we’ve taken in the past in our selection of dealers. We have, overall, a
very healthy dealer network. As a
whole, our dealers are still able to secure the floor plan for the boats we
need to have delivered for boats
shows and to replenish inventory.
We have certainly seen the effects of it,
but it hasn’t really impeded our production or our ability to ship boats to our
dealers. I think that’s a testament to the
financial health of our dealer network.
Q. Does working for a publicly
held company present any addi-
tional challenges? What are the
positives and negatives?
Baldree, second from right, applauds
the listing of Marine Products Corp. on
the New York Stock Exchange.
or you.
A. It absolutely does [pose additional
challenges]. On the positive side, all of
our management employees, over 100
strong, are all shareholders in the company, and all have been granted stock
options. That’s a major plus. I think
anytime you have a work force that has
ownership in the company there is a
true dedication to quality and to customer service, and I think it makes you
a very strong manufacturing unit.
On the negative side, you spend a lot
of time with accounting issues and auditors, and always having to have separation of duties. I think it requires you to
have additional staff you would not
[need] if you weren’t a public company.
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Q. In November, you received the
Darlene Briggs Marine Woman of the
Year award at the Marine Retailers
Association of America’s conference
in Las Vegas. Can you talk about
what that award means to you?
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A. It was just absolutely an incredible
honor just to be nominated. Of course,
it’s always nice to win. When I received
the call — and I believe it was on Oct. 1
— I was just absolutely thrilled. I have
known the Briggs family personally because they have been a Chaparral dealer
through Wayzata Marine in Minnesota
for over 20 years. So I have known Gary
Briggs and Dave Briggs and I guess that
made it especially nice to be honored as
a memorial to Darlene Briggs.
Recently on a trip, I met a woman
who is still a very integral part of a dealership, and she had won the Darlene
Briggs award 17 years ago. She has her
trophy in her office — back then, it was
a big urn-type trophy. She said — 17
years later — it remains the highlight of
her career in the marine industry. That
speaks volumes about the award.
We are definitely a very male-dominated industry. I cannot tell you the different meetings I have been to where I’m
the only woman in the room. It’s second nature [now]; I don’t even give it
much thought, but I do think there are
just so many talented women I meet in
dealerships and with finance companies
and other manufacturers that I never
see outside of their workplace.
When I accepted my award, I ended
my speech with: “In many companies
I’ve often heard women acknowledged
for their silent strength. But don’t overlook their powerful voice.”
I’ve heard many people say, “We
could not run our business without so-and-so; she’s such an integral part of
what we do.” But I’ve never seen her
out in the industry.
Somebody at the MRAA convention,
