NMMA Hall of Fame Award - 2012 Inductee Phil DyskowRecipients of the NMMA Hall of Fame Award include those who had, or continue to generate substantial and lasting contributions toward the advancement of the marine industry. It honors individuals whose names and deeds are synonymous with the pursuit of quality, innovation and perfection within their respective spheres of expertise. The NMMA Hall of Fame Award is the association's highest honor. The 2012 Hall of Fame Award was presented to Phil Dyskow, Immediate Past President of the Yamaha Marine Group Company, during the IBEX event on October 2nd, 2012 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky. NMMA and its Board of Directors would like to congratulate Phil Dyskow on his induction into the NMMA Hall of Fame. Phil Dyskow is Immediate Past President of the Yamaha Marine Group Company, the unit of Yamaha that markets, sells and distributes Yamaha Outboards in the United States, and operates G3 Boats®, Skeeter Boats® and Performance Propeller Industries, Inc. His career is characterized by successful efforts to increase customer satisfaction while driving remarkable sales growth. His relationship with Yamaha began in 1975 when he became the first Yamaha boat dealer in the United States. Throughout the 1970s, his dealership grew to become the largest Yamaha boat dealer outside of Japan, offering both Yamaha sail and powerboats. He then joined Yamaha Motor Corporation U.S.A. in 1981 as one of the first employees involved in the initial research, planning and introduction of Yamaha Outboards into the U.S. market. Dyskow left Yamaha briefly in 1990 to serve as Vice President of Outdoor Technologies Group where he had overall management responsibility over its Fenwick Corporation subsidiary in Huntington Beach, Calif. Under his direction, Fenwick, a world leader in top-quality fishing equipment, won eight different awards for product innovations. In 1993, the National Assn. of Sporting Goods Wholesalers voted Fenwick its Manufacturer of the Year. Also in 1993, Business Week magazine awarded Fenwick its prestigious Industrial Design Excellence Award. Dyskow returned to Yamaha Marine in 1995 as a Vice President. A year later, he was promoted to Senior Vice President and given responsibility for all Marine Group activities. On Nov. 1, 1997, he was appointed President. During his tenure, Yamaha’s share of the market has grown dramatically, and the company now supplies more than a third of all the outboards sold in the United States. While under Dyskow’s management, Yamaha Outboards have received a number of design and innovation awards from the marine industry and the national media. In addition, Yamaha is the only outboard brand to have earned the NMMA’s® C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception. Also while under his direction, Skeeter Boats and G3 Boats saw increases in customer satisfaction and sales volume. Both companies are repeat winners of NMMA’s® C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award. Dyskow retired from the position of President on May 1, 2010. He continues to serve Yamaha as senior advisor to the current Yamaha Marine Group President, Ben Speciale. In addition to the advisory capacity, Dyskow serves on the board of directors for the Center for Coastal Conservation. He was recently appointed to the National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC), which is responsible for advising the U.S. Coast Guard on developing and promulgating standards and regulations pertaining to the construction of recreational boats. He was also appointed to by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, which advises NOAA on fisheries issues. He is Vice Chairman of the NMMA® Engine Committee. Active in the community and the marine industry, Dyskow has previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif., the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, the American Boating and Yacht Council, and the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw, Ga. He is an avid sport fisherman. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dyskow is a 1976 graduate of the University of Hawaii. Previously he attended Augsburg College in Minnesota where he received the Gamble Foundation Scholarship in Economics. Currently, he and his wife, Sharon, reside in Marco Island, Florida. 2011 Hall of Fame Award Recepient - Robert Deputy2011: Robert DeputyAs president and CEO of Godfrey Marine, Robert Deputy’s leadership, commitment to relationships with employees, dealers and suppliers, and dedication to product development were instrumental to the company’s success. Under his direction, Godfrey Marine thrived: When the company was sold in 2005, it had grown from a small manufacturing plant into the largest family-owned independent builder of recreational boating and fishing boats in the U.S. Originally planning a career in the financial industry, Bob earned his MBA from Indiana University. However, Bob felt a responsibility to help the family business succeed, and after completing an active duty obligation in the U.S. army, Bob joined Godfrey.
Bob worked to create a family environment at Godfrey Marine, treating dealers, suppliers, employees and retail customers as family. He established an ownership culture focused on leading by example, and fostered a passion to excel in any market the company entered. Under Bob’s direction, product design and innovations such as decay-resistant pressure treated wood; spacious, versatile floor plans; reliable electrical systems; and durable upholstery, all of which improved the boat owning experience, were key to the company’s success.
Family participation grew with the company; brothers Larry and Bill joined Godfrey and bother Dick advised in many product innovations. Eventually, the next generation, John, Mike, Anne and Reid, also dedicated their careers to the family business. Bob’s leadership and family involvement helped the company grow from one factory in Elkhart to 13 plants in four states with over one million square feet of manufacturing capacity, and a family of brands that offered a “Boat for Every Passion”—Sanpan, Aqua patio, Sweetwater and Parti Kraft pontoons, Hurricane deck boats and Polar Kraft, Polar and Fishmaster fishing boats.
As other family members took on management responsibilities, Bob’s focus shifted to key industry and community issues. He was a founding member of the Independent Boat Builders (IBBI) buying group, served on the NMMA Board and as Chairman of the National Association of Boat Manufacturers, and actively lobbied in Washington, D.C. to protect and promote the boating industry. His belief in growing the industry rather than trading market share led to his support of the industry’s initial “Grow Boating” campaign.
Bob’s sense of civic responsibility and belief in giving back to the community was evident in Godfrey Marine’s support of United Way, earning the company recognition as the largest per capita contributor to the local United Way chapter for many years. Since the sale of the company in 2005, Bob’s time and talents have shifted to numerous philanthropic endeavors, including serving as Chairman of the Elkhart County Community Foundation, Chairman of the IUSB Advisory Board and helping lead the campaign to build the IU South Bend Elkhart Center. In 2008 Bob received an honorary Doctor of Humane letters from Indiana University in recognition of his lifetime of community service.
Bob exhibits leadership in every endeavor, whether business or philanthropic. He is humble and generous, but the one word that most aptly describes Bob is “family.” His greatest joy is in spending time with his family, which now includes 17 grandchildren. His most enduring legacy is to treat everyone as if they were family—and to remember that it’s not where you start but where you finish. |
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