March 3, 2008, Annapolis, MD: The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) was pleased to announce the recipients of its annual awards during its 2008 Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation held on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 in Miami, FL. These awards were presented to recognize the significant work of individuals and companies in furthering ABYC's core mission of boating safety.

Skip Burdon, ABYC President commented, "We are honored to be able to recognize people that share our dedication to boating safety. These award winners have gone above and beyond their roles as members of ABYC, and have contributed to the success of the organization in meaningful, significant and relevant ways. I would like to congratulate and thank each of them for all they have done for ABYC and, consequently, the boating community."

The ABYC Service Award — Mr. Pete Chisholm, Product Safety Manager at Mercury Marine
This award is presented each year to an ABYC member who has served the Council over a long period of time, through active participation on committees, boards or other volunteer venues, in a manner that materially benefits the goals of ABYC. Pete has 28 years of diversified engineering experience in product safety, exhaust emissions compliance and electro-mechanical engine systems. He has been a dedicated member of the ABYC Electrical PTC since 1997 and recently joined the ABYC Technical Board in 2007. Pete is a member of many other industry associations and boards, to include NBSAC, NASBLA and NSBC, where he continues to spread the good word about ABYC.

The ABYC Horizon Award — Mr. Ken Cook, President of Ken Cook Co.
This award was established to honor a member of ABYC who has made significant contributions to the future success and growth of ABYC. Criteria includes work in membership development, recruitment, guidance toward the future, funding, financing, promotion, communications, etc. Ken Cook has been a long-time supporter of ABYC in many capacities. He and his company have been members of ABYC since 1990 and in 2005 stepped up to the Silver Plus level membership. Ken is also a member of the Technical Information committee. In addition to regular contributions to ABYC and the ABYC Foundation, Ken Cook Co. has provided funding in support of many of ABYC's recent projects.

NEW — ABYC Writer's Award — Mr. Randy Moore, Partner, Snell & Wilmer, LLC
This new award category was created to honor an author who has most greatly furthered the ABYC boating safety mission with distinguished contribution(s) to the ABYC journal, the Reference Point. The work must recognize the importance of the ABYC standards in the marine industry, include information that is of value to ABYC members and be accurate and timely. Randy's articles on Product Liability in the new ABYC technical journal, the Reference Point, were a great asset in the launch of the journal. Adding even more value to his individual articles, the five-part series will be wrapped into an in-house publication that will be available as a member benefit online. This comprehensive, well articulated series is a must-read for anyone involved in marine manufacturing. Randy Moore is a partner in Orange County, CA office of Snell & Wilmer, LLC and a member of its Product Liability and Commercial Litigation Groups.

NEW — ABYC Staff Achievement Award — Mr. Eric Johnson, Technical Standards Manager, ABYC
The purpose of the Staff Achievement Award is to recognize someone from the ABYC Staff in the areas of personal achievement, work performance, teaming skills, innovation/creativity, leadership skills or service. As the Technical Standards Manager, Eric Johnson has "come into his own" in many ways. Working under Technical Director, John Adey, Eric has taken a traditional two person job and tackled it himself. During his time at ABYC, Eric has broadened his experience and role at the organization and currently manages all the project technical committees except for the Electrical PTC and has become ABYC Certified in both Standards and Marine Systems. Most recently, Eric played a lead role in the ANSI audit that was completed at the end of 2007. Eric's voice is continuing to grow, and while he has only been at ABYC for five years, his love of boating and the marine industry promise exceptional service for the long-term success of ABYC.

Lifelong Service Award — This award was created to recognize someone for their service to the marine industry and their profound contributions to boating safety, design and/or the advancement of recreational boating. This year, ABYC presented three Lifelong Service Awards to the following deserving individuals:

1. Mr. Jerald (Jerry) Daily
   Jerry is one of those results-oriented people that just always know how to get things done. Jerry joined the Hatteras team in the early 80's and became the Night Plant Superintendent at the New Burn, NC plant. Later he shifted positions to work with Charlie Game in the Product Reliability & Standards area. Jerry joined ABYC to help Charlie with all the ABYC committee work and became involved with the standards writing process. Jerry has been a member of numerous PTC's and working groups (18 all together) including the ABYC Technical Board. In 1994, Jerry became the Director of Product Reliability & Standards where he remained until retirement a few years ago. Through his volunteer spirit and dedication to ABYC, Jerry was not only ensuring the safety of Hatteras owners, but boaters everywhere.

2. Dr. Al Weinstein
   Dr. Alvin Weinstein has been an ABYC member since 1995 and served on the ABYC Board of Directors as well as a member of the ABYC Education Committee and Awards Committee. Al supported ABYC and its mission in many capacities to include speaking, attending and presenting in several ABYC seminars and workshops. Al's resume reads like one for five people. He is a Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University, a registered Professional Engineer, a member of the Pennsylvania Bar, and a graduate of the Franklin Pierce Law Center. He has been working in product safety and injury prevention for over 30 years as a technical consultant for manufacturers, an expert witness and the author of many publications including the book Products Liability and the Reasonably Safe Product. Al has been a valuable member of ABYC and a good friend to the industry.

3. Ms. Bolling Douglas
   Bolling Douglas' life has been one of service and commitment not just to ABYC but the marine industry as a whole. Bolling has held almost every possible volunteer position with ABYC and is now a revered ABYC lifetime member. She has served on the ABYC Technical Board and countless PTCs, is a past Chair of the ABYC Board of Directors, a past Chair of the ABYC Foundation, the 1992 winner of the James Lippman Award and the 1999 winner of the ABYC Bunzl Boating Safety Award. In addition to the respect earned in the marine industry and at ABYC, she is well known in the U.S. Coast Guard and U. S. Coat Guard Auxiliary. Bolling joined the Auxiliary in 1960 and advanced through the ranks to Commodore. She has had a distinguished career with her own company, Marine Surveyors and Consultants, and was often called by insurance companies with challenging claims. She has made the waters safer for the entire boating community.

ABYC has been developing, writing and updating the safety standards for boat building and repair in the United States for over 50 years. ABYC is actively involved with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as well as education and certification programs for marine technicians. These standards are available on CD-ROM, online (Web-STIR and the ABYC Standards Powered by Rulefinder.net) and in printed form. Membership and general information can be requested by visiting the ABYC Web site at www.abycinc.org.

Editor's Note: High-resolution images are available of the award recipients in electronic format. Contact Caroline Chetelat (see top of page).