March April 2020 Marina World

WORLD NEWS
Packed house at IMBC 2020
USA: IMBC 2020, organised by the Association of Marina Industries (AMI) in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida in January, attracted over 500 delegates and offered
158 booths in a sold-out exhibit hall.
Keynote presenters Manley Feinberg
and Dennis Snow delivered valuable
advice on business leadership and
customer service, and break-out
sessions delivered targeted tips and
information in five tracks: Marina
Design and Engineering; Operations;
One name and one logo
AMI has announced a new branding strategy that consolidates the
International Marina & Boatyard Conference (IMBC) and the International
Marina Institute (IMI) under one master brand.
Effective from late January, IMBC
is now known as the AMI Conference
& Expo and IMI is referred to as AMI
Training Institute. They share a unified
logo and tagline.
AMI was formed in 2005 when
the Marina Operators Association of
America (MOAA) merged with the
International Marina Institute (IMI). As
part of the merger, the two organisations
combined brands, leaving the newly
formed AMI with multiple divisions. “The
unintended result was an alphabet soup
of sub-brands, leading to brand dilution
and industry confusion,” says AMI
chairman Chris Petty. “IMI and IMBC
under one umbrella brand simplifies our
marketing and our messaging.”
The tagline for AMI has been
changed from ‘The Voice of the
Marina Industries’ to ‘Educating and
Three year move for AMI Expo
As attendees at the last – and highly successful – IMBC event in January at
Broward County Convention Center (BCCC) in Fort Lauderdale learned that the
2021 event will be renamed, they also learned of a new temporary location for
coming years.
Due to closure of the BCCC for a
three-year expansion, AMI Conference
Leading Your Team to Excellence;
Building Your Best Boating Community;
and Step Up and Stand Out.
The eighteenth event in the annual
series to date also became the launch
pad for major change at the AMI – and
a new vision for IMBC.
Changes at the helm
AMI took the opportunity to announce its newly elected officers and directors
at IMBC 2020: Chris Petty, Suntex Waterfront Management (chair); John Swick
CMM, Safe Harbor Marinas (vice chair); Rick Chapman CMM, Port of Sunnyside
Club, Inc (treasurer); and Kevin Thompson, Bellingham Marine (secretary).
Three new members joined the 2020
board of directors for a three-year term:
Kathy Haley CMM, Miami Dade Parks
and Recreation; Ted Schiafone CMM, City
Connecting Marina Professionals’.
AMI’s advocacy effort for its 1,000+
membership will, however, remain
strong. This includes vocal support of
the Modern Fish Act and US Coast
Guard Authorization Bill, maintaining
a voice and watchful eye on the new
National Electric Code Standards,
active participation to re-authorise the
Sportfish Restoration and Boating Trust
Fund, and active membership of Our
Recreation Roundtable.
“A new tagline further reflects the
evolution of AMI as more than simply
an advocacy group,” Petty clarifies. “We
are drawing focus to the networking and
training provided by AMI to its members
and overall marina industry through
its Certified Marina Management
programme, satellite courses and its
annual conference.”
& Expo will move to the Daytona Beach
Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
of Oceanside; and Odai Sirri, Waterfront
Suites and Marina. The AMI said farewell
to Brad Gross CMM, Ronaldo Souza
CMM and Michael Short CMM.
www.marinaworld.com - March/April 2020 7
Successful
Waterfront
Development
Starts with
Lasting
Infrastructure.
EXPERT DOCK BUILDER
AND MARINE CONTRACTOR
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800-733-5679