” which is a one-stop online hub for journalists seeking content, imagery, video and expert resources on boating safety. In addition, the Team produced press releases resulting in 490 print, online and TV stories that delivered more than 600 million media impressions in just a 5 month period and, during that same time, the website attracted 8,500 visitors. 

 

For more information about the Sea Tow Foundation Boating Safety Advisory Council and the National Boating Industry Safety Awards, please visit www.boatingsafety.com/awards. Again, congratulations to all the winners of the 2021 National Boating Industry Safety Awards! 

If you found this article helpful, please consider a donation to the Sea Tow Foundation today to help us continue our efforts to educate boaters and keep them safe on the water. You can donate securely online at www.boatingsafety.com/donatetoday or by clicking on the DONATE tab at the top of the page.

Tags:  boating safety awards  boating safety campaigns  emerald coast marine  garmin international  kenton smith marketing  Kicker marine audio  lafferty media partners  national boating industry safety awards  national marine manufacturers Association 

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Congratulations to the Winners of the 2020 National Boating Industry Safety Awards

Posted By Gail Kulp, Friday, December 11, 2020
Updated: Friday, December 4, 2020

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2020 National Boating Industry Safety Awards


The Sea Tow Foundation in cooperation with its North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council announced the winners of the National Boating Industry Safety Awards as part of the Marine Retailer’s Association of America’s virtual Dealer Week on December 10th.

 

The awards were established in 2019 to recognize top boating safety programs and campaigns within the for-profit segment of the recreational marine industry and they were sponsored this year by KICKER Marine Audio.

The Top Powerboat Manufacturer Award was presented to Sea Ray Boats. They successfully incorporated the COVID-19 pandemic into their safety messaging through multiple platforms including videos, photos, customer emails and social media posts.

The Top Marine Retailer with One to Three Locations was won by Bridge Marina, Inc. of Lake Hopatcong, NJ.  Bridge Marina, Inc. is a small company with limited resources, but they clearly put a lot of work into creating a multi-faceted safety program specific to the area and type of boat people are using.

The Top Marine Retailer with More Than Three Locations was awarded to MarineMax. They showcased a solid, proven plan for providing boating safety education and they were able to adapt their plan to the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic with virtual classes.

The Top Marine Media Outlet Award was won by Rapid Media which focuses on the human-powered/paddling market. Their entry featured a mix of digital ads, pre-roll, video, e-blasts, newsletters and contests to promote their boating safety messaging to the paddling community.

The Top Marine Marketing and Outreach Award was presented to Freedom Boat Club who delivered clear, concise and consistent safety messaging and programming to a well-defined and highly targeted audience.

The Top Gear & Equipment Manufacturer Award had the highest scoring submission of all of the awards this year and it went to FELL Marine. They provided outstanding demonstrations on their website to educate customers on how to install and use a wireless man-overboard device.

For more information about the North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council and to see a video of the National Boating Industry Safety Awards presentation from Dealer Week, please visit www.boatingsafety.com/awards where a video of the awards presentation from Dealer Week will be available along with future highlights of each award winning company and campaign. Again, congratulations to all of the winners of the 2020 National Boating Industry Safety Awards!

Tags:  Boating Safety  Dealer Week  KICKER Marine Audio  national boating industry safety awards  North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council 

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Sea Tow Foundation Announces Official Call for Entry for National Boating Industry Safety Awards

Posted By Gail Kulp, Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Updated: Friday, August 28, 2020

PRESS RELEASE

Sea Tow Foundation Announces Official Call for Entry for National Boating Industry Safety Awards

North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council Expands Recognition Program; Announces New Title Sponsorship from KICKER® Marine Audio

 

Southold, NY, September 3, 2020 – The Sea Tow Foundation in cooperation with its North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council, announced the official call for entry for its “National Boating Industry Safety Awards.”

The 2020 contest features an enhanced series of categories which recognize top boating safety programs and campaigns within the for-profit segment of the recreational marine industry. This year’s event includes 11 categories of entry, up from four the previous year.

“Due to the positive response from our inaugural contest in 2019, coupled with recommendations from our advisory council, we have nearly tripled the categories of entry in hopes of recognizing the outstanding work of many more boating safety advocates throughout all segments of the recreational marine industry,” said Sea Tow Foundation Executive Director Gail R. Kulp.

The 2020 National Boating Industry Safety Awards include the following categories for submission: Powerboat Manufacturer; Sailboat Manufacturer; Engine Manufacturer; Gear/Equipment Manufacturer; Human Powered (Canoe, Kayak, SUP) Manufacturer; Marine Retailer with up to 3 Locations; Marine Retailer with more than 3 Locations; Marine Media Outlets; Marine Marketing and Outreach; Marine Distributor; and a Multi-Year Campaign will also be available for any category.

Also new for 2020 is the title sponsorship from KICKER® Marine Audio, based in Stillwater, OK.

“KICKER Marine Audio is very pleased to contribute to this important effort that promotes boating safety within the recreational marine space,” said KICKER Marine Audio’s National Brand Manager Jeremy Bale. “The good work of leading marine organizations in educating and advancing boating safety messages benefits the entire industry, as well as boaters throughout the nation. KICKER is very proud to lend our support to this worthwhile and very important cause.”

“We appreciate the generous financial support of KICKER Marine Audio in helping to support our national awards program,” added Kulp. “We hope to continually build this program and involve many in the industry who share our passion and focus on boating safety.”

Entries may be submitted from September 3 through midnight, October 15, 2020 for any boating safety campaigns conducted between August 15, 2019 and August 15, 2020. A new multi-year category is also available to recognize ongoing boating safety programs and promotions.

Contest information and applications are available for download at www.boatingsafety.com/awards along with information and samples from the 2019 winners.

Winners for the 2020 awards contest will be announced live during the MRAA’s Dealer Week scheduled for December 8 – 11, 2020 in Austin, TX.

“We highly encourage all those organizations throughout the marine industry involved in promoting boating safety to apply in this year’s awards competition,” said Kulp. “The Sea Tow Foundation and our North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council, coupled with the title sponsor KICKER Marine Audio, are very pleased to shine the spotlight on the best boating safety efforts by companies in the for-profit segment of the recreational marine industry.” 

Tags:  boating industry  boating safety  kicker marine audio  national boating industry safety awards  North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council  press release  sober skipper 

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