Thirteen marine trade associations have teamed up with the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas to support Dealer Week, the reimagined MRAA conference slated for the Tampa Convention Center, Dec. 8-11.
Liz Walz, MRAA vice president, describes the value of partnering for the new Dealer Week this way: “At MRAA, we believe in the power of collaboration. The local, regional, national and international trade associations in our industry each provide unique and valuable resources, tools and services to marine dealers and the companies that support their success. When we work together to support dealer success, we can do much more for the industry than when we operate in isolation.”
The partnering MTAs will serve as official co-hosts, acting as a resource for dealers attending from their region. MRAA’s Dealer Week “hostmanship” strategy is designed to integrate the MRAA staff and board with the MTA partners in welcoming and providing needed information that makes attending the event seamless for dealers. In addition, many MTA co-hosts are sharing special incentives with their members, including discounts and scholarships. Members should contact their specific MTA to see how they are participating.
That’s the idea behind the Dealer Week MTA Co-Host program. It was launched this spring, and 13 associations that have signed up:
- Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York
- Connecticut Marine Trades Association
- Empire State Marine Trades Association
- Lake Erie Marine Trades Association
- Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County
- Marine Industries Association of South Florida
- Marine Industry Association of Central Florida
- Marine Trades Association of New Jersey
- National Marine Manufacturers Association
- National Marine Representatives Association
- Rhode Island Marine Trades Association
- Southwest Florida Marine Industries Association &and Tampa Bay MIA
- Water Sports Industry Association
Dealer Week is MRAA’s rebranded and reimagined annual conference and expo. It’s set to be a profoundly new experience, in an outstanding new location, designed to engage, energize and empower the dealer community. It is our industry’s only annual gathering for boating’s retail arm.
Having attended and participated in previous MRAA conferences for more years than I want to acknowledge, I know first-hand the value of the educational offerings and speakers, especially the tremendous opportunity to network and learn from fellow dealers what’s working and what’s not on the retail level today. That’s why I continue to say to every dealer, if you could only attend one industry meeting a year, Dealer Week would be the one.
In fact, for more than 40 years, MRAA has been delivering first-class educational programming to our industry’s retailers. The sessions, speakers, field trips and exhibits are combining to make Dealer Week a huge success. Just go to DealerWeek.com, see for yourself, and register to attend.
Finally, any other marine trade association interested in coming onboard as an MTA co-host can still get on board by calling MRAA at (315) 692-4533 or emailing Walz at [email protected].
