NOVEMBER 2010 - Association of Marina Industries

Welcome to the November issueMarina Study Tour Offers InvaluableTrainingParticipants call it a “huge opportunity”Twenty one marina industry professionals participated in the2010 SoutheastFlorida MarinaStudy Tour, October27–28, 2010.The two-daytraining includedprivate, exclusivetours of sevenmarinas and gaveattendees an indepthlook atthe operations ofthese facilities. Each day concluded with a SWOT (strengths,weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis where participantslearned from each other by discussing the marinas theyvisited and pointing out positive and negative attributes as wellas their unique sales points.“The Marina Study Tour was a huge opportunity,” FredDonovan of Rod N Reel, Inc. said, “The operators of thehost marinas were totally open, sharing the inner workingsof their businesses. The end-of-day classroom and SWOTanalysis was the most valuable aspect of the tour becauseit compelled me to scrutinize the Strengths, Weaknesses,Opportunities, and Threats of my business.”Seeing behind the scenesat a number of marinasalso provided attendeeswith useful and practicalbusiness ideas to takeback to their own facilities.The tour’s host, TimTimpson, CMM, offeredcreative solutionsto common problems while teaching attendees what issuesand opportunities to look for. Participants can now objectivelyanalyze their own businesses to determine their strengths andweaknesses so success and growth are imminent.The training also presented participants with a one-of-a-kindnetworking experience as the group spent two full days workingand socializing together. “The Study Tour allowed me to create2a number of valuableprofessional relationshipswith other attendeesand the staffat the marinas visited,”David Coyle of TridentBuilding Systemsstated. “The numberof attendees made itmanageable to get toknow everyone and learn what each is interested in. The groupwas small enough to develop real, long-term relationships butlarge enough for diversified ideas and suggestions. It was justthe right size and the right amount of time.”The Study Tour has become an invaluable experiencethanks to hands-on education and convenient, meaningfulnetworking. The next Southeast Florida Marina Study Touris scheduled for October 26–27, 2010. For more informationvisit www.marinaassociation.org.2010 ADA StandardsThe new 2010 ADA Standards recently adopted by the Departmentof Justice are now available. You can access themon AMI’s website under Government and then CurrentIssues http://www.marinaassociation.org/current-issues.This edition, like the HTML version posted on the AccessBoard’s website previously, notes supplementary design requirementsincluded in the DOJ’s updated ADA regulations.For more information on ADA you can also visit the AccessBoard website www.access-board.gov/ada/index.htm.Marinalife Introduces iPhone ApplicationMarinalife recently introduced a new iPhone application givingcruisers, marine enthusiasts, and travelers instant accessto up-to-date listings for marinas and services and links to thecompany’s online reservation service. The app was introducedjust before the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show andMarinalife has seen thousands of downloads already.The Marinalife app is a free download built by the company’spartner EarthNC and the application provides iPhone MarineChart and iPad Marine Charts as one universal app. Users caneasily access the largest database of marina and marine travelrelated information through this app. The data is searchablewithin the app, cacheable for offline use, and overlaid on theMarinalife Introduce iPhone... Continued on Page 3