The 40th Anniversary Gala was a celebration for Soundings Trade Only at the Tampa Museum of Art. The festivities included a charity event, a reveal of the Top 10 Most Innovative Marine Companies and a farewell to NMMA president Thom Dammrich. Attended by 280 industry stalwarts, the gala turned into a networking event for executives from different sectors of the industry.
The gala included a timeline of covers and images from Soundings Trade Only over 40 years projected on the walls, along with cocktails on the riverside walkway, and exclusive access to upstairs art galleries in the museum.
Outside, there were boats and engines from industry sponsors, including a 1961 Ski Nautique, a Yamaha XTO Offshore outboard and a Volvo Penta sterndrive. Inside, sponsors Lumishore, Fusion and Propspeed also had displays around the museum.
After a champagne toast to 40 years of Soundings Trade Only, the group enjoyed a dinner and settled into night of socializing and dancing to the music of the Miami band, The Social.
Retiring NMMA president Thom Dammrich received a hero’s farewell from the crowd, while AIM Marine Group president Gary DeSanctis and Soundings Trade Only publisher Michele Goldsmith presented Dammrich with a robe that reads: “Marine Industry Icon.”
The night’s events included the presentation of a $7,000 check to the ABYC Foundation from Soundings Trade Only for workforce development initiatives.
After the check presentation, the winners and runners-up of Soundings Trade Only’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies were asked to stand on the stairway in the main hall and were acknowledged by the other guests.
The top award winners, Brunswick-Mercury and Correct Craft, were announced the next morning during the all-industry breakfast at IBEX.
The gala ended at midnight under a moonlit Tampa sky.
Photos | Have a closer look at the Soundings Trade Only 40th Anniversary Gala in the gallery below:
This article originally appeared in the November 2019 issue.
