November 14, 2024 • 32 mins
Ever wonder how a dock girl from Nantucket could transform into a yacht chef in Fort Lauderdale? Our episode is a captivating journey through unexpected career paths and the resilience of the marine industry. We’re joined by a guest who shares how a spontaneous decision led to a flourishing career on the high seas, navigating culinary challenges and the storms of life—quite literally. As Hurricane Wilma loomed, critical choices had to be made about proceeding with the boat show, and the unwavering spirit of the marine community shone brightly during these trying times.
Alongside personal narratives, this episode delves into the importance of collaborating with government agencies to advance the blue economy. We discuss the evolution of panels that include representatives from the US Coast Guard and other key agencies, highlighting their role in clarifying industry regulations. From fostering a blue economy cluster in Florida to the power of bipartisan legislation, our conversation underscores the intersection of policy, environmental advocacy, and community strength. This is an enlightening look at how industry players unite to navigate complex waters and steer toward sustainable futures.
Wards Marine Electric
https://www.wardsmarine.com/
Wards Way YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@WardsWay75
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kristina Hebert (00:00):
Thank you for being here.
So one of the things I wantedto talk to you about you and I
have known each other for manyyears, but I'd really like to
highlight all that you have donefor the association with
legislative initiatives andefforts, because so much of that
goes.
It's a thankless job at times,and so many things.
People just expect things tohappen, and so talk to me about
(00:22):
that.
But first, how did you get intothe industry?
Well, I was born on Nantucket.
Patience Cohn (00:26):
Okay, and I grew up in the summers working at the
boat basin.
I was a dock girl at the boatbasin in Nantucket and at the
end, after I graduated fromcollege, I decided I'll do one
more year, one more summer onthe on the docks and my cousin
was taking a 42 foot post fromNantucket to Fort Lauderdale and
(00:48):
he said do you want to help medo the delivery?
I said sure, I'll get a jobwhen I get back.
So we pull into pier 66 andRonnie Stroud, who was the
original dock master at pier 66,pulls up and he's tying us up
and he says you look familiar,don't they know you?
And I said yes, you were innantucket, you were on a boat
that said follow me to fortlauderdale, here I am.
(01:10):
Then he says do you want a job?
Kristina Hebert (01:13):
and I said sure , and so before you ever stepped
off the boat, you already had ajob.
Patience Cohn (01:18):
Right, that's awesome and what was the job I?
I was originally the beveragegirl in the bait out at the fuel
dock, with the bait cooler,because they'd all stop and pick
up their bait and beer and icebefore they went fishing.
And then they gave me dock girlduties where I'd tie up the
(01:39):
boats and on the two days thatthe office manager was out of
the office then I would answerthe phone and work in the office
.
Kristina Hebert (01:48):
And how long were you there?
For Five years, okay, wow.
And then from there, what'd youget?
Patience Cohn (01:55):
I started dating Captain Craig Tafoya, that's
right.
Kristina Hebert (01:59):
Boy, I forgot some of these chapters.
Man, that's right.
And so then you went all overthe world.
Patience Cohn (02:06):
And you were a chef.
Kristina Hebert (02:07):
Yes, that's how you got into being a chef.
That's right.
Patience Cohn (02:11):
Yes, we actually were on a boat that came with a
chef and just about most of thecrew thought that it wasn't
working, and one day I went tothe captain and said I know I
can do better than this.
I don't think I'm great, butI'm better.
I can do better than this, andthat's how I ended up in that
position.
Kristina Hebert (02:32):
Wow, that's awesome.
And then fast forward.
I think you and I met.
You were actually.
You were in where you.
Is that when you were it's hardon the timeline?
You were in, were you, is thatwhen you were it's it's hard on
the timeline?
So when did you go to SouthCarolina and run the Marina
there?
Patience Cohn (02:52):
We met before that yes.
Because, um, because I was onthe board.
You were on the board beforethat, okay.
And then I left the boardbecause we went to South
Carolina.
That's what it was, okay.
So we served on the boardbecause we went to South
Carolina, that's what it wasOkay, so we served on the board
together, right, and you werepresident.
Actually, when I left.
Kristina Hebert (03:08):
Okay, is that why you left?
Yeah, okay, done, done with her.
Was that president during Wilma?
Yeah, oh, my gosh.
Yeah, I would have left too.
No, so for the background ofthat Wilma was a storm that came
through, which is actually areally good segue into the
association and its impact forthe show.
(03:32):
So Hurricane Wilma comes.
The boat show is already set up.
It's late in the season, thetents are up, some people's
exhibits are in, there's boatsthat are in, and here comes this
storm, kind of out of nowhere,but it's going to hit the west
coast.
It's going to be a tropicalstorm, it's going to be wait a
one, and it ended up comingthrough basically as a two, but
(03:52):
came all the way through here.
And I know the association hadto make a really important
decision to either cancel theshow or do the show.
And, yeah, I'd been presidentfor a whole 90 days at this
point and, um, I remember it wasdefinitely the show has to go
on the show.
And yeah, I'd been presidentfor a whole 90 days at this
point and I remember it wasdefinitely the show has to go on
.
The show has to go on becauseit wasn't about you know, people
tried to make it about the richboat owner, but it's about the
(04:15):
economic impact of the show andthe amount of jobs and the boat
washers and and all the peoplethat you know.
Every one of these booths is asmall business.
I know I'm preaching to thechoir, but I just want to make
sure that people understand that.
And so it was so important.
The city was behind it.
You know the industry wasbehind it.
You know you always havenaysayers, but I still think to
(04:35):
this day it was the right thingto do the show.
Patience Cohn (04:38):
And everyone the general citizenship didn't want
us using resources, correct, we.
It was the boat show that wastaking the sand off of A1A and
putting it back on the beach sothat people could get to them.
Yes, and the other thing thepower outages were incredible
and most of these businesseswere shut down.
And having them shut down,their people weren't getting
(05:01):
paid.
They weren't going to workRight 100% by having to put the
booth together and have to builda show and have to man the
booth and all that stuff.
So they were getting paychecksthat they wouldn't have gotten
because they weren't operatingin their main businesses.
My house was out for 16 days,right, so without the show, all
(05:23):
those people would have beenmore devastated than they
already were.
Kristina Hebert (05:26):
A hundred percent.
And I remember during some ofthe you know post show press and
things like that, we obviouslyhad the industry and
stakeholders and people cametogether to really kind of give
feedback.
Really I'll get chills now butI really did not understand
(05:51):
until that moment how importantthis show is to some businesses
and some people do.
I heard numbers as high as 60percent of their annual sales.
They order and transactionsoccur here.
60 percent of their annualsales happen at some point
during the show and so to lose60% of your revenue would have
been absolutely devastating andthey couldn't have been more
(06:11):
grateful.
And sure were the numbers off alittle bit that year.
Sure, people had some things todeal with.
But you know, the hotels wereopen, the restaurants were open,
the sand was off the beach.
I still stand behind it.
That I think it was.
It was a wonderful thing.
But now I know why I left to goto South Carolina.
I mean, you know, just sayingway to go, not support, no.
Patience Cohn (06:32):
But the importance of the show.
The other in 2020.
Yeah, let's go into that.
Yeah, this was.
This was the first outdoorevent that was happened, in
which was that was happened inwhich was after the lockdown in
2020, where it was permitted tobe to gather, together with with
controls we had.
(06:52):
It was an open air event.
The tents were all basicallyopen, they had a higher micron
filters, they the therestrictions were really really
hard they were.
Kristina Hebert (07:04):
I exhibited that and it was tough.
Patience Cohn (07:07):
But even like the restriction on the filters that
they required to have on the ACunits for the tents, well,
they've been sending us topublic since this happened and
they don't have the microphonefilters they were requiring for
our tents and there was nooutbreak acquiring, acquiring
for our tents, and there was,there was no outbreak, there was
(07:28):
no it was a successful modelthat allowed other events to
continue.
Kristina Hebert (07:33):
And I will tell you, for example, one of the
things that I think stuck was um.
There was a restriction on umgiveaways so, for example, you
couldn't.
The point was to try to limitthe amount that the humans were
contacting.
Well, you know what you justsaved.
To try to limit the amount thatthe humans were contacting.
Well, you know what you justsaved me thousands of dollars.
Because once you can do asuccessful show and you don't
have to and I'm sorry, this is apublic service announcement,
(07:53):
sorry for all those companiesthat make those things but you
can have a successful showwithout having tables, of pens,
cups and all of those things.
Because, in the end, what I saw, the people that were here and
the people that came were justso thrilled to be able to still
have this moment and still beable.
And then all the internationalpeople.
You know, some of them weren'table to travel, some of them
(08:16):
were not, and we understand that, but there were an awful lot
that took the chance to come toand to see the United States
functioning, because if you justlooked on the news, we were all
shut down, that's it.
No schools, no, nothing, youknow.
And instead it was like notthis industry.
Patience Cohn (08:31):
Now I will say that that's one point where our
legislative activity was reallygood.
We immediately were identifiedas a essential business, an
essential business A hundredpercent.
Kristina Hebert (08:42):
I have the letter and and the, and we we
were and talk to me about that,why, let's get a.
Give me an example.
I can give you from mycompany's perspective why we
were considered an essentialservice, but tell me why the
Marine industry was able to dothat.
Patience Cohn (09:00):
The Marine industry as a whole was
considered essential, right,because there are shipyards that
maintain fireboats and the navyand the coast guard.
Those all have to operate well.
But also these, our vessels,the vessels that are our size,
can't be unattended and theyhave to be maintained.
And what happens if there'snobody there to watch them or to
(09:22):
make sure that that there'spower to them sure?
Kristina Hebert (09:26):
all those things they can't go, then they
can become navigable,navigational hazards and and it
was actually.
Patience Cohn (09:32):
it turned out to be a good way for people to be
able to get out with theirfamilies without without
mingling with other people, andit would.
And it started.
We had a presidential orderfrom the Republican side, and
when they changed leadership,the order was continued, and so,
(09:55):
through the whole thing, the Inthe state of Florida Federally,
oh federal.
Wow, it was federal and isspecifically included yachts and
we were able to get foreigncrew which weren't when they
weren't allowed to Right.
We were able to get essentialforeign crew, were able to get
get exemptions to fly so thatthey could come back to be on
(10:18):
the boat, since the boat wouldbe had gotten stuck here.
Kristina Hebert (10:22):
So let's talk also a little bit more about the
foreign crew.
So yesterday excuse me, fridayyou hosted a panel that had US
Coast Guard, us Customs andBorder Patrol.
You had Department ofAgriculture Talk to me about
that and, by the way, I thoughtthat that was one of the most
successful panels.
I can remember and you're goingto get into why you had the
(10:44):
panel, but I can remember yearsback you would have a panel and
you'd get one, maybe two peoplein uniform, and they were kind
of like, oh, we feel reallyawkward, oh, my God, the crowd's
going to come out.
And this time you had so manypeople at the tables I think
they were almost sitting like onthe ends because the panel was
so big.
So tell me about that.
(11:04):
They were almost sitting likeon the ends because the panel
was so big.
So tell me about that.
And who was why?
Patience Cohn (11:07):
were those agencies there and we've done it
for several years and theword's getting out and I get
more and more people that havequestions.
And I mean we had the portdirector from Port Everglades
the customs port directorattended.
We had the commander fromwaterways, which he handles
(11:28):
prevention, which is port stateinspections, when vessels
foreign flag vessels need tohave a port state inspection
when they come in.
I think it's a three year,every three years, and they use
it this time of year.
They use it because they're allconfined and they don't have
plans to go anywhere Before theshow starts.
A lot of them come and do theirport state inspections while
(11:49):
they're done.
Well, that's awful convenient.
Kristina Hebert (11:56):
So what kind of questions?
So why have these agencies here?
Patience Cohn (12:00):
Because everybody has a question and the guy down
the street tells them theanswer.
And I discover, if you put acouple of uniforms to give them
the right answer, they're theauthority.
Then they understand why therule is.
Because they all think a ruleis it's an impediment.
Yeah, they think they just madethis rule just because One of
our biggest Issues right now isbecause we had ag and ag
(12:25):
Department of Agriculture there.
Department of Agriculture Isthat there's a like swine flu,
it's like the, it's like thebeef problem that they had.
I remember that.
Well, they have that in the insome, some of the islands in the
Caribbean.
So the USDA is very concernedabout it.
Moving into the United Statesand they got to the Caribbean
(12:49):
and they realized there were anawful lot of yachts that were
headed in this direction andregulated garbage.
The rule's been in place for along time, but when you travel
international, you have todispose correctly.
Dispose of, just like if you'reon a plane and they ask you if
you have an apple and they takeit away from you, okay,
(13:14):
unfortunately, boats carry morethan one apple.
Um, and and some people don'trealize that that's a rule and
they're trying to get themessage out and try to figure
out how to make it easier forthem to comply with the rules,
and the best way to do that isto tell people what the rules
are and why you do the rules.
So that's why DC Agricultureand CBP flew in for that.
They flew in specifically forthat.
Kristina Hebert (13:35):
But how great is that?
First off, give yourself creditfor that that these agencies
because you've worked reallyhard to have these relationships
and I know you have legislativerepresentation, but still it's
a passion of yours.
You've worked so hard to keepthat that they're willing to
spend money to come down becausethey know that facilitating
these discussions will help ourindustry but also help them, and
(13:59):
that's a really bigaccomplishment.
You should be proud of that.
Patience Cohn (14:02):
Thank you.
And back to the days when therewere three guys, we were having
trouble with the foreign crewnot getting the right visas.
You should be proud of that,thank you.
And back to the days when therewere three guys.
Yeah, we were having troublewith the foreign crew not
getting the right visas, becauseif you get a commercial visa, a
C1D, you're only allowed in thecountry 29 days.
Well, if you come into thiscountry and go to the boatyard,
we don't want you to have toleave.
See you later.
Right, your crew can't stay.
(14:23):
So we started an educationpolicy about the correct visa
for a yacht crew, which is a B-1.
And it's been an ongoingeducation process and that's
really where the involvementwith the agencies started and
we've continued it.
The Coast Guard has manydifferent rules that are a
(14:44):
little different than maybeforeign rules, so that's always
useful and they've embraced it.
I will say that both agenciesare very willing to do outreach.
I tell them we're coming andthey say where and when.
Kristina Hebert (15:04):
But I think that's also good for the
industry as a whole, because ifwe ever do come across and it
will be, it will be there therewill be some regulation that has
an unintended consequence forour industry.
There will be some sort of newrule that comes out that has an
unintended consequence.
You already have thatrelationship, so we can seek
clarification, we can try to getthe right answers.
(15:25):
We we have a proven trackrecord of being an industry that
that wants to abide theregulations.
We just need help.
And if you know and I thinkthat that's important because
we're not just you know, we'renot just trying to dodge what
the regulations are, we're justtrying to, you know, be that
conduit to help get people theright information.
Patience Cohn (15:43):
This is.
This is a funny story.
I we were.
We had a small group because itwas during 2020 show.
We had a small group and it wasmostly attorneys and yacht
management companies not thegeneral public that were in the
round table, and one of thebetter known yacht attorneys
said they changed the famine.
It's much clearer about whatthe b1 is used for.
(16:06):
And I said you're welcome.
And he said well, what did youdo?
And I was like we're in dc twoor three times a year talking to
the heads of of thesedepartments to to change the fam
or to clarify things.
It was like oh, oh, well, it'smuch better now.
Kristina Hebert (16:27):
Yeah, the magic fairy fix.
You know, and that's what I wasjust going to say A lot of
people take that for granted andobviously you know I had the
pleasure of speaking with Duncanearlier and we talked about the
value of having representationthat so many people give
lobbying a bad name because theythink you have to be a big,
giant corporation or it's justself-interest.
No, it's.
(16:47):
You need to keep thoserelationships.
So, as an industry, there'salways going to be a challenge,
there's always going to besomething and to be able to
affect, have change or to modifythat regulation or to modify it
.
What's it called the FEN FAM?
Patience Cohn (17:01):
FAM Field Area Manual Okay.
Kristina Hebert (17:06):
Field Area Manual.
That's right, and that'sessentially what they use as a
guide on how to.
But in order to do that you'reright, that doesn't just
magically happen and peopledon't go oh sorry, we made a
mistake.
You have to build thatreputation of being an authority
on a subject and also thatwe're willing to comply.
So that's important.
Patience Cohn (17:25):
And I've done a few trips to DC with you.
You know some of it we won'ttalk about.
Kristina Hebert (17:31):
No, we can.
This makes it a podcast.
Maybe people will find itinteresting.
I'm okay with it.
Patience Cohn (17:37):
We'll skip the part about swimming in the
Potomac, oh, why?
But I did not catch tetanus, bythe way, so that's a shout out
to the Potomac, you know, butputting the human face in front
(17:58):
of an issue.
Our lobbyist does a terrificjob in all levels.
We have a state, a local and afederal lobbyist, and all of
them are superior at their job.
You still need the industry,you still need the guy that.
This is how it impacts mybusiness.
If you do this, this is what'sgoing to happen.
They're not going to vote foryou if you do this Right.
Kristina Hebert (18:23):
So I've definitely improved.
I'm not going to go swimming inthe Potomac and I don't get
hyper if we miss a plane.
That's another story.
So I've been invited to go inJune and I've accepted and I'm
really looking forward to it.
But let's talk about what theagenda is for that trip.
Patience Cohn (18:43):
It's Florida-based we're trying to
get.
What's happening at the federallevel is there's effort to make
the blue economy nationallymanaged, kind of a NOAA kind of
thing, where there are areas andthey encourage innovation that
is dedicated to making thebetter ocean, better water
(19:05):
quality, better marineexperience, protect your reefs
Sure, all the good things tokeep our environment, because if
we don't keep the boatingenvironment pleasant, we're not
going to sell boats.
And so the urge is like Bostonarea already has a blue economy
(19:28):
cluster, seattle has a blueeconomy cluster, california has
a blue economy cluster and weneed to bring Florida into line
so they're ready when they startweaving these clusters together
, that we're one of those.
We're one of those, and we havea marine research hub which is
dedicated to facilitatingcollaboration and helping to
(19:52):
find the commercial path for aninnovation.
We discovered that one collegehad discovered a deep sea sponge
that was impacting pancreaticcancer.
Wow, and so they did the test,wrote the paper and put it on
the shelf because they didn'thave the pharmaceutical
technologies, and they went onto do a new test.
(20:14):
Well, imagine if thepharmaceutical college and that
college were working together sothey could hand off their
research and share theinnovation and take it to the
next step.
Kristina Hebert (20:29):
I'm just it seems like I'm so surprised they
aren't already doing that.
It seems so common sense.
Patience Cohn (20:33):
But they live in columns, yeah, and they go from
grant to grant to find theirnext project.
And a lot of them were meant tobe research scientists.
They weren't meant to be.
Kristina Hebert (20:48):
They weren't meant to see it necessarily go
to fruition or turn into, yeah,gatorade, right, right exactly.
Patience Cohn (20:54):
Yeah, so we're looking to try and figure out
how to make that work better.
So who's opposed to this?
Anybody?
Nobody's opposed to it, but alot of people aren't aware of it
.
Okay, nobody's opposed to it,but a lot of people aren't aware
of it.
Okay, at the state level, wepassed an ocean economy bill
last year and they're opening anoffice of ocean economy.
Fau, I believe, is taking alead on it, but they'll still be
(21:17):
required to work with all theother state schools Private
schools, but schools in thestate Sure.
And the reason we passed thebill because we tried for two
years is we had Chip LaMarca,who happens to be a Republican,
and Kelly Skidmore, who'spassionate about it and a
Democrat, partnered on the billand it was reaching across the
(21:41):
aisle.
Kristina Hebert (21:41):
It was it's a really Again common sense.
It's amazing when you can getboth sides of the aisle together
, that stuff gets done it would,it would.
Patience Cohn (21:49):
It was really amazing, and it was in a in
somewhat of a contentious yearthat we were able to get it done
.
Um, so we want to do that.
We want to get the floridarepresentatives to make their
own florida coalition to supportthe blue economy.
Excellent, that's our mission.
Kristina Hebert (22:08):
That's our mission, okay, and we have
meetings for that, and I'mlooking forward to being a part
of that.
Yeah, yeah it'll it'll.
Patience Cohn (22:16):
You'll get flashbacks.
It'll be fun, oh good I, Ienjoy.
Kristina Hebert (22:19):
I.
I'm actually one of thosepeople who really really does
enjoy how our legislature works.
So I, I know this is a terriblequestion and I, I don't care
who you're for or who you're not, I know who you're for.
But what do we think?
Could there be any kind offallout for the marine industry
post-election?
Patience Cohn (22:40):
I think that initially, there's always
fallout.
It doesn't matter who wins, wholoses.
There's a settling of the.
If you notice our vote show,election years are always like A
little off.
I know Everybody doesn't knowwhat's going to happen.
Are the rates going up?
Are the rates going down?
Sure, honestly, the marineindustry, well, I would say a
(23:04):
lot of them are Republicans.
It's an agnostic world, I mean,it's really.
Nobody has, everybody has theiropinion, but at the end of the
day, everybody goes boating.
Kristina Hebert (23:18):
Well, at the end of the day also, it's the
65th annual boat show.
I'm celebrating 75 years.
We've had both Democrats andRepublicans.
I know, for me as a politicalscience major and guru, I always
like to see what the lame ducksession is going to look like.
So I was asking Duncan, youknow what's going to get passed?
You know, either you have the,you have administrations that
(23:40):
shove through everything.
So, for example, if, if Trumpwere to win, I can see where a
Democrat administration will tryto, you know, possibly get some
of their legislation throughthat they think may not be able
to be successful.
And again, you still have aHouse that's Republican and a
Senate that's basically even so,not a whole lot.
(24:01):
I do think that myunderstanding is they're still
going to pass the defense bill.
I can't imagine.
I mean, it's been passed everyyear for since time.
Well, and the continue, and weneed it and the continuous
resolution.
I think it's a matter of youknow things will get stuck in
there, but I think it'll be anactive lame duck session and
that's just what they call the,the remaining time in Congress
(24:23):
prior to the new administrationtaking in, or just the
inauguration in and of itself.
So I think that's interesting.
I always just try to let peopleknow that you know some of the
some of our greatest and mosttremendous successes
legislatively have been withmembers that maybe, had I just
completely judged them based ontheir party affiliation and what
(24:45):
I heard about them on the news,you know you could just
absolutely say, and you knowthey ended up being some of the
greatest supporters of us andgreatest advocates.
And I will tell you, both sidesof the aisle have fought for
this industry.
People that you may think arejust the devil incarnate because
they are not your party, I canassure you have fought, fought
(25:07):
hard and had to make some toughdecisions and go against people
that say why are you helpingthat rich industry?
And it's not.
It's about the jobs.
And every legislator I believethat I've ever sat with that
really wants to pay attentionand listen.
It doesn't matter their party,they respect the industry.
Patience Cohn (25:23):
Yes, like you said, we're relatively agnostic.
We put 142,000 jobs in thetri-county area.
That's a lot of people at work.
Absolutely yeah, that's a lotof people at work, and that's
nothing you can—no one else, noother—.
Kristina Hebert (25:41):
And our industry pays higher salaries on
average than other industriesin the state, Correct?
So in addition to that, inaddition to those jobs I know we
talk about that that ouremployees are able to buy homes
and pay property taxes andcontribute to the state's
economy, and there's the abilityto even start their own small
businesses that are offering oneparticular service, like the
(26:05):
guy that makes boat blinds tofit the funny-shaped windows,
sure, or?
The mattresses that are likeshort and wide and a weird shape
, but every you know cabin needsthem.
Patience Cohn (26:17):
One of our original members is a mattress
company.
Yeah, that made for boat boxes.
Kristina Hebert (26:23):
See a need, fill a need.
I will tell you the marineindustry is so indicative of
that of the exact entrepreneur.
If there is a need, there'sfill a need and they will do a
tremendous job.
Anything else new for theassociation coming up or new for
patients, you can hear it herefirst.
That's right.
Patience Cohn (26:41):
Not much, I don't think.
I mean, I think we're on slowand steady and that's
associations.
Yeah, Actually, theassociation's trying to be a
little younger and hipper.
We hired a social media personPatients.
Kristina Hebert (26:57):
We're on a podcast.
Hell, we're trying to beyounger and hipper too.
How are we doing?
Patience Cohn (27:03):
Okay, but we'll find out.
But that's for us.
I mean we, you know we don't dothe printed newsletter anymore.
Kristina Hebert (27:08):
Sure, you know.
Oh, I remember those though.
Yeah, I still have all theboard packets, you know, and the
binders from back in the day.
Patience Cohn (27:21):
Well, all I remember is when I first started
, if you went to a meeting, youhad to fold the newsletters and
put the tab on and put theaddress on while you were
sitting in the meeting, so thatwe could mail them out every
month.
Kristina Hebert (27:29):
Well, you know, trade associations are
sometimes so underappreciatedbut they are so tremendous and I
will say if you're not a member, and you're listening to say,
if you're not a member, andyou're listening to this, if
somebody says why should I jointhe Marine Industries
Association?
Here's your platform.
I'll give my answer.
What's your answer?
Patience Cohn (27:48):
I think that the industry does it, the
association does its best toprovide the best way to do
business for our businesses.
Provide the best way to dobusiness for our businesses.
And it's funny, the world istalking about workforce now,
1997, there was a marine magnetprogram started in the Broward
County school system Workforcedevelopment 1997.
(28:14):
And 28 years ago the PlywoodRegatta was created, oh yeah,
where we take those 300 kidsfrom middle school through high
school and give them power toolsand plywood and have them make
boats and learn how it works andhave them mentored by industry
people, sure, and those things.
(28:35):
It's now evolved and we have anapprentice program where
there's a yacht servicetechnician apprentice program
which is a two-year program.
And just this year the licenseplate for Florida is available.
It's called Boating Capital ofthe World.
Kristina Hebert (29:07):
The funds go to Captain Sandy's charity and it
puts marine curriculum madeavailable for all our schools in
the state Tallahassee.
Or you need a voice inWashington that the association
is constantly paying attentionto the little regulations that
would absolutely 100% impactyour business and are doing
(29:28):
something about it.
And so for the $500, it's $500still, and for $3,000, you can
become an anchor member and Ihighly recommend that so that
you're in the know.
But it's the best investmentyou'll make as a small business
to join your local tradeassociation.
If you're not from Florida,join your local trade
association.
I assure you they need the help.
So thank you for being heretoday, Thank you for all that
(29:51):
you guys do for the wonderfulFort Lauderdale International
Boat Show and I look forward toanother year and looking forward
to January and I look forwardto another year and looking
forward to January.
Patience Cohn (29:59):
But before I leave, I have to say that if it
weren't for Ward's grandfather,we wouldn't have a trade
association, because he was oneof the founding fathers.
Kristina Hebert (30:10):
You know and I think how many members were
there?
I think there was like about 100and maybe not that many 52 the
first year and then they got upto 100 the second year.
But my understanding and itcould be, you know my
grandfather's tales, but Ibelieve him because he's my
grandfather, but we have hisrecords.
Yes, we do.
But it was one of he alwaystold me the reason that all the
(30:35):
businesses got together was alsoto convince the city to be able
to put dock pedestals at thedocks, to get 15 amp service so
the boats would stay.
And how ironic are we sittingat Bahia Mar, 15 amp service?
My goodness, you couldn't even,I don't think, two hair dryers.
You could turn on maybe three,but you certainly wouldn't power
a boat these days and look howfast.
(30:56):
And that was since 1961.
So that was a long time ago andthank you for that.
I appreciate that.
But you know that's ourindustry.
We're small businesses, we'refamily businesses and we want to
see, I want to see theassociation go on forever, and
so you know we need to have thatsupport.
I do think it fills a need, itit does 100% and everybody
(31:18):
should be a member A bigcorporation.
Patience Cohn (31:21):
If it has a problem it just writes a check
and sends somebody away.
You know, a three-man shop hasa problem.
They come to the associationand the association realizes how
big or small of an impact ithas and how much energy they can
put into helping.
Kristina Hebert (31:37):
Well, and also when we're talking to
legislators and we talk aboutour member businesses, but yet
actually how many totalemployees that is and what the
economic impact is and how manyjobs that represents in their
district, they pay attention.
Yeah, so it's definitely key.
Thank you again for your timeand thank you for being here and
being on the Ward's Way podcast.
It's been my pleasure, allright, and we didn't even tell
(31:59):
any bad stories, so save thosefor next season.
Thanks, patience, all right.
Thank you for being here.
So one of the things I wantedto talk to you about you and I
have known each other for manyyears, but I'd really like to
highlight all that you have donefor the association with
legislative initiatives andefforts, because so much of that
goes.
It's a thankless job at times,and so many things.
People just expect things tohappen, and so talk to me about
(00:22):
that.
But first, how did you get intothe industry?
Well, I was born on Nantucket.
Patience Cohn (00:26):
Okay, and I grew up in the summers working at the
boat basin.
I was a dock girl at the boatbasin in Nantucket and at the
end, after I graduated fromcollege, I decided I'll do one
more year, one more summer onthe on the docks and my cousin
was taking a 42 foot post fromNantucket to Fort Lauderdale and
(00:48):
he said do you want to help medo the delivery?
I said sure, I'll get a jobwhen I get back.
So we pull into pier 66 andRonnie Stroud, who was the
original dock master at pier 66,pulls up and he's tying us up
and he says you look familiar,don't they know you?
And I said yes, you were innantucket, you were on a boat
that said follow me to fortlauderdale, here I am.
(01:10):
Then he says do you want a job?
Kristina Hebert (01:13):
and I said sure , and so before you ever stepped
off the boat, you already had ajob.
Patience Cohn (01:18):
Right, that's awesome and what was the job I?
I was originally the beveragegirl in the bait out at the fuel
dock, with the bait cooler,because they'd all stop and pick
up their bait and beer and icebefore they went fishing.
And then they gave me dock girlduties where I'd tie up the
(01:39):
boats and on the two days thatthe office manager was out of
the office then I would answerthe phone and work in the office
.
Kristina Hebert (01:48):
And how long were you there?
For Five years, okay, wow.
And then from there, what'd youget?
Patience Cohn (01:55):
I started dating Captain Craig Tafoya, that's
right.
Kristina Hebert (01:59):
Boy, I forgot some of these chapters.
Man, that's right.
And so then you went all overthe world.
Patience Cohn (02:06):
And you were a chef.
Kristina Hebert (02:07):
Yes, that's how you got into being a chef.
That's right.
Patience Cohn (02:11):
Yes, we actually were on a boat that came with a
chef and just about most of thecrew thought that it wasn't
working, and one day I went tothe captain and said I know I
can do better than this.
I don't think I'm great, butI'm better.
I can do better than this, andthat's how I ended up in that
position.
Kristina Hebert (02:32):
Wow, that's awesome.
And then fast forward.
I think you and I met.
You were actually.
You were in where you.
Is that when you were it's hardon the timeline?
You were in, were you, is thatwhen you were it's it's hard on
the timeline?
So when did you go to SouthCarolina and run the Marina
there?
Patience Cohn (02:52):
We met before that yes.
Because, um, because I was onthe board.
You were on the board beforethat, okay.
And then I left the boardbecause we went to South
Carolina.
That's what it was, okay.
So we served on the boardbecause we went to South
Carolina, that's what it wasOkay, so we served on the board
together, right, and you werepresident.
Actually, when I left.
Kristina Hebert (03:08):
Okay, is that why you left?
Yeah, okay, done, done with her.
Was that president during Wilma?
Yeah, oh, my gosh.
Yeah, I would have left too.
No, so for the background ofthat Wilma was a storm that came
through, which is actually areally good segue into the
association and its impact forthe show.
(03:32):
So Hurricane Wilma comes.
The boat show is already set up.
It's late in the season, thetents are up, some people's
exhibits are in, there's boatsthat are in, and here comes this
storm, kind of out of nowhere,but it's going to hit the west
coast.
It's going to be a tropicalstorm, it's going to be wait a
one, and it ended up comingthrough basically as a two, but
(03:52):
came all the way through here.
And I know the association hadto make a really important
decision to either cancel theshow or do the show.
And, yeah, I'd been presidentfor a whole 90 days at this
point and, um, I remember it wasdefinitely the show has to go
on the show.
And yeah, I'd been presidentfor a whole 90 days at this
point and I remember it wasdefinitely the show has to go on
.
The show has to go on becauseit wasn't about you know, people
tried to make it about the richboat owner, but it's about the
(04:15):
economic impact of the show andthe amount of jobs and the boat
washers and and all the peoplethat you know.
Every one of these booths is asmall business.
I know I'm preaching to thechoir, but I just want to make
sure that people understand that.
And so it was so important.
The city was behind it.
You know the industry wasbehind it.
You know you always havenaysayers, but I still think to
(04:35):
this day it was the right thingto do the show.
Patience Cohn (04:38):
And everyone the general citizenship didn't want
us using resources, correct, we.
It was the boat show that wastaking the sand off of A1A and
putting it back on the beach sothat people could get to them.
Yes, and the other thing thepower outages were incredible
and most of these businesseswere shut down.
And having them shut down,their people weren't getting
(05:01):
paid.
They weren't going to workRight 100% by having to put the
booth together and have to builda show and have to man the
booth and all that stuff.
So they were getting paychecksthat they wouldn't have gotten
because they weren't operatingin their main businesses.
My house was out for 16 days,right, so without the show, all
(05:23):
those people would have beenmore devastated than they
already were.
Kristina Hebert (05:26):
A hundred percent.
And I remember during some ofthe you know post show press and
things like that, we obviouslyhad the industry and
stakeholders and people cametogether to really kind of give
feedback.
Really I'll get chills now butI really did not understand
(05:51):
until that moment how importantthis show is to some businesses
and some people do.
I heard numbers as high as 60percent of their annual sales.
They order and transactionsoccur here.
60 percent of their annualsales happen at some point
during the show and so to lose60% of your revenue would have
been absolutely devastating andthey couldn't have been more
(06:11):
grateful.
And sure were the numbers off alittle bit that year.
Sure, people had some things todeal with.
But you know, the hotels wereopen, the restaurants were open,
the sand was off the beach.
I still stand behind it.
That I think it was.
It was a wonderful thing.
But now I know why I left to goto South Carolina.
I mean, you know, just sayingway to go, not support, no.
Patience Cohn (06:32):
But the importance of the show.
The other in 2020.
Yeah, let's go into that.
Yeah, this was.
This was the first outdoorevent that was happened, in
which was that was happened inwhich was after the lockdown in
2020, where it was permitted tobe to gather, together with with
controls we had.
(06:52):
It was an open air event.
The tents were all basicallyopen, they had a higher micron
filters, they the therestrictions were really really
hard they were.
Kristina Hebert (07:04):
I exhibited that and it was tough.
Patience Cohn (07:07):
But even like the restriction on the filters that
they required to have on the ACunits for the tents, well,
they've been sending us topublic since this happened and
they don't have the microphonefilters they were requiring for
our tents and there was nooutbreak acquiring, acquiring
for our tents, and there was,there was no outbreak, there was
(07:28):
no it was a successful modelthat allowed other events to
continue.
Kristina Hebert (07:33):
And I will tell you, for example, one of the
things that I think stuck was um.
There was a restriction on umgiveaways so, for example, you
couldn't.
The point was to try to limitthe amount that the humans were
contacting.
Well, you know what you justsaved.
To try to limit the amount thatthe humans were contacting.
Well, you know what you justsaved me thousands of dollars.
Because once you can do asuccessful show and you don't
have to and I'm sorry, this is apublic service announcement,
(07:53):
sorry for all those companiesthat make those things but you
can have a successful showwithout having tables, of pens,
cups and all of those things.
Because, in the end, what I saw, the people that were here and
the people that came were justso thrilled to be able to still
have this moment and still beable.
And then all the internationalpeople.
You know, some of them weren'table to travel, some of them
(08:16):
were not, and we understand that, but there were an awful lot
that took the chance to come toand to see the United States
functioning, because if you justlooked on the news, we were all
shut down, that's it.
No schools, no, nothing, youknow.
And instead it was like notthis industry.
Patience Cohn (08:31):
Now I will say that that's one point where our
legislative activity was reallygood.
We immediately were identifiedas a essential business, an
essential business A hundredpercent.
Kristina Hebert (08:42):
I have the letter and and the, and we we
were and talk to me about that,why, let's get a.
Give me an example.
I can give you from mycompany's perspective why we
were considered an essentialservice, but tell me why the
Marine industry was able to dothat.
Patience Cohn (09:00):
The Marine industry as a whole was
considered essential, right,because there are shipyards that
maintain fireboats and the navyand the coast guard.
Those all have to operate well.
But also these, our vessels,the vessels that are our size,
can't be unattended and theyhave to be maintained.
And what happens if there'snobody there to watch them or to
(09:22):
make sure that that there'spower to them sure?
Kristina Hebert (09:26):
all those things they can't go, then they
can become navigable,navigational hazards and and it
was actually.
Patience Cohn (09:32):
it turned out to be a good way for people to be
able to get out with theirfamilies without without
mingling with other people, andit would.
And it started.
We had a presidential orderfrom the Republican side, and
when they changed leadership,the order was continued, and so,
(09:55):
through the whole thing, the Inthe state of Florida Federally,
oh federal.
Wow, it was federal and isspecifically included yachts and
we were able to get foreigncrew which weren't when they
weren't allowed to Right.
We were able to get essentialforeign crew, were able to get
get exemptions to fly so thatthey could come back to be on
(10:18):
the boat, since the boat wouldbe had gotten stuck here.
Kristina Hebert (10:22):
So let's talk also a little bit more about the
foreign crew.
So yesterday excuse me, fridayyou hosted a panel that had US
Coast Guard, us Customs andBorder Patrol.
You had Department ofAgriculture Talk to me about
that and, by the way, I thoughtthat that was one of the most
successful panels.
I can remember and you're goingto get into why you had the
(10:44):
panel, but I can remember yearsback you would have a panel and
you'd get one, maybe two peoplein uniform, and they were kind
of like, oh, we feel reallyawkward, oh, my God, the crowd's
going to come out.
And this time you had so manypeople at the tables I think
they were almost sitting like onthe ends because the panel was
so big.
So tell me about that.
(11:04):
They were almost sitting likeon the ends because the panel
was so big.
So tell me about that.
And who was why?
Patience Cohn (11:07):
were those agencies there and we've done it
for several years and theword's getting out and I get
more and more people that havequestions.
And I mean we had the portdirector from Port Everglades
the customs port directorattended.
We had the commander fromwaterways, which he handles
(11:28):
prevention, which is port stateinspections, when vessels
foreign flag vessels need tohave a port state inspection
when they come in.
I think it's a three year,every three years, and they use
it this time of year.
They use it because they're allconfined and they don't have
plans to go anywhere Before theshow starts.
A lot of them come and do theirport state inspections while
(11:49):
they're done.
Well, that's awful convenient.
Kristina Hebert (11:56):
So what kind of questions?
So why have these agencies here?
Patience Cohn (12:00):
Because everybody has a question and the guy down
the street tells them theanswer.
And I discover, if you put acouple of uniforms to give them
the right answer, they're theauthority.
Then they understand why therule is.
Because they all think a ruleis it's an impediment.
Yeah, they think they just madethis rule just because One of
our biggest Issues right now isbecause we had ag and ag
(12:25):
Department of Agriculture there.
Department of Agriculture Isthat there's a like swine flu,
it's like the, it's like thebeef problem that they had.
I remember that.
Well, they have that in the insome, some of the islands in the
Caribbean.
So the USDA is very concernedabout it.
Moving into the United Statesand they got to the Caribbean
(12:49):
and they realized there were anawful lot of yachts that were
headed in this direction andregulated garbage.
The rule's been in place for along time, but when you travel
international, you have todispose correctly.
Dispose of, just like if you'reon a plane and they ask you if
you have an apple and they takeit away from you, okay,
(13:14):
unfortunately, boats carry morethan one apple.
Um, and and some people don'trealize that that's a rule and
they're trying to get themessage out and try to figure
out how to make it easier forthem to comply with the rules,
and the best way to do that isto tell people what the rules
are and why you do the rules.
So that's why DC Agricultureand CBP flew in for that.
They flew in specifically forthat.
Kristina Hebert (13:35):
But how great is that?
First off, give yourself creditfor that that these agencies
because you've worked reallyhard to have these relationships
and I know you have legislativerepresentation, but still it's
a passion of yours.
You've worked so hard to keepthat that they're willing to
spend money to come down becausethey know that facilitating
these discussions will help ourindustry but also help them, and
(13:59):
that's a really bigaccomplishment.
You should be proud of that.
Patience Cohn (14:02):
Thank you.
And back to the days when therewere three guys, we were having
trouble with the foreign crewnot getting the right visas.
You should be proud of that,thank you.
And back to the days when therewere three guys.
Yeah, we were having troublewith the foreign crew not
getting the right visas, becauseif you get a commercial visa, a
C1D, you're only allowed in thecountry 29 days.
Well, if you come into thiscountry and go to the boatyard,
we don't want you to have toleave.
See you later.
Right, your crew can't stay.
(14:23):
So we started an educationpolicy about the correct visa
for a yacht crew, which is a B-1.
And it's been an ongoingeducation process and that's
really where the involvementwith the agencies started and
we've continued it.
The Coast Guard has manydifferent rules that are a
(14:44):
little different than maybeforeign rules, so that's always
useful and they've embraced it.
I will say that both agenciesare very willing to do outreach.
I tell them we're coming andthey say where and when.
Kristina Hebert (15:04):
But I think that's also good for the
industry as a whole, because ifwe ever do come across and it
will be, it will be there therewill be some regulation that has
an unintended consequence forour industry.
There will be some sort of newrule that comes out that has an
unintended consequence.
You already have thatrelationship, so we can seek
clarification, we can try to getthe right answers.
(15:25):
We we have a proven trackrecord of being an industry that
that wants to abide theregulations.
We just need help.
And if you know and I thinkthat that's important because
we're not just you know, we'renot just trying to dodge what
the regulations are, we're justtrying to, you know, be that
conduit to help get people theright information.
Patience Cohn (15:43):
This is.
This is a funny story.
I we were.
We had a small group because itwas during 2020 show.
We had a small group and it wasmostly attorneys and yacht
management companies not thegeneral public that were in the
round table, and one of thebetter known yacht attorneys
said they changed the famine.
It's much clearer about whatthe b1 is used for.
(16:06):
And I said you're welcome.
And he said well, what did youdo?
And I was like we're in dc twoor three times a year talking to
the heads of of thesedepartments to to change the fam
or to clarify things.
It was like oh, oh, well, it'smuch better now.
Kristina Hebert (16:27):
Yeah, the magic fairy fix.
You know, and that's what I wasjust going to say A lot of
people take that for granted andobviously you know I had the
pleasure of speaking with Duncanearlier and we talked about the
value of having representationthat so many people give
lobbying a bad name because theythink you have to be a big,
giant corporation or it's justself-interest.
No, it's.
(16:47):
You need to keep thoserelationships.
So, as an industry, there'salways going to be a challenge,
there's always going to besomething and to be able to
affect, have change or to modifythat regulation or to modify it
.
What's it called the FEN FAM?
Patience Cohn (17:01):
FAM Field Area Manual Okay.
Kristina Hebert (17:06):
Field Area Manual.
That's right, and that'sessentially what they use as a
guide on how to.
But in order to do that you'reright, that doesn't just
magically happen and peopledon't go oh sorry, we made a
mistake.
You have to build thatreputation of being an authority
on a subject and also thatwe're willing to comply.
So that's important.
Patience Cohn (17:25):
And I've done a few trips to DC with you.
You know some of it we won'ttalk about.
Kristina Hebert (17:31):
No, we can.
This makes it a podcast.
Maybe people will find itinteresting.
I'm okay with it.
Patience Cohn (17:37):
We'll skip the part about swimming in the
Potomac, oh, why?
But I did not catch tetanus, bythe way, so that's a shout out
to the Potomac, you know, butputting the human face in front
(17:58):
of an issue.
Our lobbyist does a terrificjob in all levels.
We have a state, a local and afederal lobbyist, and all of
them are superior at their job.
You still need the industry,you still need the guy that.
This is how it impacts mybusiness.
If you do this, this is what'sgoing to happen.
They're not going to vote foryou if you do this Right.
Kristina Hebert (18:23):
So I've definitely improved.
I'm not going to go swimming inthe Potomac and I don't get
hyper if we miss a plane.
That's another story.
So I've been invited to go inJune and I've accepted and I'm
really looking forward to it.
But let's talk about what theagenda is for that trip.
Patience Cohn (18:43):
It's Florida-based we're trying to
get.
What's happening at the federallevel is there's effort to make
the blue economy nationallymanaged, kind of a NOAA kind of
thing, where there are areas andthey encourage innovation that
is dedicated to making thebetter ocean, better water
(19:05):
quality, better marineexperience, protect your reefs
Sure, all the good things tokeep our environment, because if
we don't keep the boatingenvironment pleasant, we're not
going to sell boats.
And so the urge is like Bostonarea already has a blue economy
(19:28):
cluster, seattle has a blueeconomy cluster, california has
a blue economy cluster and weneed to bring Florida into line
so they're ready when they startweaving these clusters together
, that we're one of those.
We're one of those, and we havea marine research hub which is
dedicated to facilitatingcollaboration and helping to
(19:52):
find the commercial path for aninnovation.
We discovered that one collegehad discovered a deep sea sponge
that was impacting pancreaticcancer.
Wow, and so they did the test,wrote the paper and put it on
the shelf because they didn'thave the pharmaceutical
technologies, and they went onto do a new test.
(20:14):
Well, imagine if thepharmaceutical college and that
college were working together sothey could hand off their
research and share theinnovation and take it to the
next step.
Kristina Hebert (20:29):
I'm just it seems like I'm so surprised they
aren't already doing that.
It seems so common sense.
Patience Cohn (20:33):
But they live in columns, yeah, and they go from
grant to grant to find theirnext project.
And a lot of them were meant tobe research scientists.
They weren't meant to be.
Kristina Hebert (20:48):
They weren't meant to see it necessarily go
to fruition or turn into, yeah,gatorade, right, right exactly.
Patience Cohn (20:54):
Yeah, so we're looking to try and figure out
how to make that work better.
So who's opposed to this?
Anybody?
Nobody's opposed to it, but alot of people aren't aware of it
.
Okay, nobody's opposed to it,but a lot of people aren't aware
of it.
Okay, at the state level, wepassed an ocean economy bill
last year and they're opening anoffice of ocean economy.
Fau, I believe, is taking alead on it, but they'll still be
(21:17):
required to work with all theother state schools Private
schools, but schools in thestate Sure.
And the reason we passed thebill because we tried for two
years is we had Chip LaMarca,who happens to be a Republican,
and Kelly Skidmore, who'spassionate about it and a
Democrat, partnered on the billand it was reaching across the
(21:41):
aisle.
Kristina Hebert (21:41):
It was it's a really Again common sense.
It's amazing when you can getboth sides of the aisle together
, that stuff gets done it would,it would.
Patience Cohn (21:49):
It was really amazing, and it was in a in
somewhat of a contentious yearthat we were able to get it done
.
Um, so we want to do that.
We want to get the floridarepresentatives to make their
own florida coalition to supportthe blue economy.
Excellent, that's our mission.
Kristina Hebert (22:08):
That's our mission, okay, and we have
meetings for that, and I'mlooking forward to being a part
of that.
Yeah, yeah it'll it'll.
Patience Cohn (22:16):
You'll get flashbacks.
It'll be fun, oh good I, Ienjoy.
Kristina Hebert (22:19):
I.
I'm actually one of thosepeople who really really does
enjoy how our legislature works.
So I, I know this is a terriblequestion and I, I don't care
who you're for or who you're not, I know who you're for.
But what do we think?
Could there be any kind offallout for the marine industry
post-election?
Patience Cohn (22:40):
I think that initially, there's always
fallout.
It doesn't matter who wins, wholoses.
There's a settling of the.
If you notice our vote show,election years are always like A
little off.
I know Everybody doesn't knowwhat's going to happen.
Are the rates going up?
Are the rates going down?
Sure, honestly, the marineindustry, well, I would say a
(23:04):
lot of them are Republicans.
It's an agnostic world, I mean,it's really.
Nobody has, everybody has theiropinion, but at the end of the
day, everybody goes boating.
Kristina Hebert (23:18):
Well, at the end of the day also, it's the
65th annual boat show.
I'm celebrating 75 years.
We've had both Democrats andRepublicans.
I know, for me as a politicalscience major and guru, I always
like to see what the lame ducksession is going to look like.
So I was asking Duncan, youknow what's going to get passed?
You know, either you have the,you have administrations that
(23:40):
shove through everything.
So, for example, if, if Trumpwere to win, I can see where a
Democrat administration will tryto, you know, possibly get some
of their legislation throughthat they think may not be able
to be successful.
And again, you still have aHouse that's Republican and a
Senate that's basically even so,not a whole lot.
(24:01):
I do think that myunderstanding is they're still
going to pass the defense bill.
I can't imagine.
I mean, it's been passed everyyear for since time.
Well, and the continue, and weneed it and the continuous
resolution.
I think it's a matter of youknow things will get stuck in
there, but I think it'll be anactive lame duck session and
that's just what they call the,the remaining time in Congress
(24:23):
prior to the new administrationtaking in, or just the
inauguration in and of itself.
So I think that's interesting.
I always just try to let peopleknow that you know some of the
some of our greatest and mosttremendous successes
legislatively have been withmembers that maybe, had I just
completely judged them based ontheir party affiliation and what
(24:45):
I heard about them on the news,you know you could just
absolutely say, and you knowthey ended up being some of the
greatest supporters of us andgreatest advocates.
And I will tell you, both sidesof the aisle have fought for
this industry.
People that you may think arejust the devil incarnate because
they are not your party, I canassure you have fought, fought
(25:07):
hard and had to make some toughdecisions and go against people
that say why are you helpingthat rich industry?
And it's not.
It's about the jobs.
And every legislator I believethat I've ever sat with that
really wants to pay attentionand listen.
It doesn't matter their party,they respect the industry.
Patience Cohn (25:23):
Yes, like you said, we're relatively agnostic.
We put 142,000 jobs in thetri-county area.
That's a lot of people at work.
Absolutely yeah, that's a lotof people at work, and that's
nothing you can—no one else, noother—.
Kristina Hebert (25:41):
And our industry pays higher salaries on
average than other industriesin the state, Correct?
So in addition to that, inaddition to those jobs I know we
talk about that that ouremployees are able to buy homes
and pay property taxes andcontribute to the state's
economy, and there's the abilityto even start their own small
businesses that are offering oneparticular service, like the
(26:05):
guy that makes boat blinds tofit the funny-shaped windows,
sure, or?
The mattresses that are likeshort and wide and a weird shape
, but every you know cabin needsthem.
Patience Cohn (26:17):
One of our original members is a mattress
company.
Yeah, that made for boat boxes.
Kristina Hebert (26:23):
See a need, fill a need.
I will tell you the marineindustry is so indicative of
that of the exact entrepreneur.
If there is a need, there'sfill a need and they will do a
tremendous job.
Anything else new for theassociation coming up or new for
patients, you can hear it herefirst.
That's right.
Patience Cohn (26:41):
Not much, I don't think.
I mean, I think we're on slowand steady and that's
associations.
Yeah, Actually, theassociation's trying to be a
little younger and hipper.
We hired a social media personPatients.
Kristina Hebert (26:57):
We're on a podcast.
Hell, we're trying to beyounger and hipper too.
How are we doing?
Patience Cohn (27:03):
Okay, but we'll find out.
But that's for us.
I mean we, you know we don't dothe printed newsletter anymore.
Kristina Hebert (27:08):
Sure, you know.
Oh, I remember those though.
Yeah, I still have all theboard packets, you know, and the
binders from back in the day.
Patience Cohn (27:21):
Well, all I remember is when I first started
, if you went to a meeting, youhad to fold the newsletters and
put the tab on and put theaddress on while you were
sitting in the meeting, so thatwe could mail them out every
month.
Kristina Hebert (27:29):
Well, you know, trade associations are
sometimes so underappreciatedbut they are so tremendous and I
will say if you're not a member, and you're listening to say,
if you're not a member, andyou're listening to this, if
somebody says why should I jointhe Marine Industries
Association?
Here's your platform.
I'll give my answer.
What's your answer?
Patience Cohn (27:48):
I think that the industry does it, the
association does its best toprovide the best way to do
business for our businesses.
Provide the best way to dobusiness for our businesses.
And it's funny, the world istalking about workforce now,
1997, there was a marine magnetprogram started in the Broward
County school system Workforcedevelopment 1997.
(28:14):
And 28 years ago the PlywoodRegatta was created, oh yeah,
where we take those 300 kidsfrom middle school through high
school and give them power toolsand plywood and have them make
boats and learn how it works andhave them mentored by industry
people, sure, and those things.
(28:35):
It's now evolved and we have anapprentice program where
there's a yacht servicetechnician apprentice program
which is a two-year program.
And just this year the licenseplate for Florida is available.
It's called Boating Capital ofthe World.
Kristina Hebert (29:07):
The funds go to Captain Sandy's charity and it
puts marine curriculum madeavailable for all our schools in
the state Tallahassee.
Or you need a voice inWashington that the association
is constantly paying attentionto the little regulations that
would absolutely 100% impactyour business and are doing
(29:28):
something about it.
And so for the $500, it's $500still, and for $3,000, you can
become an anchor member and Ihighly recommend that so that
you're in the know.
But it's the best investmentyou'll make as a small business
to join your local tradeassociation.
If you're not from Florida,join your local trade
association.
I assure you they need the help.
So thank you for being heretoday, Thank you for all that
(29:51):
you guys do for the wonderfulFort Lauderdale International
Boat Show and I look forward toanother year and looking forward
to January and I look forwardto another year and looking
forward to January.
Patience Cohn (29:59):
But before I leave, I have to say that if it
weren't for Ward's grandfather,we wouldn't have a trade
association, because he was oneof the founding fathers.
Kristina Hebert (30:10):
You know and I think how many members were
there?
I think there was like about 100and maybe not that many 52 the
first year and then they got upto 100 the second year.
But my understanding and itcould be, you know my
grandfather's tales, but Ibelieve him because he's my
grandfather, but we have hisrecords.
Yes, we do.
But it was one of he alwaystold me the reason that all the
(30:35):
businesses got together was alsoto convince the city to be able
to put dock pedestals at thedocks, to get 15 amp service so
the boats would stay.
And how ironic are we sittingat Bahia Mar, 15 amp service?
My goodness, you couldn't even,I don't think, two hair dryers.
You could turn on maybe three,but you certainly wouldn't power
a boat these days and look howfast.
(30:56):
And that was since 1961.
So that was a long time ago andthank you for that.
I appreciate that.
But you know that's ourindustry.
We're small businesses, we'refamily businesses and we want to
see, I want to see theassociation go on forever, and
so you know we need to have thatsupport.
I do think it fills a need, itit does 100% and everybody
(31:18):
should be a member A bigcorporation.
Patience Cohn (31:21):
If it has a problem it just writes a check
and sends somebody away.
You know, a three-man shop hasa problem.
They come to the associationand the association realizes how
big or small of an impact ithas and how much energy they can
put into helping.
Kristina Hebert (31:37):
Well, and also when we're talking to
legislators and we talk aboutour member businesses, but yet
actually how many totalemployees that is and what the
economic impact is and how manyjobs that represents in their
district, they pay attention.
Yeah, so it's definitely key.
Thank you again for your timeand thank you for being here and
being on the Ward's Way podcast.
It's been my pleasure, allright, and we didn't even tell
(31:59):
any bad stories, so save thosefor next season.
Thanks, patience, all right.
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