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“What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas” is the iconic ad message for the desert City of Lights, but it's more than a slogan for the Marina Recreation Association (MRA). The Association, now celebrating its 40th anniversary, has decided to stay in Las Vegas another year after an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees at the 39th Annual MRA Educational Conference and Trade Show last November. “Everyone thought the location, the hotel and the conference facilities were wonderful,” said Mariann Timms, who organizes the event. “We had one of the best attended trade shows in our history.”
This year’s event will return to the Rio All Suite Hotel in Las Vegas from November 1-3, 2011, and will include a pre-conference golf tournament on Tuesday, November 1. New for the conference will be a Clean Marinas Program workshop with a step-by-step “How to Become a Certified Clean Marina” seminar to include a field trip to a local marina. Other planned seminar tracks are designed to appeal specifically to marina owners, managers, office or dock personnel, as well as boatyards.
Bob Evans, of Dillon Marina near Denver, Colorado, said, “The annual MRA Conference is a must go for any marina professional. The knowledge I gained in educational seminars such as “Employee Accountability for Work Time” paid for the trip alone. This is a significant topic that every manager should want to know about. The speakers here are marina professionals and the cream of the crop in their topics. There are specific topics for fresh water marinas and salt water marinas and seminars pertinent to many types of industry needs. I’m looking forward to attending next year’s conference.”
A “first-timer’s” impression was given by Jodi Looper, General Manager of Lakeway Marina near Austin, Texas. “As a first-time attendee to the MRA conference, I did not really know what to expect,” said Looper. “I was very impressed with the layout of the conference and the chosen speakers. The conference was very informative and educational. I met many new vendors, and am actually getting bids from several of them for our new ship’s store. The conference is well organized and I would encourage anyone in the marina industry to attend.”
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