Dean Waite was a member of the Soundings Trade Only team for nearly 20 years. He ran the the business side of operations from 2007 to 2011 as advertising director, and in 2011, he was named publisher, a position he held until retiring at the end of 2017.

Waite died Sept. 22 after a short illness. He was 75.

“Soundings Trade Only is the house that Dean built,” said Michele Goldsmith, who took over as publisher when Waite retired and is now vice president and general manager of the Soundings Trade Only Group. “Those of us who lead STO now stand on his shoulders, and we are entrusted to move the brand forward and build on the legacy Dean built.”

Under Waite’s direction, Soundings Trade Only began sponsoring trade events to build the magazine’s connections in a variety of segments. The magazine now is a sponsor of the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference, Metstrade, MRAA’s Dealer Week, the Association of Marina Industries Exhibition & Conference, the National Marine Distributors Association S.T.E.P. conference, and the American Boating Congress.

“Dean and I would spend hours talking about boats, fishing and the industry,” said Bill Sisson, former editor-in-chief of Soundings Trade Only and sister magazine Anglers Journal. “He’d laugh and say I was the only person he knew who could fall asleep in the middle of a sentence. I’d tell him that was because I got up six hours before he did.

“Dean was a great friend and colleague for many years,” Sisson added. “He had a strong understanding of the industry, and he personified the adage that ‘people like to do business with people they like.’ And people liked doing business with Dean. I always learned something walking a trade show floor with him and listening to him banter with his clients, many of whom were his friends. He’ll be missed.”

Waite “helped take Trade Only to another level through his many industry, trade show and association relationships,” Sisson said.

The special advertising section in each issue of the magazine evolved from a conversation Waite and Goldsmith had many years ago, before Goldsmith joined the Trade Only team. “I was selling highly technical products — electrical systems — and a visual ad alone would not tell the full story of what was being sold,” she says. “However, offering an ad/story on the same page would. That was Dean’s idea.”

“I didn’t know Dean closely, but every time we did cross paths, he went out of his way to make me feel like an integral part of the conversation,” STO editor-in-chief Gary Reich said. “Dean’s dedication to Soundings Trade Only, and to both the sales and editorial teams, is best evidenced in the fondness with which these team members remember him.”

Prior to his time at Trade Only, Waite served as vice president and publisher of daily newspapers owned by the New York Times Co. and Landmark Communications in Florida and Southern California.

He also spent 10 years in the cable TV business, where he was vice president of cable marketing for The Weather Channel, executive director of the Cable Television Administrative and Marketing Society, and later as vice president of the Eastern division for The Disney Channel.

“I can’t thank all of my friends in the industry enough for all the great times and close relationships that I have enjoyed,” Waite said upon announcing his retirement. “After a 20-year run at Trade Only, it’s time now to transition out of my role as publisher.”

An avid angler, Waite ran a 29-foot, single-screw diesel Sea Vee out of Pompano, Fla. He also was a lover of music and often spent evening hours playing what he referred to as his “seven beautiful guitars.”

“Dean was a dear friend and a fellow night owl,” Goldsmith said. “He loved the marine industry and worked tirelessly to bring the best to his audience and to build STO into an international, marine business-to-business leader. He was one of a kind and will be missed.”