Dog River Marina Complex
Mobile, Alabama

“I had no more idea I’d be doing this than the man on the moon,” Sonny Middleton says, when asked if he ever thought he’d own a marina. “I always wanted to work on boats, because I loved it, and my dad loved it. But to have a marina wasn’t in my plans. It just kind of happened.”

Middleton’s destiny first began taking shape with his father’s Chrysler marine engine dealership. Sonny was headed for Auburn University on scholarship in 1957, but when his father died, he stayed home to run the business to support his mother. He subsequently founded Middleton Marine Engine Service, and, in 1979, joined a group of investors to acquire Dog River Marina. Four years ago, Middleton purchased the remaining stock and became sole owner.

Dog River’s location at the mouth of the Tenn-Tom Waterway in Mobile Bay, 22 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, “is the best thing that ever happened to us,” says Middleton. “This is the only place people can get their boat fixed until they hit Tennessee or Kentucky to the north, or St. Petersburg to the south.” The marina’s primary business is slip rental, boat repairs, and service. Middleton estimates that the repair yard earns about $6 million from what he terms “drive-throughs”: emergency boat repairs, as many as four per day.

In addition to 95 wet slips, the 14-acre complex consists of Dog River Fuel and Supply, Middleton Marine Engine Service (representing Detroit Diesel, Caterpillar, MAN, Cummins, Onan, and Westerbeke), A&M Yacht Sales (the Gulf of Mexico’s exclusive Bertram dealer with locations in Mobile, New Orleans, Panama City, Carrabelle, Orange Beach, and Destin), Mobile Hatteras, Middle Bay Marine, Fiber-Plastics, and E&R Marine Electronics. This past summer, Middleton also opened a new marina facility in Columbus, Mississippi.

Environmental responsibility
One of the requirements for being named Marina of the Year is a commitment to environmental responsibility. “Back when the environment was just starting to be talked about,” says Middleton, “We got a call from a guy in Montgomery, who said ‘what are you going to do about storm water management?’ He was from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and told Middleton that a local college had been given a grant to study the effect of storm water runoff and pollution, and wanted to use Dog River Marina for research. Before he knew it, the marina was overrun with students and their professors.

As a result of the studies, and in collaboration with state environmental agencies, Dog River Marina has become a model for its handling of storm water runoff. The marina uses a process whereby storm water is directed through a ditch that runs along the back of the marina, and into a marsh full of swamp grass and reeds. The marsh serves as a filtration system, naturally filtering out pollutants before the runoff flows into the waterways.

“If you were to take a sample of the storm water prior to going into the marsh, you’d find pollutants,” says Bob Schwarz, comptroller at Dog River Marina. An employee for almost 12 years, he handles all environmental issues at Dog River. “On the other side of the marsh, where the water drains into the river, the water’s clean.”

In addition to being a model for storm water management, the studies done at Dog River Marina were also used to set up the state’s guidelines for Best Management practices. “What the storm water studies have done is not only make us more environmentally aware, but also to become better housekeepers,” says Schwarz. “Before, we just kind of sloughed off, cleaned up after ourselves, that kind of thing. Now, we clean up the area after every boat we move, make sure we get big chips of paint off the ground, use biodegradable soaps, and basically do everything we can to make sure that things don’t get into the environment that shouldn’t be there. What other marinas in the state have to do now for Best Management practices is to follow guidelines that were set up based on our facility.”

Dog River Marina was the first facility in Alabama to take advantage of Clean Vessel Act (CVA) funding to install pumpouts. When funding first came available in 1992, Schwarz heard about it through the area’s state representative, and knew it was something they should take advantage of. “We wanted to make sure we were covered,” says Schwarz. “And we also wanted to promote good environmental standards for our customers, and be forerunners in our area.” Presently, they’re in the process of applying for additional CVA grant money to purchase an on-boat pumpout to help their customers by bringing the service to them, rather than each boat maneuvering to the pumpout dock.

In addition to environmental concerns, Bob Schwarz is involved with state marina and boating associations as well. He’s currently helping to get a Marine Sanitation bill passed, which will allow state agencies in Alabama to enforce federal standards regarding illegal dumping. Schwarz is also trying to initiate an awareness program to help boaters understand the consequences of dumping. “I’ve been pushing the state to educate the people about what they’re doing when they put raw sewage overboard. Once they see that, I have a strong feeling a lot of people will quit.”

Community involvement
There’s a “family feel” to the business as you walk around Dog River Marina. Middleton has a keen interest in various projects (plus a thorough knowledge and understanding of the paint shop, the carpentry shop, and the electronics shop) and in his employees’ lives. He talks about the 16-year-old son of a couple in the paint and parts departments. “He’s a good kid, but he couldn’t seem to stay in school,” says Middleton. So a deal was made with the boy. “I told him he could have a job here, but on one condition: by the end of the year, he had to get his GED. And he did.”

Dog River has hosted a boat show for 12 years, with proceeds to the Mobile Mental Health Center. ($15,000 was raised this past year.) The marina is also a major sponsor of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic, the Bay Point Invitational Billfish Tournament, and the Orange Beach Billfish Classic.

Middleton wants to attract young people to the industry, but has no illusions about their reaction to the realities of the business. He says there is no such thing as “working just eight hours a day. When someone comes in here looking for a job, the first thing they ask me is, ‘how much will I make?’ My next question is, ‘how much do you work?’ That usually stuns them.”

Middleton adds that one of the most important things for new and young employees to get used to is being comfortable with the customers, “some of whom have more money in their boats than they have in their homes.”

Hurricanes’ wake
Hurricane Camille (1969), Frederick (1979), and Opal (1995), all hit the Dog River Marina Complex. In 1998, Hurricane George swept through leaving $2 million in damage. As he walks through the marina, Middleton points out how high the water rose: some places as high as four or five feet inside the buildings. And because Dog River Marina Complex is on tidal water and a flood plain, they’ve had to raise the buildings eighteen inches. “The key to being able to run this business is being able to buy insurance,” Middleton says. Fortunately, with private insurance and Federal Emergency funds, they’ve been able to rebound after each disaster.

There’s a plaque on Middleton’s office wall that reads, “No Problem. Wide Open. Straight up.” You could say it sums up his attitude toward both his employees and his customers: Any questions anyone has or help someone needs are no problem to him. His door is wide open. And he can make time for everyone.

There’s another phrase which could be called the Dog River Marina Complex motto, and it illustrates nicely why Middleton and his employees are so successful at what they do: “We won’t fetch your slippers or the morning paper, but we’ll do just about anything to make things more comfortable and convenient for you.”