Longtime Seattle Boat Show director named as NMTA president
George Harris, director of the Seattle Boat Show since 1999, becomes the Northwest Marine Trade Association's new president on July 1.
The incoming president of the Northwest Marine Trade Association says his primary focus in his new role will be running an efficient operation while continuing to promote boating in the region.
“My mantra right now is, ‘Let’s be lean and flexible,’” said George Harris. “Every minute I’m thinking about our budget and business plan so we can really have some clarity for what things look like over the next year.”
Harris, the NMTA’s boat show director and vice president since 1999, will take over leadership of the organization when current president Michael Campbell retires July 1. The change in leadership comes at a particularly challenging time for the marine industry, which has been hard hit by the economic downturn.
Harris said despite the recession, the NMTA will not be scaling back its member benefits or its participation in the Grow Boating Initiative, a national effort among recreational boating industry leaders to increase participation in boating.
“We could have said, ‘Let’s save our Grow Boating dollars this year,’” Harris said. “But we are going to keep promoting boating this year because that’s our mission.”
A lifetime boater, Harris joined the NMTA in 1999 after spending eight working as a product and sales manager for Connelly Skis. The association’s board of trustees selected Harris from a group of four finalists chosen from a pool of almost 60 applicants.
“George Harris has shown over the past 10 years that he is committed to the Northwest Marine Trade Association,” said Dwight Jones, chairman of the NMTA’s board of trustees. ”He has treated the membership with honesty and fairness and he truly understands the challenges that face our industry.”
Campbell was hired as the NMTA’s president in 1999, overseeing the organization as it eliminated debt of nearly $1 million, developed a comprehensive Grow Boating program and substantially increased the size of the annual Seattle Boat Show.
Harris credited Campbell for increasing NMTA member benefits and furthering initiatives such as the state’s boater education requirements and the move to establish a state office of boating.
“Michael’s legacy to the NMTA is leaving behind a highly functional trade association that delivers more essential benefits to members than ever before,” he said.
Harris and Campbell will be working together over the next two months to develop the NMTA’s strategic business plan for the 2009/2010 fiscal year.
