By Logan Harle
Intern
The North Carolina Holiday Flotilla Committee held its first meeting on Monday, Jan. 25, where it reviewed last year’s success and began organizing new ideas for this year’s 33rd annual Thanksgiving weekend flotilla.
In 2015, the parade featured 23 boats, and members of the committee observed that the smallest boats made the biggest impression on the judges and viewers. Last year’s winner was Brent Jernigan’s 12-foot pontoon boat that was lit to look like a blue marlin. Committee members noted that some owners of larger boats felt it was unfair that the smaller boats were able to move about quickly and perform.
Committee chairman Pres Davenport said the board will review boaters’ input after the parade so they can prepare accordingly for next year.
“The single most important thing we can do is make sure the boaters themselves are pleased,” Davenport said.
Several members of the committee mentioned numerous captains returned year after year, noting that one, Bob Bleecker, has been in the competition for more than 20 years. But committee members said they were excited to see new boats and captains participate.
“We have a lot of boaters that come back every year. I would say it’s about 50/50 with new boaters and recurring boaters,” Davenport said. “There are about seven or 10 that do it every year and about the same amount for new entrants.”
Committee members rejoiced in how smoothly every event went during the weekend and how high the turnout was. The warm weather on that November night played a big role in attendance, Davenport noted.
“The weather was our hero this year,” he said. “And everyone on our team did an awesome job and it really showed.”
The number of sponsors was another factor in its success and committee members said they begin looking for sponsors about a year ahead of time. The flotilla usually attracts about 50 sponsorships from local businesses.
“Warm weather, happy boaters and sponsors are key,” said committee member Linda Brown.
One issue facing the committee is the size of the membership, which members said needed to grow in order to improve the experience next year.
“We hope to continue to grow our committee and recruit new boat entries for the parade,” Davenport said.
