Alan J. Freedman Memorial Leadership Award
Recipients of the NMMA Freedman Award are individuals who, in the course of their careers, have made outstanding contributions to the marine accessories industry through leadership, creativity, and personal motivation. The following are the categories for consideration:
• Marine aftermarket or OEM manufacturer
• Marine representative
• Member of a marine-focused media
• Boat dealer
• Marine distributor
• Marine trade association staff person
NOMINATION PROCESS
Nominations to the 2026 awards program are open through December 4, 2025.
To nominate a worthy industry leader:
- Nominators must belong to a member company and be in good standing with NMMA.
- Submit the official nomination form.
- Submit supporting material to enhance the nomination. Supporting material includes, but not limited to; an enhanced career timeline and accomplishments, articles about the nominee and letters of support. Supporting materials should be received digitally through the provided file share link by December 5, 2025.
Nominators will be notified of award status in January 2026.
AWARDS PRESENTATION
The 2026 Alan J. Freedman Award will be presented during the Miami Industry Breakfast at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Tickets are required for entry.
QUESTIONS
Contact: Rachel Harmon
Email: [email protected]
AWARD RECIPIENTS
2026: Ken Hey, Sunstream
Ken Hey
For almost 30 years, Ken Hey of Sunstream has been on a mission to make boating live up to the fantasy of boat ownership that one has before buying a boat: To effortlessly use your boat like your car, and boat more often with more fun. His vision and multiple breakthrough products have transformed the boat lift industry and has created the industry’s largest boat lift company.
In 1996, Hey created the first freestanding hydraulic boat lift and founded Sunstream. The innovation continued with the first hydraulic floating boat lift in 2001, then the first automatic boat cover in 2016. Sunstream is a multiple winner of NMMA’s Innovation Award and a seven-time winner of Boating Industry’s Top Products. Hey has been honored for his business leadership with the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the Edison Award for Innovation and the Inc500, Marine Industry Magazine Bold moves and much more. Recently, he was elected to the National Marine Manufacturers Association's Marine Accessory and Components Division Board of Directors.
As an avid lifelong boater, 100-ton USCG captain, busy business executive and family man, Hey is intimately familiar with everything that consumers want and need to make boating more fun and accessible in today’s fast-paced world. After earning a BS and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, and an MBA from University of Washington Hey spent a decade working in the aerospace industry, inventing fail-safe engine mount systems that are still in production today which fixed the engine departing issue, and won Boeing’s prestigious Top Patent of the Year, twice. This background in structures, hydraulics and advanced engineering, coupled with Hey’s love of boating, inspired him to bring breakthrough designs to the marine industry for almost 30 years with over 20 patents. In fact, the concept of adopting hydraulics, solar power and remote-control technology was born out of Hey’s desire to use his own boat like his car: taking it out for short, hassle-free stints on the water to unwind before and after a busy day of work at Boeing.
After moving onto the water in his 20’s, he began his next chapter when he was frustrated that the current portable boat lifts were slow, ugly, and preventing him from living the boating lifestyle he was expecting. To fix this, Hey invented the world’s first hydraulic boat lift, the SunLift, which shifted the paradigm in free-standing boat lifts from cable or water to hydraulic, which is now recognized as the standard in portable boat lifts. He then expanded effortless boating to all markets, inventing the world’s first hydraulic floating lift, the FloatLift. This transformed the free-floating boat lift market which was slow and ugly to high-speed, attractive, foam-filled, unsinkable hydraulic lifts, versus the traditional air-filled lifts of the day. The robustness, performance and reliability of the FloatLift has led to its use by the USCG, US Navy and first responders worldwide.
While he loved his highspeed hydraulic lifts, Hey was confronted by another problem to solve: he was always bothered by his two covers with 74 snaps that he had to put on when returning from a great day of boating. This inspired him to invent the world’s first automatic boat cover system, the SwiftShield. It gave protection all the way to the waterline, with the ultimate push-button convenience that completed the vision of using a boat like a car. The need for mass-customization led to the development of digital boat covers, 3D measured with an iPhone, with the cover designed in CAD, and digitally cut, leading to unprecedented short lead times for custom covers, and incredible fit.
As smartphones began to dominate the market, Hey created the first smartphone app to control a marine product via WiFi, which garnered his first Boating Industry Top Product nod in 2008. He then adapted this technology to Bluetooth for added range and convenience.
In 2021, he invented the first zero water depth free-standing lift, the SunLift X, which allows boaters to install their Sunstream boat lift almost anywhere. At the 2021 Miami International Boat Show, the SunLift X was recognized with an Innovation Award in the Docking and Fendering Equipment category. Refusing to rest on his laurels, he has been hard at work inventing new products.
In 2023, Hey completely revolutionized cable boat lifts and waterfront properties forever. Hey led his team to develop the first in a new range of cable boat lifts, the Sunstream Helix line, the new Helix-P piling lift. Like his original vision for portable boat lifts, Hey sees the same opportunity in the piling lift market, which is also slow and ugly. Helix-P has unprecedented hydraulic speed (up to 12x faster) and its sleek hidden structure makes for easier boarding, reduced noise and launching and lifting speeds as fast as 15 seconds. Helix combines computer, cell phone and electric car technology to create the highest performing, smartest, fastest, most reliable and safest lift every created – using low amp 110v or solar vs 220V. The Helix-P was selected as one of Boating Industry’s 2023 Top Products and Honorable Mention for the IBEX 2023 Innovation Awards.
In 2025, Hey led his team to break the mold yet again, with the Sunstream LiftBar, which is enabling his “Dock of the Future” vision. – a first-of-its-kind boat lift, incorporating an ultra-reliable and compact screw jack-based lifting mechanism that is all housed in one tube. It delivers high speed, a hidden structure, no sway, increased reliability and enhanced submergibility.
Due to the simplicity and reliability, the LiftBar is now the key for his vision for incorporating the lift into floating fingers of marinas that double the marina owner’s profit and incorporate an invisible lift into fixed docks for a modern, clean look with unprecedented performance. Yet again, this innovation was recognized by the industry with the LiftBar selected as one of Boating Industry’s 2025 Top Products and winner of the 2025 Miami International Boat Show Innovation Award in the Docking and Fendering Equipment category.