The NMMA and Boating Writers International (BWI) announced the panel of judges set to evaluate product entries for the 2024 Miami Innovation Awards. The Miami Innovation Awards recognize manufacturers and suppliers who bring new, innovative products for the boating industry to market. The 2024 award recipients will be announced during the Industry Breakfast at the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show on Feb. 15 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Sunset Ballroom.
The Industry Breakfast will feature a host of presentations focused on propelling the recreational boating industry forward. Show exhibitors, NMMA members and industry stakeholders can purchase tickets here.
The Innovation Awards judges’ committee is comprised of eight BWI members who perform product testing throughout the year and have specific expertise in marine products and equipment. Judges for the 2024 Miami Innovation Awards are:
- Ben Stein (Chair): Stein is an editor of Panbo.com covering marine technology. He also serves as electronics editor for Power & Motoryacht and PassageMaker magazines and is a regular contributor to Soundings. After 15 years in financial services technology, he left the corporate world to pursue his passion in boating. A USCG 100-Ton Master and ABYC certified marine electrical technician, Ben is an experienced cruiser having traveled over 20,000 nautical miles.
- Tim Murphy (Co-chair): Murphy develops curriculum for the American Boat & Yacht Council. A Contributing Editor to BoatUS magazine, and a Cruising World Editor-at-Large, Tim has worked as a marine journalist for more than 30 years. Having directed and judged CW’s Boat of the Year program for two decades, he has sea-trialed more than 500 new boats in the last two decades. He co-wrote Fundamentals of Marine Service Technology (ABYC 2012). He is the author of Adventurous Use of the Sea (Seapoint Books, 2022). Tim holds a USCG 100-Ton Master’s license.
- Kelsey Bonham: Kelsey is an editor and writer for BoatU.S. Magazine, covering everything from the environment to tech news, new media to personality profiles. A lifelong sailor, at 20 she refit her own boat top to bottom, then skippered the 30-footer down the ICW. She’s been a professional crew and instructor on boats up to 100 feet, written for several other boating magazines, and is eligible to receive her 50-ton Master’s license in 2024.
- Kevin Falvey: Editorial Director of Firecrown Media’s Boating and Watersports group, Falvey oversees editorial operations for premier brands Boating, Wakeboarding and numerous brand extensions. Falvey, himself an award-winning marine journalist, also boasts authorship of two books about boating and fishing. Falvey lives with his teenage daughters in East Quogue,NY, where they live the boating life.
- Alan Jones: A marine journalist for 27 years, Alan has tested more than 1,000 boats and has been the on-camera talent in more than 600 video walkthroughs as a journalist. After a 24-year stint as executive editor for Boating World Magazine, he’s now a freelancer, writing for magazines such as Saltwater Sportsman, Boating Magazine, and Soundings Trade Only, and also writes blogs for numerous websites. A former president of Boating Writers International, Jones has also been a judge for the NMMA’s Innovation Awards a dozen times. A longtime Florida man, he currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida and spends his spare time chasing redfish on the St. Johns River.
- Adam Quandt: Editor-in-chief of Boating Industry, Quandt tackles everything from testing and reviewing new products, to tracking industry trends and serving on the board for numerous industry-focused award programs. Though not necessarily born into the boating world like many others, Quandt has quickly developed a passion for the industry and strives to continue bringing boaters together as we move forward into the future.
- Gary Reich: With 30 years of experience in the marine industry, Reich started his career as a product expert at Fawcett Boat Supplies in Annapolis, Md. He transitioned to marine publishing in 2002 when he was hired as an editor at Waterway Guide Publications. Additional roles include editor at PropTalk magazine, senior editor at Soundings magazine and managing editor at Anglers Journal. He was appointed editor-in-chief of Soundings Trade Only in January 2022.
- Tony Esposito: A 30-year marine industry veteran, Tony Esposito held management positions with Mercury Marine, Mercury Racing and Custom Marine, Inc; provided marketing communications consulting for a variety of boating clients and is a contributor to speedonthewater.com and U.S. Correspondent for International Boat Industry/IBI.
The 2024 Miami Innovation Awards’ entrants will be judged across 22 product categories. All entrants and award winners will be on display throughout the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show.
