MTI New Year’s Event Boasts Two Intimate Lunch Runs—And One Rare Turtle Release

Taylor Scism and her team at MTI plan owner events down to the last detail—at least according to their clients—and the Wentzville, Mo., company’s New Year’s Weekend Owners Run to Hawk’s Cay Resort in the Florida Keys was no exception. The 12-boat group departed for the Duck Key destination from Haulover Marine Center on Friday and stopped at Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar on its way to the way to the posh venue. That night, the MTI crew hosted a dinner on property for the 75 participants.

For 12 MTI powerboat owners and their guests, a trip to the Middle Florida Keys was the perfect way to close out last year and enter this one. Photos by Tom Leigh copyright Tommy Gun Images

On Saturday, the group ran to the Islamorada Fish Company for lunch. Sunday’s lunch run took them to the Island Fish Company in Marathon. It was all part of the plan.

But what wasn’t part of the plan was MTI’s release of a 600-pound leatherback sea turtle on Sunday morning, the news of which exploded in the media world. When it comes to timing, at least as it applies to adventures with wildlife, it’s better to be lucky than good.

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Laidback as it was, the event didn’t lack for time on the water.

“I thought it would be just a fun little story to share,” said Scism, who is MTI’s client relations manager. “And it went all over the place on social media.”

The encounter dovetailed neatly with the event’s small-group atmosphere.

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Longtime owners as well as those new to the brand family enjoyed the MTI New Year’s weekend.

“With just 12 boats the whole weekend was a lot more intimate,” Scism explained. “Our larger owner events like our next run in the Florida Keys, which has 52 boats registered this year, are a lot of fun but can be a little more hectic. People are busy during the holidays so the groups are smaller.

“Another nice thing was that we had quite a few new owners in this event,” she added. “So we were able to introduce them to the complete MTI owner-event experience.”