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Media Contact: Cindy Sailor IYBA Executive Director O:
954-522-9270 C: 727-403-4380 mailto:[email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE IYBA Welcomes New Members to 2017 Board of Directors;
Presents Broker and Charter Broker of the Year Awards Fort
Lauderdale, Fla. – February 2, 2017 – On Saturday evening, Jan. 28,
at the International Yacht Brokers Association (IYBA) Annual
Meeting & Dinner, the organization welcomed three new members
to its Board of Directors, and honored two of its outstanding
members with its prestigious Broker of the Year and Charter Broker
of the Year Awards. The event, which had a Studio 54 theme, was
held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood,
Fla. IYBA President Paul Flannery opened the Annual Meeting by
reporting that the name change from “Florida Yacht Brokers
Association” to “International Yacht Brokers Association” in
November had led to a surge in new membership applications. IYBA
now has more than 1,350 members, reflecting a 10% increase in
membership over the last year. Flannery also announced that a
second IYBA Charter Seminar would be added to the association’s
calendar for 2017. Three new members of the IYBA Board of Directors
who had just been elected by the association’s membership were
introduced at the Annual Meeting: Grant Henderson, Sales Executive,
Sanlorenzo America; Andrew Miles, Westport Yacht Sales Broker, and
Staley Weidman, CEO, The Catamaran Company. They join these
remaining Board members to form the 2017 IYBA Board of
Directors:
• Paul Flannery, SYS Palm Beach (President) • Bob Saxon,
MarineMax Charters (Vice President) • Bob Zarchen, Sparkman &
Stephens (Treasurer) • Bob Denison, Denison Yacht Sales (Secretary)
• Paul Burgess, Northrop & Johnson • Rob Newton, Superyacht
Sales and Charter • Jeff Partin, Superyacht Sales and Charter •
Jeff Stanley, Gilman Yachts.
The officers of IYBA thanked outgoing Board members Jason
Dunbar, Luke Brown Yachts; Bruce Schattenburg, Denison Yacht Sales,
and Gary Smith, SYS Yachts, for their service to the
organization.
IYBA Presents Annual Awards; Welcomes
New Board Members
2
IYBA also presented its two annual “Broker of the Year Awards”
during the Annual Meeting.
The 2016 IYBA Broker of the Year Award was presented to Kevin
Merrigan, CEO of Northrop & Johnson. Kevin has a passion for
yachting and the yachting industry. He was instrumental in founding
the International Yacht Council, and served on the IYBA (then FYBA)
Board of Directors from 1994-2005. He has served as Treasurer for
both FYBA and the International Yacht Council. A Certified
Professional Yacht Broker (CPYB), Kevin is a member of the
Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association (MYBA), Yacht Architects
& Brokers Association (YBAA), California Yacht Brokers
Association (CYBA), Large Yacht Brokers Association (LYBRA), and is
a licensed broker in Florida and California.
The 2016 IYBA Charter Broker of the Year Award was presented to
Daphne D’Offay, Ocean Independence Senior Charter Manager. Daphne
spent six years as a stewardess and deckhand on a variety of
charter and private yachts from 74’-160’, cruising the U.S.,
Bahamas, Caribbean and Eastern Mediterranean waters, before
transferring ashore. After five years with Chamberlain Yachts, she
landed a position developing the U.S. charter division for Ocean
Independence, where she has been for the past seven years. She has
been an active member of the IYBA (formerly FYBA) Charter
Professionals Committee for about 10 years and has served as its
chairperson for the past six years. About IYBA:
The International Yacht Brokers Association was created in 1987
under the name Florida Yacht Brokers Association to unite those
engaged in the yacht brokerage business for the purpose of
promoting professionalism and cooperation among its members; and to
promote and maintain a high standard of conduct in the transacting
of the yacht brokerage business.
Each member is required to abide by a code of ethics to protect
the public against fraud, misrepresentation, or unethical practices
in the yacht brokerage profession. Each member is to endeavor to
eliminate any practices, which could be damaging to the public or
the dignity and integrity of the yacht brokerage profession. For
more information, please visit www.iyba.yachts.
© 2017 IYBA ###
