PROGRESSIONS & JOB POSTS…

JACK GIERHART NAMED US SAILING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

US SAILING, the National Governing Body of the sport, has officially appointed Jack Gierhart as its eighth Executive Director in the history of the organization.

Gierhart has served as the organization’s acting Executive Director since October of 2010 following the retirement of Charlie Leighton. He had served as the Associate Executive Director since November of 2009.

“After an extensive national search, I am pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has appointed Jack Gierhart as our Executive Director,” said US SAILING President Gary Jobson. “Jack has played an integral role with the organization for over six years and brings a wealth of experience to US SAILING. We look forward to working with Jack in the coming years.”

“I am very excited about this opportunity to work with the board, our volunteers, and staff,” offered Gierhart. “We have a great team here at US SAILING, and with our current momentum there is a lot of opportunity. We will continue to focus on improving our core programs, but also look forward to new ideas, initiatives and strengthening support of local sailing organizations that are critical to the future of sailing in the United States.”

Gierhart has garnered over 20 years of sales, marketing, and general management experience in the technology and marine industries, with a total of six years at US SAILING in two separate stints.

Prior to his return to US SAILING, Gierhart was the founder and CEO of MessageSherpa, executive vice president of Nautor’s Swan U SA, and a six-year veteran of IBM where he served as a global sales and business development manager.

An avid sailor, Gierhart sails both competitively and recreationally. He serves on Sail America’s Board of Directors and has been a member of the Beverly Yacht Club (Mass.) since 2002.

BROOKE KING TAPPED FOR AD JOB AT SPINSHEET, PROPTALK

SpinSheet publishing company, which produces SpinSheet and PropTalk magazines, hired Brooke E. King of Queenstown, Md., as an advertising sales representative.

King is responsible for new customer development, customer retention and partnership development. She will focus on both print and Internet ad sales in the marine sector, with territory responsibility throughout the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.

BRIAN CLARK JOINS OCEANAIR

Oceanair has appointed Brian Clark as its new U.S. sales and marketing manager.

Clark was formerly sales director at Morbern Inc., a manufacturer of decorative vinyl upholstery fabrics. He comes to Oceanair with experience, expertise and industry knowledge specific to the marine sector. Clark’s role will be focused on developing and implementing a new growth strategy for Oceanair’s North and South American markets.

“We are truly delighted to welcome Brian on board. Having successfully assumed responsibility for our U.S.-based office in Vermont, I am confident that both he and his team we will be able to deliver an unparalleled service,” Oceanair’s Sales and Marketing Director, Ian Howarth said.

JIM CURRIE APPOINTED NMMA DIRECTOR OF FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS

Filling the position previously held by Mat Dunn, Jim Currie has been appointed director of federal legislative affairs by the NMMA. He most recently served as Director of Federal Relations with the National Association of State Treasurers. He is based in NMMA’s Washington, DC office and will work within the government relations practice.

A retired Colonel for the Army with 30 years of military service, Currie has experience working on Capitol Hill both on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and for the late Senator Lloyd Bentsen. He also taught at the National Defense College and has lectured at a number of colleges and universities. He also hosted a TV show called “America’s Army” and has authored three books. He holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Mississippi as well as a M.A. in History and Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia.

Currie may be reached at 202-737-9760 or jcurrie@nmma.org.

DAN WURZBACHER NAMED U.S. SALES MANAGER AT OYSTER MARINE

Oyster Marine is expanding its U.S. headquarters with the appointment of Dan Wurzbacher to the position of U.S. sales manager, based in Newport, R.I. In this capacity, he will manage new yacht sales throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.

Wurzbacher has been in the marine industry for seven years, including serving as captain of S/Y Argo, a 110-foot Langan Design Schooner. He has completed crossings of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and has more than 50,000 miles of bluewater cruising experience, including extensive landfalls.

He has overseen several major refit projects and comes to Oyster from a career in brokerage with Berthon USA in Newport.

CRUISING WORLD RAKES IN THE GOLD AT BOATING WRITERS ANNUAL COMPETITION

Cruising World magazine swept the Boating Writers International annual competition this year, taking home 22 awards and earning honors in 11 of the 16 categories, including three first-place awards, as noted:

• First place, Travel or Destination Category: “Where Might & Majesty Meet,” by Alvah Simon
• First place, Electronics Category: “Wonder Who’s Out There?” by Ben Ellison
• First place, Product Tests Category: “Underwater Cameras,” by Bill Springer

The writing competition recognizes the top marine journalists in the United States and beyond for their “excellence in creating compelling stories about the boating lifestyle through entertaining, educational and inspiring journalism.” The 18th annual BWI contest attracted more than 145 participants and more than 365 entries.

BWI is a nonprofit professional organization of writers, broadcasters, editors, publishers, photographers, public-relations specialists and others in the communications profession associated with the boating industry. Members include active marine journalists across the United States, in Canada and around the world supporting marine manufacturers and service entities, as well as associates in communications roles.

SAIL PARTNERS WITH YACHTCOUNCIL.COM

SAIL Magazine and its sister magazine Power and Motoryacht recently announced a consumer marketing partnership with Yachtcouncil.com and its online brokerage listing service.

"PMY and SAIL have partnered with us to bring professional search capability and awareness to all boat owners around the world," said Steve Myers, president of Yacht Council.

Both media publications will display central boat listings from Yachtcouncil.com on their websites. The brokerage listings feed from Yachtcouncil.com will appear under the "Boats For Sale" section on both powerandmotoryacht.com and sailmagazine.com. PMY and SAIL will also be able to integrate content (i.e. boat reviews) into the boat-for-sale pages and offer a fully integrated marketing package to powerboat and sailboat brokers.

JOB POSTING

Editor’s Note: Sail America offers a free listing for members to post jobs online. To submit your position for inclusion, email Sail America Executive Director Jonathan Banks – jbanks@sailamerica.com

US SAILING SEEKS WEB DESIGNER

US SAILING is now working to build on the content management and database capabilities of its current platform to expand services and applications to its members, sailing organizations and the sailing public. A great opportunity for a person with technical skills, a passion for the online universe, and (preferably) sailing experience to take things to the next level.

Job description: http://about.ussailing.org/Careers_at_US_SAILING/Webdesigner.htm

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