The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) has honoured industry leaders and longtime volunteers on the opening day of Standards Week.
The recipient of this year’s C.T. “Skip” Moyer Leadership Award, presented to the ABYC member who best exemplifies the leadership qualities of ABYC’s past presidents through hard work, personal sacrifice and contributions to boating safety, was Ed Sherman, a former ABYC education director, author of books on electrical systems and outboard engines, and contributor to multiple technical articles.
Ed also helped develop ABYC’s first marine technician certification program.
Making boating safe, reliable and enjoyable
Kim Horn was named the winner of the Bolling Fortson Douglas Award to honour a female ABYC member who exemplifies passion and dedication to making boating safe, reliable and enjoyable.
Kim, a senior compliance specialist with Boston Whaler, has developed and maintained digital compliance templates, components matrices and testreport workflows that help manufacturers meet ABYC, U.S. Coast Guard, ISO and NMMA requirements.
She also educates teams on best practices and, through Brunswick’s Women on Water program, organises initiatives to help more teammates get on the water with confidence.
Lifetime Service Award duo
Previously known as the Lifetime Service Award, the Augusto “Kiko” Villalon Lifetime Service Award was presented to Bob and Sandy MacNeill.
Bob MacNeill has held executive roles at Chris-Craft, Carver, Viking, Outboard Marine Corporation and other companies.
He also served as president and later chair of the board at the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology and ran two consulting businesses: Robert MacNeill Yacht Design and International Marine Consulting Associates with Charlie Game.
He is a member emeritus of the ABYC technical board.
Bob, always supported by Sandy, has spent his career bettering boating safety.
John Adey
“Traditionally this award has been presented to an individual, however, my experience with Bob is that I rarely utter his name without it being followed by Sandy,” said ABYC president John Adey, who presented the award.
“Bob, always supported by Sandy, has spent his career bettering boating safety.
“An avid boater himself, he turned his observations and professional life into comments and discussions on a standards level to keep people safe on the water.”
American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) is a non profit organisation that devlops safety standards for boat design, construction, equipage, repair and maintenance.
