RIMTA Presents Awards At Annual Meeting

At the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association’s (RIMTA) 55th Annual Meeting on December 11, the second-ever Rising Tide Award was presented to Steve Prime and the inaugural RIMTAFuture Rising Star Award was awarded to Evan Ridley.

The J. Michael Keyworth Rising Tide Award is a meritorious honor presented by RIMTA to an individual who has effected positive and lasting change for the Rhode Island marine industry as a whole, a person whose efforts embody the phrase, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” The award was first given in 2015 to industry veteran Michael Keyworth, who presented the award to Prime. Retired as vice president at New England independent insurance agency Gowrie Group, Prime is known to his colleagues and friends as the unofficial “Mayor of Newport.” He has worked in and around the marine industry his entire career at North Sails, Pierson Yachts, the Newport Yachting Center and Gowrie Group.

The RIMTAFuture Rising Star Award is a meritorious award presented to a young professional who has made extraordinary contributions to support the growth and development of the Rhode Island marine industry, and through his or her efforts, has demonstrated the qualities of a leader. It was presented to Ridley by the director of the Rhode Island Sea Grant, Dennis Nixon. Over the last two years, Ridley, environmental project director for RIMTA, has worked to create a foundation of research and collaborative, multi-industry discourse that can support the development of sustainable management solutions for end-of-life vessels and other composite material products.

Under the guidance of RIMTA, RIMTAFuture is a group of early to mid-career marine professionals uniting to encourage active engagement in the marine trades while developing future industry leaders.

The sponsors of the event were Awlgrip, BankNewport, Centreville Bank, Gowrie Group, Interlux, Robin Hollow Farm, Safe Harbor Marinas and Soundview Millworks.