Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/834717
July 2017 | Boating Industry | 33 [ 40 Under 40 ] www.BoatingIndustry.com KEVIN SEELIG Owner/President, Freedom Boat Club of Jacksonville & St. Augustine What first drew you to the industry? At 12 I was enrolled in a summer camp at Shake A Leg Miami. What was your first job? Shake A Leg Miami. After volunteering for sev- eral summers I was hired as a summer dockmas- ter. After that summer I was kept on year-round as the weekend and summer dockmaster. What accomplishment are you most proud of? Buying the Freedom Boat Club franchise in Sep- tember 2011, a month after graduating college. What boat did you learn to boat on? The first boat I spent a lot of time on was a 20- foot Catalina sailboat. Shake A Leg had six at the time. They were unsinkable and unflippable as they were designed for disabled sailing. Did you have any key mentors or influences in your career? Most importantly my mom, Ursula Seelig, and Lisa Almeida, my business partner. I was an only child to a single mother. Before I could drive myself home, she waited in the parking lot more than an hour multiple times while I closed SALM down on the weekends. Even- tually she loaned me capital to help buy into the FBC franchise. A few months prior to graduating, Lisa Almeida gave me the oppor- tunity to buy the Jacksonville and St. Augus- tine Freedom Boat Club locations, where we had both been employees. We have a perfect partnership. Without that we wouldn't be where we are today. ANDREW SEMPREVIVO, COO COO, Seakeeper Inc. What first drew you to the industry? My love for the water drew me to my first job at a local marina and I never looked back. Working at my local marina tunneled my vision to a future career in the marine industry. What was your first job? Munros Marina in Mystic Islands, N.J. My first professional job after college was with the Viking Yacht Company. What accomplishment are you most proud of? I started with Seakeeper in 2008, entering a de- flated market with an unknown product. I tra- versed the globe demonstrating our product so all could experience how a Seakeeper stabilized boat transformed the experience of being on the water. Since then, Seakeeper has grown by about 50 percent per year, created hundreds of jobs, formed partnerships with hundreds of builders and refit centers around the world, and opened boating to those once put off by boat roll. What boat did you learn to boat on? I have owned several boats through my years, but my first boat was a 14-foot jon boat with a 1967 Evinrude 18hp. It was my first love. If I wasn't in school or working, I was on that boat fishing, crabbing and exploring. LISA SEXTON General manager, Gregg Orr Marine What was your first job? My first job in the boat industry was in marina operations. I was a boat slip broker and ran two fuel docks and convenience stores on the lake. What accomplishment are you most proud of? I am proud of how quickly myself and several of my team members have learned how to run a successful dealership and marina. I am proud of the team we have built here. It took three years of change to get where we are now and I am extremely proud of our team and our dealership. Who was your hero as a child? My grandfather Doyle Murphy was my hero growing up. He passed in 2010 but was a POW in WWII. He was captured by the Imperial Japa- nese Army at the Philippines and was in a POW camp for 1,218 days, as well as a survivor of the Bataan Death March. He was a plain country man and the greatest man I have ever known. Did you have any key mentors or influences in your career? First was a boat captain from Destin named Kevin Kaple. He really helped me in the beginning stages of my career and taught me a lot about running ma- rine operations. Second was a man named Monty Dyer who has been working in the boat industry for 50+ years. Monty helped me recruit some amazing technicians and service manager. I have to mention Clay Staggs who has taught me almost everything I know about fixed operations. And of course, Gregg Orr has been and continues to be a mentor. He challenges me daily and pushes me to be a better me and to take the dealership to new levels. ASHLEY SMITH Co-owner, Colorado Boat Center