2008 Marina Conference, sponsored by Walcon
Marine
Learning and Development the way forward for the Marina
Industry
The British Marine Federation (BMF), in conjunction with the UK
CMM Group and Yacht Harbour Association, welcomed 130 delegates to
the fourth annual Marina Managers Conference sponsored by Walcon
Marine.
The newly formatted two day event was held on the
10th and 11th April at the Portsmouth
Marriott Hotel. Guests were invited to enjoy a networking lunch,
followed by presentations, champagne reception and dinner on the
first day, with further presentations on the second.
The marina industry has recognised for sometime the need for
training and development. The annual Marina Conference is an
integral part of continuous professional development for Marina
Managers. It is an opportunity for delegates to keep up to date
with issues facing the industry and opportunities to network with
others from the industry.
Key note speaker, Derek Williams, author of The Wow Factor
delivered an extremely well received presentation on Customer
Service. He encouraged delegates to focus on service which would
lead to achieving profit. Robin Walters of Walcon Marine gave the
after dinner speech drawing on his vast experience in the world of
Marinas to motivate delegates to continue learning and praised the
work of the BMF and Certified Marina Managers.
Other presentations included: Arresting Boats and the
Tortes process, Crowd Sourcing, Waste Handling and Water
Regulations, The Marine Bill, Work of the RNLI and the use of
marinas.
Delegates Dave Wilson; Marina Developments Ltd, Stuart Jones:
Quay Marina Ltd, Shaw Smith; Marina Developments Ltd, Rod Grant;
British Waterways Marinas Ltd and Oscar Siches, a consultant, were
presented with their Certified Marina Managers (CMM)
designation.
In order to achieve CMM status, one must have at least 5 years
Marina Management experience, be a graduate of an Advanced Marina
Management School, be an active member of the trade association and
manage a facility of a minimum of 100 berths.
The designation is internationally recognised to those in the
Marine Industry, and these five appointments bring the total number
of European CMM's to 40
Mick Bettesworth, MRICS, Managing Director of MDL Estates
praised the success of the evening: "On behalf of the AMI I would
like to take this opportunity to thank you all for putting together
what can only be described as an outstanding conference. The
content was interesting, well balanced and well presented and the
networking was, as usual, second to none. All the delegates that I
spoke to were very enthusiastic and it's very encouraging to see so
many new faces. (as well as the old ones!)I think the idea of
incorporating an overnight stay with a Champagne Reception and
dinner was excellent and has taken the event to a new level. It was
also very gratifying to be presenting 5 new CMM's with their
certificates."