Update: Northwest Yacht Brokers Association

A few weeks ago we sent a survey to all of you asking what kind of relationship the NMTA should have with the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association and their boat shows. Your response was crystal clear.

Virtually all the members agreed that we should continue to work with the NYBA in jointly marketing our January Boat Shows and we should work together to produce one summer show, as we did last year. Eighty percent said that we should work together in January and 76 percent said we should work together in September. The NYBA sent out the exact same survey to their members and the results were within a few percentage points.

Because the feedback was so positive, volunteers and staff from both organizations have been meeting to work out the details. Last month we held a joint Boat Show Committee meeting with representatives from both associations. We also extended invitations to the volunteer leadership to attend each other’s March Board meetings.

As I am writing this column, we are working out the details of the written agreements that will cover the 2006 Lake Union Boats Afloat Show as well as the 2007 January boat shows. There is talk of signing a three-year agreement that would demonstrate the intent of both Boards to make this a long-term commitment.

All of this is good news. I feel like it validates the time and effort put in by so many volunteers and staff over the past five years to build a bridge between the two organizations.

The two associations are going to make every effort to take the September boat show to the next level. There is a new vision for the show. The goal is to grow the show every year until it is the largest in-the-water boat show on the West Coast. The backbone of the show will still be yachts (both new and brokerage) but efforts will be made to “round-out” the show with the addition of trailerable boats, more seminars, accessories and promotions. The hope is the September show will continue to be a premier opportunity for selling yachts, while at the same time serve as a tremendous marketing opportunity to grow boating in the Pacific Northwest at every level.

Those close to the summer show issue will know that the renovations that began in Fall 2004 at Shilshole Bay Marina triggered the marriage of the August and September shows. For that bit of fate, it seems the industry should be grateful. I believe combining the shows is a benefit to the members of both associations and the boating public.

The renovation of Shilshole is underway and should be completed in two more years. The more successful our efforts on Lake Union are this summer and next, the less likely the NMTA will want to recreate the August show at Shilshole when the renovations are done. Only time will tell how that plays out, but my hope is that collectively we create a hugely successful event on Lake Union… and then come up with a new “Grow Boating” type event for Shilshole.

Maybe we can take the “Boatstock” formula to Shilshole in 2008. On page 5 of Water Life you will see that we are going to create a Boatstock type event on the Foss Waterway this June. If that proves successful, we can look at a Shilshole version as well. The Port of Seattle has been a great partner for the NMTA over the past 30 years. We know they want to keep working with us and we want to work with them to help grow boating.

In the meantime, look for more details on this year’s Lake Union Boats Afloat Show. Applications for space will be available next month. Jonathan Ives, Executive Director of NYBA, will be quarterbacking the show, but he will have the full staffs of both organizations on his team all summer long as we prepare for the best possible floating boat show that the two organizations can produce.

With warm regards,

Michael Campbell
President
michael@nmta.net