Sail America's Inaugural "Growth Through Innovation" Sailing Industry Conference Scores High Marks in Survey

Eighty-four percent of the sailing industry members rated as “excellent” or “very good” Sail America’s recent inaugural “Growth Through Innovation” conference presented by GE Capital Solutions and Sail America on June 11-12 in Newport, RI.

A resounding 98% felt the conference was well organized and 84% of attendees said the conference fulfilled their expectations. Eighty-nine percent of the conference participants said they would attend Sail America’s conference next year and 90% said they would recommend it to other professionals.

Sail America Executive Director Jonathan Banks said, “We’re delighted by the excellent feedback, comments and ideas which we will definitely incorporate into our game plan as we develop the next conference.”

Industry members were most enthusiastic about the high-quality presentations, specialized workshops and networking events that focused on generating new business growth in today’s challenging marketplace. “All of the speakers were great and exceeded my expectations,” said one participant. Another praised the conference as “very well-organized, excellent content providing a great opportunity.”

Over 150 sailing industry professionals gathered at the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, RI, for the conference that featured relevant, take-home advice and ideas from world-class leaders inside and outside of the sailing industry. According to the survey, conference participants were most interested in presentations by best-selling business author Dan Coughlin, who discussed ideas for generating new business momentum, and Wachovia Senior Economic Analyst Mark Vitner, who said the U.S. economy would narrowly avoid a recession in 2008 and make more solid gains in 2009.

Networking was cited as the main reason for attending the conference by 44% of industry members, while 32% came for the conference content.

In planning the next conference, most attendees (68%) said the conference should be held annually, the majority (59%) said the conference should be held in June, and 70% voted for a 1 ½ to two-day format. There was a strong preference to hold the conference in the Northeast followed by the Mid-Atlantic. Participants surveyed said they’d like more time for networking and breakout sessions.

Speaker and seminar ideas suggested for next year’s conference included:

• Insights and ideas from speakers in other industries, such as RV, auto, powerboat, fishing, houseboating, and from builders and dealers around the world.
• Ideas to jump-start the sailing industry.
• How to get new people into sailing; including the role of sailing clubs and how to keep junior sailors sailing as adults.
• Leadership, team building, best management practices, customer service.
• Dealer sales, marketing and management strategies.
• Advertising and marketing in tough economic times, including website development and electronic marketing. 
• Economic trends, export info, and business financing.

“Based on the positive feedback from this year’s conference, we are planning to hold another conference next year,” said Banks. “We expect to make an announcement on the date and venue shortly.”

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