Freedom Boat Club recently held its annual franchise conference, the 2024 Freedom Forum. More than 425 attendees descended on Southwest Florida for a week of workshops, the largest vendor and partner expo in franchise history, and collaboration during the largest Freedom conference to-date.
“As we continue to reaffirm our position as the market leader, we are committed to arming our franchise partners with the knowledge, tools and resources to deliver best-in-class member experiences and growth opportunities,” said Louis Chemi, Vice President, Freedom Franchise Network. “Our annual conference provides a forum for our global network of franchise operators to come together to share best practices and ideas, as well as highlight the investments we’re making in our technology, operational and marketing efforts to support their businesses. We believe 2024 will be another record-breaking year for the Club, and we are energized by the passion of our franchise operators who are committed to expanding the boating industry and reaching the next generation of boaters.”
The Forum kicked off with Freedom’s largest-ever partner and vendor expo giving franchisees exposure to products and services to support their business growth. During the expo, Freedom hosted more than 20 boats from 14 brands for attendees to engage in on-water testing, as well as 30 additional partners showcasing everything from Fliteboard and onboard electronics packages from Navico Group to insurance and marketing programs to assist franchisees.
The conference concluded with an award ceremony recognizing many franchisees for their performance and contributions over the past year. For 2023, the North American Franchise of the Year was awarded to Matt Carrick and Matt O’Connor from Freedom Boat Club of Greater Boston and Cape Cod, the EMEA Franchise of the Year was awarded to Jason Bond and Antony Birchell from Freedom Boat Club of Torquay, and the APAC Franchise of the Year was awarded to Patrick Edwards and Aaron Hunt from Freedom Boat Club of the Gold Coast.
Other award recipients included:
- Territory Expansion – Matt Carrick and Matt O’Connor; Freedom Boat Club of Greater Boston and Cape Cod
- Highest % of Revenue Increase – The Sheriff family, Ross Roadman, Mariah Lawrence and David Drake; Freedom Boat Club of Tennessee
- Pacesetter Club Award (Recognizes clubs who meet specific financial growth benchmarks)
- Freedom Boat Club of Ocean and Monmouth County NJ
- Freedom Boat Club of Ohio
- Freedom Boat Club of Puerto Rico
- Freedom Boat Club of Space and Treasure Coasts
- Freedom Boat Club of Tennessee
- Change Champion of the Year – Carly Warren; Freedom Boat Club of Greater Boston and Cape Cod, Freedom Boat Club of Ocean and Monmouth County NJ, Freedom Boat Club of Ohio, Freedom Boat Club of Northeast Florida
- Technology Trendsetter of the Year – Kevin Seelig; Freedom Boat Club of Northeast Florida
- Freedom Excellence Program Award – Matt O’Hara, Lexy Metivier and Adam Riley; Freedom Boat Club of Lake George
- Marketer of the Year – Nick Hooge; Freedom Boat Club of Seattle and Greater Puget Sound
- Membership Executive of the Year – Bill Edinger; Freedom Boat Club of Northeast Florida
- Best Dock Staff of the Year – Freedom Boat Club of Lake George and Freedom Boat Club of Pittsburgh
- The John R. Giglio President’s Award – Steven Dobreff, Freedom Boat Club of Lake St. Clair and Matt O’Hara, Freedom Boat Club of Lake George
- Rookie Franchise of the Year – Mike Centeno, Edwin Rodriquez and Eddie Nieves; Freedom Boat Club of Puerto Rico
