Marina Dock Age

With the new Boat.Fish.Live at National Marina Day event less than a month away, celebrations should be well planned at this point. That doesn’t mean marinas have done everything they should or there still isn’t lots to do. Many of the ten host marinas and many seasonal marinas preparing to open, are putting together National Marina (NMD) celebrations with less time this year, as the new earlier June 12 date quickly approaches.

Marinas should make sure to focus on the big picture. Events don’t have to include everything under the sun, just show support for the boating industry. To make sure the little things don’t throw you off track in the coming days, here’s some planning tips.

Timeline

AMI provides marinas with a suggested planning timeline in the NMD resource kit, available online to registered marinas. Here’s what AMI suggests should already be done:

• 4 months before – Register your marina on the NMD Web site (www.nationalmarinaday.org) and receive the valuable resource kit with templates for everything from press releases to radio ads to letters to customers. (There is still time.)
• 3 months before – Order promotional material, including buttons, t-shirts, and key chains.
• 1.5 months before – If you plan to use Coast Guard or PowerSquadron at your event, contact those resources. Approach local radio stations and schedule production and airing of NMD ads the week before your celebration. Contact local newspapers and/or regional boating publications to publish a NMD print advertisement and send local or regional marine/marina magazines or newspapers a NMD news release about your event.

Here’s what’s left to do:

• 1 month before – Anything you should have already done! Better late, than never. Also, send your customers a personal letter, inviting them to the celebration. Don’t forget to tell them why it’s so important! Begin to place fliers and signage publicizing your celebration around the marina.
• 2 weeks before – Send NMD press release to local newspapers, radio stations, and television stations. Make sure you call to alert everyone it’s on the way. Call again afterwards to follow up and answer any questions.
• The day before – Call media outlets and remind them about the event. (See other last minute suggestions in the next section.)
• National Marina Day – Present your employees with an appreciation letter. (See the sample letter in the AMI resource kit.) Have fun and enjoy the day!
• Ten days after the event – Apply for the NMD Awards. Visit the NMD Web site for more details about the awards program.

Last minute organization

As the even approaches, most major plans should be in place, but the little things can get lost in the rush. Here are ten last minute things to think about:

1. fact kit – Because the day is meant to educate people about marinas, AMI suggests putting together a fact kit, including marketing brochures, information about the marina’s services, maps of the property, promotional items, or goodies from your suppliers/vendors. As visitors arrive, hand out the fact kits at a registration table. Give visitors something, and they’ll be more likely to leave their information with you. You’ll also get a chance to talk with visitors one-on-one.
2. talking to the media – In addition to reaching out to specificnewspapers, magazines, radio stations, etc., don’t forget your tenants. They may have connections that could help.
3. getting volunteers – In some cases, rounding up volunteers may be as simple as asking around town. If that falls short, go into the community, especially to non-profit organizations. Give these organizations a free place to reach the public, and they bring extra hands.
4. sprucing up – The week leading up to NMD can be a hectic cleaning time. In addition, marinas can spruce up with new landscaping, new paint, new flags, and moving boats around to make it as open as possible.
5. rain plan – What will happen if it rains? If there’s no indoor space available, have a quick, clean up plan instead.
6. layout – Marinas with lots of activity will have lots of people to organize that day. Do this ahead of time with a detailed chart of the marina. Everyone knows ahead of time where the band will be and where the cook out will take place, and each participant can choose a designated booth number.
7. jugs of water – With the earlier June date, the hot sun might not play as big a factor as it did in August, but it couldn’t hurt to have extra just in case.
8. seating for the elderly – There’s a lot going on, and someone might need to take a rest.
9. extra portable toilets – If your marina doesn’t have a lot of restrooms, consider bringing in some extra.
10. more meetings – Marinas should hold NMD meeting throughout the planning process, and those meetings should increase with frequency as the event approaches. Make sure to keep everyone involved up-to-date.

NMD goals

When the planning gets hectic, it’s important to keep in mind the overall goal. “The goal of NMD is really to get people who don’t know anything about marinas and boating to come and learn,” said Wendy Larimer, Association of Marina Industries (AMI) legislative coordinator. Each marina will take a different spin on the overall goal of education and support for the boating industry. Here’s how some marinas define their goals for the celebration:

• “We open our doors to get people down to the waterfront. If we can get new people into boating, that’s great,” said Sal Gugliar, harbormaster at New Rochelle Municipal Marina in New Rochelle, N.Y.
• “We try to get input from the community each year. Those are the people that we’d most like to get involved,” said Bump Elliot, event coordinator for Callville Bay Resort & Marina in Las Vegas, Nev.
• “We’re in a very small town. It’s really more of a customer appreciation day,” said Susie Hamblem, administrative assistant at Brisbane Marina in Bribane, Calif.
• “I always tell my staff that we’re creating memories. That’s what we do for a living,” said Jim Ruscoe, general manager at Anchorage Marina in Baltimore, Md.

Anna Townshend is senior editor of Marina Dock Age. She can be reached by phone at 847/647-2900 ext. 1308 or via e-mail at: atownshend@prestonpub.com.