The American Boat & Yacht Council honored industry leaders and longtime volunteers during an awards ceremony on Jan. 12 in Charleston, S.C. The awards were presented during ABYC’s annual meeting on the opening day of Standards Week.
Named for ABYC’s former president, the C.T. “Skip” Moyer Leadership Award was established in 2002 and is presented to the ABYC member who best exemplifies the leadership qualities of ABYC’s past presidents through hard work, personal sacrifice and contributions to boating safety.
This year’s recipient, Ed Sherman, is a former ABYC education director, an author of books on electrical systems and outboard engines, and a contributor to multiple technical articles. He also helped develop ABYC’s first marine technician certification program.
“Truly transformative leaders are rare,” said Tim Murphy, ABYC’s education director, in a statement. “During his time at ABYC, Ed transformed not merely the Education Department writ small but the whole field of marine trades education in America. For anybody working in the marine trades — we are all living in the world Ed built.”
Kim Horn, a senior compliance specialist with Boston Whaler, won the Bolling Fortson Douglas Award. Horn has developed and maintained digital compliance templates, components matrices and test-report workflows that help manufacturers meet ABYC, U.S. Coast Guard, ISO and NMMA requirements. She also educates teams on best practices and, through Brunswick’s Women on Water program, organizes initiatives to help more teammates get on the water with confidence.
ABYC President John Adey presented the Augusto “Kiko” Villalon Lifetime Achievement award to Bob and Sandy MacNeill. Bob MacNeill has held executive roles at Chris-Craft, Carver, Viking, Outboard Marine Corporation and other companies. He also served as president and later chair of the board at the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology and ran two consulting businesses: Robert MacNeill Yacht Design and International Marine Consulting Associates with Charlie Game. He is a member emeritus of the ABYC technical board.
“Bob, always supported by Sandy, has spent his career bettering boating safety,” Adey said. “An avid boater himself, he turned his observations and professional life into comments and discussions on a standards level to keep people safe on the water.”
