For Immediate Release

Contact:
Barbara Jean Walsh, Professional BoatBuilder magazine (888) 668-8801
proboattraining@proboat.com

Caroline Chetelat, ABYC (410) 990-4460, ext. 22
cchetelat@abycinc.org

Tom Marhevko, NMMA (312) 946-6200
tmarhevko@nmma.org

January 28, 2008, Annapolis, MD; Brooklin, ME; and Chicago, IL: The Conference on Marine Industry Technical Training (COMITT) organizers are pleased to announce that Mr. David Veech from the Institute for Lean Systems (ILS) will be leading innovative onsite networking sessions to kick-off and close this year's conference.

The format of these self-organizing forums is designed to encourage interaction among the attendees and presenters, and to discover their primary concerns and objectives. Guided by an expert, such as Veech, open networking offers participants an unusual opportunity to talk about concerns that aren't on the formal agenda, projects that they want to showcase, and specific products for training and workforce development. All participants are welcome to share what they are bringing to the table.

David Veech is the Executive Director of the Institute for Lean Systems, where he develops and teaches certification courses, executive courses, and short courses in topics related to human performance (problem solving, motivation, employee involvement and satisfaction, team building, and leadership). He also provides executive coaching for ILS clients.

Barbara Jean Walsh, COMITT Planning Committee Chair, Barbara Jean Walsh (Professional BoatBuilder magazine) said, "This part of COMITT may not have a set agenda, but it still has a defined structure that will provide attendees with a set of tools for successfully navigating the entire event. We are delighted to have David Veech conducting this session for us. It is a very dynamic type of activity — quite different from a keynote address — and we believe this will help attendees make immediate connections with the right people, projects, vendors, and tools for their individual endeavors."

COMITT 2008 will provide a forum to discuss, present and demonstrate industry support of technical workforce education, training, certification and professional development. COMITT is the internationally recognized leading summit to highlight the marine industry's commitment to developing and maintaining a highly-skilled and technically proficient workforce.

COMITT's full conference brochure is now available online at http://www.comitt.org. Register before February 1, 2008 and save on your conference registration fee.

Produced by MITEC and co-sponsored by the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Professional Boatbuilder magazine (PBB), the conference will examine key workforce-development and technical-training issues in the marine industry.

Thanks to the support of Elluminate Inc., selected COMITT presentations will be presented simultaneously as free online events. Registration for these programs is available at http://comitt2008.eventbrite.com.

For additional information on COMITT, visit www.comitt.org.