Tag Archives: Family businesses

Amazing Five Generations in the Boat Business

PDB family photo-crFisher’s Marina on Buckeye Lake, Ohio is a family business started in 1912 by the first of five generations of the Fisher family. And interviewing Ed and Josh Fisher, generations 4 and 5, for an article in Soundings Trade Only was really pleasant. Having been in the marine industry for over 50 years and dealing with hundreds of dealers over those years, it didn’t take long for me to recognize that Ed and Josh know the boating business well. They both have grown up in the marina and are very knowledgeable and focused on how to sell boats and motors, accessories and parts, provide excellent service, and keep their customers happy. Continue reading Amazing Five Generations in the Boat Business

Cobalt – First Boats, then Wine

My article about Pack and Paxson St. Clair and Cobalt Boats in the May issue of Soundings Trade Only was a real pleasure to write.  I have known Pack for many years and seen him at numerous boat shows and NMMA conventions. We had a fun and rather lengthy interview on the phone before writing the article. There is no doubt that Pack is a real gentleman. And he is another amazing and innovative entrepreneur in the boating industry. Starting his boat building business with a small business loan, Pack built it in to one of the top brands in the industry. And now his son Paxson is taking the brand forward with the introduction of an innovative, top of the line pontoon boat.

Pack and his wife Jill enjoy their Cobalt wine
Pack and his wife Jill enjoy their Cobalt wine

But Pack’s innovation and entrepreneurship didn’t stop with Cobalt Boats. He then successfully got in the California wine business with…that’s right…his Cobalt wine. And as you can see from this pic, Pack and wife Jill enjoy their Cobalt wine.  He sent me a couple of bottles of Cobalt wine that my wife and I enjoyed. On the bottle it reads, “A shared passion for excellence and quality brought together an esteemed boat-builder, Pack St. Clair, and a respected vintner, Steve Sherwin. One afternoon in the cellar over a glass of red wine, they decided to create something special for you to enjoy.” And you will enjoy it. Continue reading Cobalt – First Boats, then Wine

Huggins Outboard – 4 generations and going strong

As a Yankee, Snowbird, Northerner, or whatever I might be called as a result of my Midwestern roots, I heard the term “Southern Gentleman” from time to time. When I was stationed at Dobbins Air Force Base, Marietta, Georgia, I began to understand what that meant. I had a neighbor who I came to regard as a real Southern Gentleman. I consider the four generations of the Huggins family of Huggins Outboard in Albany, Georgia to be the epitomes of Southern Gentlemen.

I did not have the honor of meeting Frank Huggins who started the family business in 1941 while also holding down a full time job. He had the entrepreneurial spirit to start Huggins Outboard in a dirt floor garage with galvanized tin siding. He passed away in early 1979. However, I have had the good fortune know the second generation of Huggins Outboard entrepreneurs, Bill Huggins, for many years. In fact, Bill was a key member of my dealer council for a while when I was head of outboard sales for OMC.

I was saddened when Bill called me a few months ago to tell me that his son Richard had died from bladder cancer. But when he told me that Richard’s son, the fourth generation, was coming to Huggins Outboard to take over the dealership, I was moved to write an article for Soundings Trade Only about this remarkable family. Richard’s son Matthew Huggins, a CPA, recently resigned from Draffin & Tucker, a corporate accounting firm, to become the fourth generation to head up Huggins Outboard. And Matthew has the good fortune of having his grandpa Bill Huggins to coach him as he takes over running the business.

Click to read the full story that I wrote about the four generations of Huggins Outboard, “Profit is Not a Dirty Word” in case you didn’t see it in the September 2014 issue of Soundings Trade Only. (Reprinted with permission from Soundings Trade Only.)