Hammer and Nail will partake in a Docks Expo roundtable: Are you going?
The top performers in any sport – any niche – utilize their offseason to have a blend of fun and training. See old friends one night, practice a new curveball the next morning. As the slammed summer season fades, marina managers have the same opportunity. Have some fun, grow their skills. These excursions happen at a couple of primary gathering points in winter, and one of them – with the presence of Hammer and Nail at an educational roundtable – is ready to kick off in Nashville:
The 2024 Docks Expo.
Marina managers discovering their rekindled love for the sea after The Docks Expo
What is The Docks Expo and Marine Conference?
If the annual Association of Marine Industries (AMI) Conference held every January is The Academy Awards of marine networking, technology, and training, then consider The Docks Expo the Emmys.
Marina Dock Age hosts The Docks Expo & Marina Conference as it enters its 10th year from December 10th to 12th in Nashville. More than 150 exhibitors from marine software companies to dock builders will fill Music City Center. Marina managers can attend 20 different industry-specific educational courses along with coffee bars and trade show happy hours for browsing and networking.
Straight from The Docks Expo:
Seasoned industry professionals and rising marina talent will benefit from attending. The Docks Expo & Marina Conference caters to both inland and coastal marina operations. Professionals who rely on the marina or boating industry are also encouraged to attend.
Why attend The Docks Expo
Your marina is hundreds of miles away, you’re busy, and it’s expensive. We get it.
Only a couple of times a year, though, does an entire industry gather in one location and proceed to learn, mingle, and grow their acumen as the best marina operators in the country. Much of the year is spent addressing boater contracts, ship store orders, slip reservations, the kid who pooped in the volleyball sand – it’s a long grind. A conference like The Docks Expo gives industry professionals the chance to meet, share stories, and make connections with managers, owners, consultants, and manufacturers who are passionate about the same things.
What is Hammer and Nail doing at the 2024 Docks Expo?
Besides the fun of meeting people from all over the industry, Hammer and Nail Marketing’s Lead Strategist and Founder Sam Claitor will engage in a panel called “Revenue Generating Ideas Marinas Might Not Think Of.” The session is from 1 to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11th, at the Music City Center.
We’re grateful to roundtable host Kyle Bostwick, General Manager at Ferry Dock Marina in Burlington, Vermont, for extending the invite and we look forward to the conversation.
What else can I learn at the Docks Expo?
The 2024 Docks Expo schedule includes highly niche courses and roundtables about issues prevalent in the current marine industry ecosystem. Sessions will include “Implementing Green Infrastructure at Marinas,” “Inspections, Condition Assessments and Rehabilitation Plans for your Marina,” and “The Future of Dry Stack Boat Storage.”
For managers seeking continuing education units, the two days preceding the official exhibit are designated for The Docks and Marinas Course. The University of Wisconsin-Madison hosts the courses and attendees for the course sessions receive complimentary passes to the conference.
The conference counters the intense learning sessions with ample space for play. The official schedule includes a “Bloody Mary Bar,” a tradeshow floor happy hour, an ice cream social, and all the bright lights and nightlife inherent to a weekend in Nashville.
The when, where, and how much of the 2024 Docks Expo
The conference has room blocks set aside and attendees can make reservations for the Hilton Nashville Downtown, The Westin Nashville, and the AC Hotel Nashville Downtown. Early registration tickets are $265, while standard registration is $365, and you can find more about tickets here.
Beyond the education, networking, and learning more about dock cleats than you could ever hope to know, the conference will award its “Marina of the Year” award for one marina below 250 slips and one large facility of more than 250 slips. You can nominate your favorite marina (the nominations close October 3rd). Marina Dock Age also presents its “Young Leader Award” for a group of professionals under 40 who have contributed significantly to the industry and will play a key part in the marine industry’s future.
The “Marina of the Year” award to be presented at the 2024 Docks Expo
Photo credit: The Docks Expo & Marina Conference
Three days in Nashville, a lifetime of knowledge
One could say that the pitcher who learns the new curveball in the off-season – they accomplished it through practice. That’s true, but they also made intentional space for the practice. The Docks Expo is such a gathering – an intentional meeting place for peers and friends to meet, learn, and bring the life of the waterfront to Music City.
Article by Hammer and Nail Marketing
WHAT IS HAMMER & NAIL?
Hammer and Nail Marketing is a boutique marketing firm that helps small to mid-sized marinas get noticed by boaters. If you’d like to focus on operating your marina without the additional responsibility of marketing, get in touch with us.
We’re boaters ourselves from a background of operating a family-run marina. From a group of experts who know the water, let Hammer and Nail Marketing help you be the waterfront your local boaters see every time they cast off.
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