Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS April 2018 Passed Over the Bar - Anne Bray


February 20, Bangor Annette (Tracy) Bray


After fi ghting and overcoming a series


of life-threatening illnesses stretching back more than 25 years, Anne lost the most recent battle against peritonitis and died peacefully only a few days after her 81st


birthday. She is


survived by a son, Nathanael; two daughters, Sarah and Kathy; two wonderful grandsons, Daniel and David Kelly; and her husband, Maynard, to whom she was married for almost 62 years. Other survivors include a sister, Marian King, and a variety of nieces, nephews and other more distant relatives. Anne was born in Rockland, Maine, and


ABBRA’S 2018 Award of Excellence: Boatyard of the Year is given to the boat- yard facility that demonstrates excellence in all facets of their company through commitment to customer care, quality work- manship, best business practices, industry standards, professionalism, workforce de- velopment, and positive vendor relations. Hinckley Yacht Services in Portsmouth


RI has been transformed over the past two years under the guidance of Tim Shields and the management Team at The Hinckley Company. ABBRA is proud to give their Award of Excellence to Hinckley Yacht Services Portsmouth. In 2014 ABBRA conducted a Boatyard Study Tour of Hinckley’s Portsmouth Yard


lived for a number of years in the Mystic/ Noank, Connecticut, area. But she called Brooklin, Maine, her home for over half her life, serving as Wooden Boat maga- zine’s Research Director for 30 years. After retiring, The Brooklin Keeping Society, of which she was Curator, became her passion. Helping other people and the organizations she believed in drove her always, but family came fi rst, no matter what.


At her request, there will be no funeral


or memorial service. Her ashes will be scattered over the waters she sailed in and so dearly loved. Donations in her name can be made to The Brooklin Keeping Society


during a Marine Service Managers (MSM) Class being held in Newport, RI. A boatyard Study Tour was conducted again in 2017 at Hinckley Yacht Services in Portsmouth as part of the MSM class. Pam Lendzion, one of the instructors for the class said that “obvious changes had been made resulting in a cleaner and much more organized fa- cility. The cost control and quality control measures that had been implemented were impressive. There was a team spirit and the department heads experience, knowledge, and connection to the work that needed to be done was inspiring to the class. Tim and his team were obviously focused on success. The class noted later during their analysis of the yard that the team would likely not be


or The Penobscot Marine Museum. * * * * *


SPONSORED SAILING AT THE WOOD ENBOAT SCHOOL By friends of Anne Bray


A Fund has been established by Giff y


Full & Bill Page to be held in Trust by The Penobscot Marine Museum in memory of their late wonderful friend Anne Bray to enable enrollment of a deserving young per- son, between the ages of 16 and 21, in one of the WoodenBoat School’s on-the-water one week courses. This will be off ered annually for as many seasons as possible. This year’s course selection is Elements


as focused without good leadership from the top down”. The Hinckley Company has been a


leader in the recreational marine industry since 1928. All companies have highs and lows and the companies that survived the downturn have emerged stronger than before. In 2016 and 2017, The Hinckley Company reclaimed its leadership status in the industry by focusing on effi ciency, quality control, and innovation in all their facilities and they will continue to improve because they are developing leaders like Tim Shields, who, in spite of his many years of experience in the boat refi t and repair indus- try, realizes there is always more to learn. Tim has recently been named VP of Service


of Sailing, taught by Geoff Kerr and Annie Nixon, which runs from July 1 to 7. Appli- cants will be reviewed, and one will be se- lected each year at least a month beforehand. Donations in support of this endeavor


may be mailed to: The Anne Bray Memorial Sailing Fund, Penobscot Marine Museum, 5 Church St., Searsport, ME 04974. Please make checks payable to Penobscot Marine Museum, Anne Bray Fund. Interested young Applicants should


contact Giff y Full, 99 Naskeag Pt. Rd., Brooklin, ME 04616 to express their interest and tell a bit about themselves. Giff y may also be reached at (207)-266-1243.


ABBRA's 2018 Boat Yard of the Year Award to Hinckley, Portsmouth, RI


for the company. During the past two years The Hinck-


ley Company has reorganized and put new management in place. Peter O’Connell has taken the helm of the corporate offi ce at the Portsmouth Yard. The Company’s culture is defi ned by the values of quality, effi ciency, teamwork, and an eff ort to exceed their cus- tomers’ expectations. Developing long term relationships has always been important to Hinckley. They strive to exceed industry standards and to be recognized as the indus- try’s fi nest. ABBRA is proud to give Hinckley


Yacht Services, Tim Shields, and the team at the Portsmouth Yard, the 2018 Boatyard of the Year Award.


Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, Maritime Administrator, to Address


CASTINE—Maine Maritime Academy President William J. Brennan announced that Maritime Administrator, Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, USN, Ret. will deliver the college’s Commencement address on Satur- day, May 5 in Castine. Rear Adm. Buzby was sworn in as


Maritime Administrator on August 8, 2017 following appointment by the President and


Class of 2018 at Maine Maritime Academy Commencement accomplished and celebrated leader, a cham- pion of the marine transportation industry, and an advocate for maritime education.” Following Commencement, Buzby will


confi rmation by the U.S. Senate. Prior to his appointment, Buzby served as president of the National Defense Transportation Asso- ciation, a position he held after retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2013 with over 34 years of service. “It will be a great honor for the Class


of 2018 to receive a send-off from Admiral Buzby, said President Brennan. “He is an


also speak at the NROTC Commissioning Ceremony. Buzby earned a Bachelor of Science


in Nautical Science and U.S. Coast Guard Third Mate License at the U.S. Merchant


S S D   M I  M Continued from Page 7.


Finally I realized that my heart wasn't in retail. I had kept going to MMTA meetings and was asked to chair the Association’s government aff airs committee. It was in the days of the luxury tax and I had a friend in George Mitchell's offi ce and we really need- ed to get to George Mitchell because he had been supportive of the luxury tax. All I did was call my friend and say how do we get a meeting with George Mitchell? She told me what to do and we did it and we got a meeting with George Mitchell then I guess they thought I walked on water.” Sue then began attending monthly


meetings as chair of this committee and got to know the people better and understand how this industry works. At this point MMTA was run by Jim Chandler, but he resigned a few years later. Sue explained, “He was the fi rst paid employee. When the board hired him they realized that if the Association was going to do what they wanted it to do, it needed to be tended to by somebody whose only job was to take care of the Association. Jim did a really good job growing the membership and putting some structures in place that really kind of kept the ball rolling. He did it for like eight years and they weren't quite sure who they were going to hire and they off ered me the job on an interim basis. I don't think they ever did a search because I think within about six


months they said well this is working so why change it?” Sue knew that one of the most important


things MMTA did was education, especially related to management and new technology. She also realized the need to educated busi- nesses on regulations. “If you don't comply with things you can get your door shut so that is not good,” added Sue. “I really focused on all the legislative stuff .” And Sue was very good at dealing with


the state government in Augusta. “In those days, for the most part, people in the state legislature were a lot less concerned about what letter was after their name, they were about what your issue was. I always found members of the legislature regardless of party, regardless of how left or right of center they might been, that they were approach- able, that they wanted to hear your story and they wanted to know how it might aff ect their constituents. I think one of our strategies was not to over expose ourselves, like we didn't run to Augusta for every blessed issue. Our other strategy was to rather than fi ght regulatory agencies was to reach out to them and say, “look, your regulation is tough for us to deal with but we understand it needs to be there so how are we going to help each other out? We were really eff ective at that. We also did a whole lot on the work force de- velopment front. Early in the 2000s, OSHA did a local emphasis program that shocked the living daylights out of everybody. Rather


than trying to fi ght them we reached out to them. Rather than butt heads it was like let's do whatever we have to do to get these yards into compliance. That really changed some of the thinking at the local OSHA offi ce which was good for the industry.” Being in a recreational industry for the


most part can be tough economically. When the economy is down marine business do their best to ride it out. MMTA tried to do their own boat show, which could bring in the needed revenue to ride out the high and lows of the economy and do programs that otherwise could not be funded. Do to circumstances not within their control, MMTA had a diffi cult time. The shows were held up at Naval Air Station Brunswick and the Town of Brunswick was completely unreasonable with demands to use one of the buildings for the show on the base. With just days to go before the show they fi nally got the necessary papers, but now you could not market it like you needed. They made a little bit of money, but the gate was less than desirable. The following year, they would not allow them in a building and they tried using a tent, but it did work despite the val- iant eff ort of MMTA and their members. Sue wished she could have done more


education and training. She pointed to the Clean Marinas Program that lost its funding feeling that this was an excellent program that should have continued. After more than 20 years of battling, winning most, Sue felt


Marine Academy. He was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in June of 1979, is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College and holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and Salve Regina University in Strategic Studies and International Rela- tions respectively.


physically tired and thought it was time for someone younger and with fresh eyes to take over. She thought long and hard who had the background to carry MMTA forward. One person she knew was Stacey Keefer and after a lunch, a resume was submitted, the MMTA search team agreed and Stacey took over. “I think that we're a pretty special indus-


try,” said Sue. “Every time that a recession hit there is some level of control you don't have on your destiny. I wondered should I give it up and go to corporate America as if there is any greater sense of security there anymore. I could never walk away. If I walked away from this industry there was going to be no connections to these people that I had come to know and respect and really cherish. Probably all I would have is maybe a better paycheck and a retirement plan? So what makes my heart sing? I am happy to work hard but it's got to make me feel good at the end of the day.” And at the end of the day, Sue had


worked hard and accomplished more than a single person should have. So many marine businesses and people in the industry owe her a debt of gratitude for the dedication she had to making their lives a little easier – THANK YOU, Sue!


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