Orlando, Florida - It was an exciting week at the 2004 MasterCraft Dealer Days as the world’s premiere inboard boat builder recognized the accomplishments of its vast dealer network, introduced the all new MasterCraft X-80 and unveiled a new company motto/marketing campaign -- Held To A Higher Standard.
“We had another tremendous Dealer Days,” said MasterCraft President & CEO, John Dorton. “This meeting comes on the heels of an unbelievable summer, unmatched by any other year in our company’s history. The MasterCraft ProStar 190/197 towed 3 water ski world records, the X-Star was voted #1 wakeboard boat by WakeWorld.com riders and the MariStar 280 VLD earned Boating’s Boat of the Year award. Who could ask for more? Our dealers are rallying behind us and we have a tremendous amount of momentum going into the boat show season.”
MasterCraft started the event by thanking their dealer network for an outstanding year with an elaborate banquet, numerous awards and a pre-recorded television spoof of “The Bachelor” where President’s Award nominees tried to woo Dorton for the company’s coveted rose (aka The President’s Award).
One by one Dorton narrowed the field, soul searching along the watery banks of the company’s world headquarters, pulling rose pedals and listening to a Kenny G soundtrack. In the end, Action Water Sports (AWS) won Dorton’s affections and the company’s highest honor -- for the second year in a row!
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Jerry Brouwer, AWS owner. “Last year my sales and services staff weren’t in Coeur d’Alene when we won the award so they couldn’t really appreciate what a big deal it is. I didn’t expect to win again, but I took the entire group. This time everyone was there and they were so overwhelmed. It’s pretty amazing because when we first started selling boats [in Holland, Michigan] the market hardly existed. I used to sit back and think even if we worked our butts off we’ll probably never be in the top-twenty because there are too many big metropolitan dealers that we won’t be able to compete with. I just really started to believe in controlling the controllables and maintaining a laser beam focus. Marketing to the right people and delivering outstanding customer service. Now everyone on our staff is a believer.”
In 2003 Action Water Sports opened a second location in Traverse City, Michigan, was ranked #1 in service among MasterCraft’s Midwest dealers, was ranked #1 in marketing among MasterCraft’s Midwest dealers, ranked #8 in national sales and appeared on the cover of Boat & Motor Dealer’s Sept./Oct. issue.
Other MasterCraft dealers recognized for their hard work and dedication to the brand include:
National
2003 President’s Award Winner:
Action Water Sports
Top 20 Sales Dealers:
1. Ski World USA
2. Cope & McPhetres, CA
3. California Skier
4. Portland Ski Boat Center
5. Pine Crest Marina
6. JOA Marine
7. Water Sports Marine
8. Action Water Sports
9. Darryl Moore’s Marine
10. Texas MasterCraft
11. Cope & McPhetres, WA
12. Utah WaterSports
13. Midwest MasterCraft
14. Desjardins Ste-Adele Marine
15. MasterCraft Boats of Arizona
16. Liquid Sports Marine
17. Ron’s Marine
18. Performance Marine
19. Williams Bros. Ski & Sports
20. Travis Marine
Outstanding New Dealer:
Nebraska Watersports, Papillion, Nebraska
Top Servicing Dealer:
Rambo Marine, Hazel Green, Alabama
Top Marketing Dealer:
Texas MasterCraft, Dallas, Texas
Top International Distributor:
MasterCraft de Mexico - David Craig
MasterCraft Boat Co. of UK Ltd. - Ian Birdsall
East Coast Region
Top Servicing Dealer:
Ron’s Marine, Mantua, Ohio
Top Marketing Dealer:
Buckeye Marine, South Bobcaygeon, Ontario
Best Boat Show:
Ron’s Marine - Cleveland Boat Show
Salesperson of the Year:
Jeff MacKay - Buckeye Marine, South Bobcaygeon, Ontario
Dealer on the Move:
MasterCraft of Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina
Midwest Region
Top Servicing Dealer:
Action Water Sports, Hudsonville, Michigan
Top Marketing Dealer:
Action Water Sports, Hudsonville, Michigan
Best Boat Show:
Midwest MasterCraft - Minneapolis Boat Show
Salesperson of the Year:
Deb Showley - Pine Crest Marine
Dealer on the Move:
Pine Crest Marine
Southeast Region
Top Servicing Dealer:
Rambo Marine, Hazel Green, Alabama
Top Marketing Dealer:
Liquid Sports Marine, Orlando, Florida
Best Boat Show:
JOA Marine - Atlanta Boat Show
Salesperson of the Year:
April Williams - Williams Bros. Ski & Sports, Shell Knob, Missouri
Dealer on the Move:
Rambo Marine, Hazel Green, Alabama
South Central Region
Top Servicing Dealer:
Texas MasterCraft, Dallas, Texas
Top Marketing Dealer:
Texas MasterCraft, Dallas, Texas
Best Boat Show:
Boat Town - Austin Boat Show
Salesperson of the Year:
Todd Overmire - Darryl Moore’s Marine, Houston, Texas
Dealer on the Move:
Texas Ski Ranch, San Antonio, Texas
West Region
Top Servicing Dealer:
MasterCraft Boats of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona
Top Marketing Dealer:
Cope & McPhetres, Rocklin, California
Best Boat Show:
Portland Ski Boat Center - Portland Boat Show
Salesperson of the Year:
Mark Lawhead - Portland Ski Boat Center
Dealer on the Move:
California Skier, Riverside, California
Marketing
Skier of the Year:
Jimmy Siemers - Men’s Ski Jump World Record Breaker
Rider of the Year:
Parks Bonifay - MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour Overall Champion
National Team Athlete of the Year:
Danyelle Bennett - Junior Masters Overall Champion
Community All-Star Award:
MasterCraft of Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina
Travis Marine, Knoxville, Tennessee
Ray Crenshaw, Tournament Team Coordinator, Southeast Region
Kowaliga Marina, Lake Martin, Alabama
Boatworks, Taylorsville, Kentucky
MasterCraft Boats of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona
Portland Ski Boat Center, Portland, Oregon
Over 120 MasterCraft dealerships from around the globe attended the company’s annual 4-day meeting at the Grand Cypress Hotel in Orlando. After the last of the awards were handed out, Scott Crutchfield, VP of worldwide sales, challenged the crowd to get down to business. The next 3 days were focused on extensive sales and customer service training that included seminars on The Power of the Brand: Boat Shows to Promotions, Customer Service, Virtual Factory Tour, Competitive Brands, Big Boats 101 and Online Boat Ordering.
Dealers were also invited to test drive 17 MasterCraft models and competitive brands at 2 nearby lakes. Those models included the new MasterCraft X-80, which is a wakeboard version of the MariStar 280 VLD complete with a liner ballast system and X-Series attitude, as well as a yet-to-be named product scheduled to premiere at the Miami International Boat Show on February 12.
Members of the media were also privied to meet with top company executives, test boats and ski or wakeboard with MasterCraft’s elite team of professional athletes during the company’s Media Day event.
“Dealer Days is undoubtedly the biggest thing we do all year,” said Rob May, director of marketing. “This event sets the tone for an entire year. It helps us stay on message with our dealers and customers - that MasterCraft is held to a higher standard in styling, performance and construction. This focus, combined with the awards we’ve won over the past year and the incredible enthusiasm of our dealer network leads me to believe that we’re going to have an incredible boat show season.”
MasterCraft’s 2003 Dealer Meeting successfully concluded on Saturday, December 6, 2003.
For more information on MasterCraft Boats visit the company’s website at www.mastercraft.com.
MasterCraft strives to deliver consumers the ultimate water sports experience by designing and building the world’s highest quality, best performing sports luxury boats in every significant inboard niche. Tours of MasterCaft’s world headquarters in Vonore, Tennessee, are available Monday-Thursday from 2pm to 4pm. For more information, model specifications, high- and low-res digital images or 35mm running and detail shots, please contact Casey Quilter at 423-884-2221, ext. 1205 or visit www.mastercraft.com.
