Northwest Yacht Brokers Executive Director to Serve in Afghanistan
SEATTLE, Dec. 26, 2006 -- The Northwest Yacht Brokers Association, a regional trade group of over 340 recreational boat brokers and dealers, announced Tuesday that its executive director, Jonathan Ives, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, has been called to active duty for a one-year deployment in Afghanistan.
Ives, who will deploy on Jan. 20, 2007, will assume command of an Area Support Group of 136 active duty personnel, primarily from Ft. Lewis in Washington State. The unit oversees all food, water, housing, engineering, security and other infrastructure needs of the some 20,000 U.S. active duty personnel and as many civilian contractors stationed at five U.S. bases in Afghanistan. Ives served in a similar capacity for the U.S. Army in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the mid 1990s.
Bill Lande, vice president of the board of directors of the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association (NYBA) will assume the role of interim executive director until Ives’ return in early 2008.
“Jonathan Ives has brought exceptional leadership and vision to the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association,” said Lande. “He has been instrumental in building a strong infrastructure of support for our association that will help us to continue to grow boating and provide value to our membership in the coming year,” he said. “NYBA is supportive of a reservist’s duty. We look forward to Jonathan’s safe return.”
Under Ives’ leadership, Seattle’s January and September Boat Shows have increased in popularity. The 2006 Lake Union Boats Afloat Show attracted a record 11,214 visitors in September, marking a 24 percent increase over 2005 attendance and a 97 percent increase since 2004.
Ives also helped grow the number of Certified Professional Yacht Brokers (CPYB) in the region to over 100 – nearly 30 percent of all CPYBs nationally. The CPYB designation has helped install a baseline of consistent professional standards among the association’s 340 members. Ives has also been instrumental in forging community partnerships to help the industry raise an awareness of safety around the water and support learn-to-sail programs for local youth. In Olympia, Ives was instrumental in engaging a lobbyist to work on behalf of NYBA as an advocate for the recreational boating industry and buyers and sellers of boats.
“The NYBA board of directors and I are confident that our association will continue to be a catalyst of success throughout the coming year for the Northwest recreational boating industry,” said Ives. “Although I will miss working with our members in the next year, it’s an honor to have the opportunity serve my country.”
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Northwest Yacht Brokers Association