MarineMax announced that Dan Derfler, a technician at MarineMax in Nisswa, Minn., is celebrating 50 years with the company. Derfler started his MarineMax career repairing outboards as a summer job when he was 16.
“His work ethic and his loyalty to the marine business and the customer base is outstanding,” Brent Wiczek, general manager of MarineMax Nisswa, said in a statement. “Dan truly loves what he does.
A lifelong resident of the Brainerd Lakes area, Derfler studied auto mechanics before joining MarineMax full time in 1989. Over the years, he has performed everything from winterizing boats to engine installations, once completing 16 in a single summer.
Derfler now keeps a modified schedule, working four days a week to stay active. “It’s mechanic aerobics,” he said in the statement. “You’ve got to get into all kinds of small places. So as long as my body holds together, and they want me there, I’ll probably just stay.”
