Steve Vercellino has a lot of reasons to smile.
It could be the fact that his job affords him an opportunity to work near the beauty of Rend Lake on a daily basis in an industry he loves. It could be that his dream of retirement is near; or it could be the fact that Vercellino just received not one, but two of the highest awards in his industry.
For the past 20 years, Vercellino and is wife, Terry, have owned the Rend Lake Marina near Benton. In addition to a large showroom featuring a diverse inventory of Lowe fish boats and pontoons, Vercellino's business also offers a variety of services including slip rentals, covered storage, winterization/shrink-wrapping, and marine engine service. His Family Boating Center also makes Lowe pontoon and jon boat rentals available.
Lowe recently honored Vercellino for his company's outstanding sales and service. The awards came at the Lowe Boats' dealer meeting in late July at the Chateau on the Lake Resort & Convention Center in Branson, Missouri.
Vercellino was awarded the Million Dollar award and the President's Award. Although Rend Lake Marina is one of the smaller dealers, Vercellino managed to put his business into the company of much bigger dealers from across the U.S. and Canada. Much more prestigious, though, is the President's Award.
"We're proud to present this award to Steve Vercellino of Rend Lake Marina," said Lowe President Ben Cast. "Our dealers are our primary ambassadors in the field, and Rend Lake Marina demonstrated the very best in sales and customer service."
Vercellino said he was pleased about both awards, but the President's Award really demonstrates something he is most proud of, customer service.
"This award is based on our customer satisfaction rating," said Vercellino. "It really says something about our employees and the service we provide."
While Vercellino is thinking about retirement, even talking to a commercial realtor about selling the marina, he's not sure what the future will hold. "Terry says I'll be bored in a month," he said with a grin. "She's probably right. We'll see."
