IMAGE COURTESY BOATUS

BoatUS this week presented its Tower of the Year award to Derek Debord, owner of TowBoatUS Lake Norman. The award was presented at the TowBoatUS annual gathering in Savannah, Ga.

According to a statement, Debord purchased the small company with his wife, Cheryl, in 2012 and has grown the Lake Norman fleet of response vessels from two to six. It was singled out at the TowBoatUS Annual Towing Conference for its smooth-running operations and community relations.

“Outside of being a top-notch operation, TowBoatUS Lake Norman regularly engages with its

community through education and boating safety advocacy,” TowBoatUS operations manager Chris Dolan said in the statement. “For well over a decade, this company has been a shining example of what a towing company can accomplish through hard work, relentless passion and unyielding professionalism.”