ABYC Announces Conference Agenda

ABYC Foundation announced the agenda and speaker lineup for its Educator Training Conference, taking place virtually July 20 to 22. The virtual conference is designed for high school and post-secondary instructors, as well as boating industry leaders that want to get more involved in creating a strong future workforce.

“We are excited about our speaker lineup for the Educator Training Conference, with technical school and industry leaders sharing their knowledge, experiences and passion for educating the next generation of marine technicians,” said Margaret Podlich, ABYC Foundation executive director. “It’s going to be an information-packed two days based around professional development, industry insights and guidance for hands-on learning in the classroom.”

Agenda topics and speaker lineup:

• Market Data To Drive Your Program-Steve Kitchin (New England Institute of Technology), Randall Lyons (Massachusetts Marine Trades Association), Lia Jaros (Maryland Marine Trades Association)

• Top Skills Marine Service Employers Expect of New Hires-Mike Bonicker (ABYC), Paul Kaplan (Keefe Kaplan Maritime)

• Connecting My School and Students to the Industry-Holly Ashton (Safe Harbor Marinas), Matt Jones (Diversified Marine Services)

• Shop Visits-Mike Beamer (Skagit Valley Community College), Ryan Ramsay (Impact Institute), Nate Andrew (The Landing School), Ted Chamberlin (New England Institute of Technology)

• Outboard Basics-Industry representatives

• Composites 101-Justin Taylor (The Landing School)

• Top Tips from the 2020 ABYC Educator of the Year Award Recipients-Stephen Spencer (Palm Beach State College), Maurice Marchand (H. Lavity Stoutt Community College), Ryan Ramsay (Impact Institute)

• Skills USA: An Invaluable Addition to Your Program-Chelle Travis (Skills USA), Joe Maniscalco (Yamaha), Rob Berenwick (Ocean County Vocational Technical School)

• Virtual Field Trip: Amazing Marinas and Boatyards-Mike Bonicker (ABYC)

• Mad Skill Building with Industry Experts-Ed Sherman (ABYC Emeritus), Rob Berenwick (Ocean County Vocational Technical School)

Sponsors of the Educator Training Conference include Boatswain’s Locker, VETUS Maxwell, National Marine Distributors Association, Grady-White Boats, Safe Harbor Marinas, Blue Sea Systems and IMTRA Corporation.

Supporting trades associations include Georgia Marine Business Association, Massachusetts Marine Trades Association, Yacht Brokers of America, Marine Trades Association of New Jersey, Michigan Boating Industries Association and Wisconsin Marine Association. Numerous other boating companies are donating door prizes for attendees.

To learn more about the Educator Training Conference and sponsorship opportunities visit www.teachboats.org or contact Margaret Podlich at mpodlich@abycfoundation.org.