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 From the Helm
Dear MRA Members and Friends;
As we ring a new year I want to take this opportunity to let all of you know we, MRA, are here to assist. This organization has a wide breath of experience and contacts. If someone in our membership has an issue chances are someone else also has had that same issue. If we get the word out there is a good chance someone within the organization can help. A good example of this is a couple years back inland marinas and coastal boatyards were being attacked. MRA found about it, rallied behind our membership and we were successful in making the problem go away. It would have been very difficult for anyone facility to tackle the issue by themselves but as a group we were successful.
We all have our local contacts and advisors. I just want to remind everybody your organization, MRA, has contacts and advisors all over the west coast that are available to you. If you have an issue, let Mariann know and she can either steer you in the right direction or make a phone call on your behalf.
May 2020 be a great year.
Scott
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CALL for PRESENTATIONS
49th Annual MRA Educational Conference & Trade Show
The Marine Recreation Association has issued a "Call for Presentations" for the 49th Annual MRA Educational Conference & Trade Show to be held
September 28 - 30, 2020, at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
Presenters interested in participating in the 2020 Conference are encouraged to submit proposals for consideration by the MRA Board of Directors as soon as possible. Typical presentations should fit a 50 minute timeframe focused on marina and boatyard industry marketing, management, development, regulation, technology, and other topics of interest, in a multi-media and/or roundtable format.
The MRA's annual conference is the perfect opportunity for marine industry professionals to share their expertise and experience with hundreds of marine business operators, developers, owners, and other industry insiders from across the western U.S. and elsewhere. The three-day conference will include seminars and roundtable discussions covering key marine industry management, operations, and marketing concerns focused on enhancing guest services and customer satisfaction, improving marine operations and regulatory compliance, and optimizing business growth and results, and an extensive marine Trade Show featuring industry vendors and contractors exhibiting a broad range of products and services.
Participating speakers will have an opportunity to present their company and/or professional expertise in a position of industry leadership, by sharing knowledge and experience to help raise awareness and understanding of key industry topics for a diverse group of industry attendees.
Presentation proposals for the 2020 Conference must be submitted no later than Monday, January 13, 2020, via email to timms@marina.org. Proposals must include the title of the presentation, a brief overview of the subject matter, the presentation format, and the name and short bio of the presenter.
Submitted proposals will be reviewed at the Board of Directors Annual Planning Meeting, and approved presentations will be notified by the end of January 2020.
SAVE THE DATE FOR THIS YEARS CALIFORNIA BOATING CONGRESS!!
Division of Boating & Water Ways Marina Loan Program Survey
The Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) would like to assess the future need for loan funding for marina rehabilitation and development from the Public and Private Marina Loan programs offered by DBW.
Please click on the link below to begin the survey. It will take approximately 4 minutes to complete and will be available through January 24, 2020.
Link:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QVRFTWC
Construction Corner
Innovative New Marina Delights Boaters in Marina del Rey
Wayfarer Apartments & Marina (Marina del Rey, CA)
 In 2015, Legacy Partners, a privately held real estate firm that owns, develops and manages multifamily communities throughout the United States, acquired the Mariners Bay Marina located in the D & E Basins of Marina del Rey. They signed a lease extension with Los Angeles County through 2061 and began renovating the rundown timber dock system. Officially renamed "Wayfarer Apartments & Marina," Legacy Partners sought to modernize the outdated marina with a new state-of-the-art floating concrete dock system.
Bellingham Marine Industries was solicited to design, manufacture, and construct the new 320 slip marina. Having recently rebuilt approximately 75% of the entire Marina del Rey Marina, Bellingham Marine had a well established reputation in the area. When asked about the decision to pursue a concrete dock system Development Manager Benjamin Mount said "It was a fairly easy decision. Unlike the existing dilapidated timber docks, concrete docks are built to last. They are sturdier and require far less maintenance."
With hundreds of slip renters occupying the Wayfarer Marina, construction was phased across a 3½ year period. As the rebuild progressed, boaters were temporarily relocated to neighboring anchorages. However, the temporary relocation was a small price to pay for such a tremendous upgrade. Upon return, boaters were delighted to find an updated marina with new shower facilities, pump-out station, boater's lounge, on-site laundry, kayak, paddleboard, and bike rentals, and slips equipped with phone, cable, and wireless internet capabilities.
"Our boaters don't just want a place to park their vessel. They want a place where they can enjoy their boat, even when they don't take it out on the open water. Sometimes they just want to relax and stream something on Netflix" said Benjamin.
"The marina really came together nicely. We were able to coordinate our efforts with the landside contractors to create a one-of-a-kind waterfront experience. Since Bellingham self-performed everything on the dockside from permitting, designing, manufacturing, constructing, and pile-driving, to installing the electrical, fire suppression and potable water systems we were able to ensure everything lined up perfectly with the landside development" said Eric Noegel, Bellingham Marine Senior Manager of Project Development.
 When asked about her favorite aspect the new marina, Project Development Coordinator Stephanie Fisher said "we were able to incorporate the dock system's waterlines into the actual floats themselves. By internalizing them, the Wayfarer Marina avoids unsightly piping along the outside of the dock floats. This was an innovative approach to something most builders overlook. We also incorporated Southern Yellow Pine walers and a dark grey concrete finish. The dramatic palette coupled with rounded finger ends creates a modern, 'turn-key' aesthetic that is desired by contemporary marina owners."
The Wayfarer Apartments & Marina is a stunning improvement to the Marina del Rey waterfront. The new slip mix design significantly increased the number 50'+ slips and is better suited for modern vessels. The Wayfarer Marina turned out beautifully and is a fitting addition to a harbor that the Los Angeles Times called "perhaps the county's most valuable resource."
***The Wayfarer Marina was designed, manufactured, and constructed by Bellingham Marine Industries. All of the floats were built in their southwest plant located in Dixon, CA.***
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Trade Member Highlight
Scribble Software Releases New Cloud-Based Enterprise Reporting Platform
Award Winning Marina Management Solution Provider Introduces New Cloud-Based Reporting Tool for the MARINAGO Office Solution
Scribble Software Inc., a leading provider of business management solutions for the marina industry, announced the release of MARINAGO Office Reporting, the next phase of the MARINAGO Office next-generation cloud-based management solution for the marina industry. As a cloud-based platform utilizing a SaaS model, MARINAGO Office Reporting leverages the latest cloud technology and user interface (UI) techniques revolutionizing marina and property management.
Decades of experience and thousands of customers using Scribble Software's solutions have provided the knowledge and experience necessary to envision future needs and requirements for the marina industry. This solid foundation in marina management operations has provided the necessary experience to expand the features and functionality of the MARINAGO Office Suite to include an enterprise level reporting platform.
The MARINAGO Office Suite is a multi-phase project designed to completely manage all aspects of marinas. The new release expands the feature set to include a cloud-based reporting portal providing in-depth business reporting capability, as well as a true ad-hoc reporting engine. Advanced features include the ability to select individual components ranging from templates, fields, filters, groupings, and totals, as well as being able to access multiple properties within an organization.
"We have continued to develop and expand the functionality of the MARINAGO Office Suite to include a full-featured enterprise level reporting platform and are excited to release it to our customers," says Vance Young, Director of Technology at Scribble Software. "The release of the MARINAGO Office Reporting exemplifies our core philosophy of providing comprehensive solutions for the marina industry."
Key features of the MARINAGO Office Reporting Platform include:
* 100% cloud-based
* Multiple property support
* True ad-hoc report engine
* Numerous global reports provided
* Templates provided for easy report creation
* Select fields, filters, grouping and totals
* Save reports to company-wide or user defined folders - Maintains security role rules
About Scribble Software Inc.
Scribble Software Inc. is a leading management solution provider for the marina industry and is located in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Scribble Software produces and markets the MarinaOffice Suite of Solutions, a leading marina management software solution used throughout the globe, as well as a growing array of both cloud-based and mobile solutions. Scribble has risen as a leader in providing management solutions for the marina industry with the focus on providing solutions for all areas and departments of marinas. Scribble Software takes great pride in developing end-to-end enterprise level solutions backed by a support team second to none. For more information, visit
http://www.scribblesoftware.com.
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Welcome New Members
With Marine Recreation Association being the largest professional organization of marina, boatyard, hospitality, and other marine industry owners and operators located throughout the western United States with additional members in Canada, Mexico, and Australia, our mission is to provide a united voice in representing the interests of the boating industry, and to help educate and inform in all areas of recreational boating. MRA would like to welcome the following companies to our association:
BIT Marine Software
Kleerwater Technologies, LLC
Maritime Program Group
Spindrift Marina
Spinnaker Sailing
 The Last Word
To all of our MRA Members and Future Members
Save the Date for the 5th Annual California Boating Congress. Once again we will return to the Hyatt Regency Sacramento on March 31, 2020. There will be a welcome reception on March 30, 2020 for those who can make it. This year's theme is Economic Impact of the Marine Industry and Boating. We are going back to the original format of all General Sessions in the morning followed by lunch and then off to the Capitol to meet with your legislators. Information will be available on our website in mid to late January.
In mid-January, your Board of Directors will be holding their Annual Planning meeting. A large portion of this 2 day meeting is to create the schedule for the 49th Annual MRA Educational Conference and Trade Show that will take place September 28 - 30, 2020 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. If you have any topics that you would like to see presented, please email me at timms@marina.org by Monday, January 13, 2020.
To our trade members, please send me your press releases on new products or services you might have. The Trade Member Highlight section is a free opportunity to advertise them! I am reaching out to all of you and asking you to send me a press release when you have a new product or service that you would like for us to highlight. There will be one each month and will be placed according to submission date. This is one more way for us to promote your support and dedication to the association. We would also like to be included in your list of press release recipients.
As the association continues to grow, we will be welcoming our new members who join in each issue. If you know any of the new members listed in this issue, please welcome them aboard!
Many times the contact name for membership changes during the year and unless it is around renewal time, we may not be aware of the change. Please take a look at your profile and make sure to let us know if there are any changes in contact names, addresses, phone and fax numbers or email addresses so we can have the most up-to-date information for you. Also, if you do not have at least 1 logo and 1 photo (of your marina or product) please email them to mra@marina.org so they can be uploaded. You can now also add a YouTube video if you have one.
Wishing you Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!
Mariann Timms
Operations Administrator
Email: timms@marina.org
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