Outgoing National Marine Manufacturers Association president Thomas Dammrich was presented with the Marketer of Excellence Neptune Award at the Grow Boating Marketing Summit during the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday.
“Marine Marketers of America is honored and extremely pleased to present this well-deserved and highly distinguished award to Thom for his exceptional marketing leadership of the past 20 years, MMA president Wanda Kenton Smith said in a statement. “Thom has been a stalwart marketing champion throughout his 20-year marine industry career, and we all owe a debt of gratitude to him for his outstanding leadership and countless major marketing contributions.”
Dammrich received a standing ovation from a crowd of 200 as Kenton Smith and MMA board member and Neptune Award co-chair Kristen Frohnhoefer presented the honor.
Kenton Smith cited numerous marketing programs launched under Dammrich’s watch that have positively impacted the industry, including the Discover Boating outreach campaign and its industry-facing Grow Boating initiative.
Additionally, his vision of welcoming diverse new markets, as well as recognizing the buying influence and importance of engaging youth, has helped focus the importance of longer-term industry growth strategies, according to MMA.
“We’re sitting here today at the third annual Grow Boating Marketing Summit because Thom recognized the importance of fostering important professional development opportunities for marine marketers so that we can stay on the edge of the most relevant marketing developments necessary for industry growth,” Kenton Smith said. “He has also sounded a clarion call to industry leaders and stakeholders to move beyond the traditional sales and product focus to fully embracing and empowering the marketing team.”
