Malibu Boats and Axis Wake Research capped off a strong 2017 with their Model Year 2018 National Dealer Meeting in beautiful Lake Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 230 dealership representatives were in attendance to have hands-on time with new 2018 Malibu and Axis product, learn valuable product and marketing knowledge and spent time with our staff, suppliers and athletes.

The Model Year 2018 National Dealer Meeting began Sunday with an 80s themed welcome reception that saw some great costumes. Monday morning kicked off with one of the highlights of the meeting, a keynote speech by MLB World Series champion Kevin Millar. Millar spoke on the importance of building a strong team to achieve a greater goal. In the afternoon, dealers spent time collaborating and exchanging best practices to further both the Malibu and Axis brands as well as their own businesses in breakout sessions led by Malibu sales and marketing staff and industry partners.

The top Malibu and Axis dealers of 2017 were recognized with an awards dinner celebrating the best of our dealer network:

2017 Rookie Dealer of the Year - Inland Boat Company

2017 Regional Dealer of the Year North/South Region - Aqua Sport Marine

2017 Regional Dealer of the Year Eastern Region - Chessie Marine & East Coast Flightcraft

2017 Regional Dealer of the Year Central Region - Minnesota Inboard Water Sports

2017 Regional Dealer of the Year Western Region - Taylor's Boats & Larson Marine

2017 Presidents Award - Minnesota Inboard Water Sports

2017 Presidents Award - Texas Malibu

2017 Best Video - Carl Goes Wakesurfing by Tommy's

2017 Best Event - Adaptive Day 2017 by Tommy's

2017 Best Social Media - Tommy's

2017 Best Website - Surf N Turf

2017 Best Overall Campaign - Community Outreach by Boulder Boats

2017 Regional Salesperson of the Year North/South Region - Marc-André Loiselle--Aqua Sport Marine

2017 Regional Salesperson of the Year Eastern Region - Wesley Powers--Tommy's Florida

2017 Regional Salesperson of the Year Central Region - George Burns--Mid-Indiana Marine

2017 Regional Salesperson of the Year Western Region - McKay Richards--Taylor's Boats

2017 North American Salesperson of the Year - Matt Mueller--Minnesota Inboard Water Sports

2017 Top 12 Axis Dealer - Tommy’s, SMG, Taylor's Boats, Inc., Boulder Boats, Northwest Inboards LLC, Waterski America, Tilly's Marine, Larson Marine Inc., Texas Malibu, Idaho Water Sports, Minnesota Inboard Water Sports Inc., East Coast Flightcraft Inc.

2017 Top 12 Malibu Dealer - SMG, Tommy’s, Minnesota Inboard Water Sports, Inc., Texas Malibu, Waterski America, Taylor’s Boats Inc., Boulder Boats, Skiers Pier Incorporated, East Coast Flightcraft Incorporated, Larson Marine Inc., Tilly’s Marine, SWS Marine Group

The meeting capped off with a celebration of the year taking all attendees to the MGM Grand for a performance of Cirque du Soleil’s Ka. “We always love spending time with our dealers, but this dealer meeting was a very special one for us here at Malibu,” said CEO Jack Springer. “Not only did we get to celebrate a strong 2017 model year with the world’s strongest dealer network, but this also marked our first year welcoming our leadership team from Cobalt to the meeting.”