Severna Park, MD—The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) is pleased to announce that Brian Swanke has been elected by the membership to serve on the Board of Directors as a Trade member. He will begin his three-year term on January 1, 2020.
Swanke owns CWR Electronics, which is a major supplier of marine electronics to dealers and installers, headquartered in Bayville, NJ. Armed with a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry, Swanke began his career as a warehouse assistant for CWR in 1993. He was promoted to Vice President and then President/COO before buying the company several years ago. In 1999 Swanke was nominated to DealerScope’s top 40 executives under 40.
“I am very excited about being on the board for the NMEA,” said Swanke. “I think everyone on the board will bring strengths, talents and abilities to the organization. I am looking forward to diving in and helping with the vision and mission of the NMEA. From years of being at CWR I have worked in all aspects of the company from sweeping the floors, setting up trade shows to organizing large training events and diving into financial statements. I have a lot of knowledge that I think can help the NMEA. I look forward to networking and opening up new doors and opportunities for the NMEA and its members.”
Also elected to the Board of Directors were Steven Katz (Steve’s Marine Service, Dealer Member), as Chairperson, Brian Kane (GOST, Manufacturer Member) as Vice Chairperson, along with directors Paul Comyns (Intellian, Manufacturer Member), and Peter Braffitt (Gemeco, Trade Member).
The NMEA trade membership category represents roughly 270 companies across the USA, Canada, Europe, and the rest of the world. The trade membership is the largest and fastest growing NMEA membership category. NMEA trade members mainly include marine electronics distributors, installers, sales representatives, and trade schools. NMEA’s other membership categories are Dealer, Boat Builder, Manufacturer, and Associate, which gives NMEA the ability to represent the entire spectrum of the marine electronics industry.
NMEA President & Executive Director Mark Reedenauer said, “I want to congratulate Mr. Swanke on being elected by the NMEA membership to represent the trade members of NMEA. This is the largest and fastest growing category within the NMEA membership. Brian is very well respected within the industry and has the outreach to expose the benefits of NMEA to smaller companies, who may not know who we are or what the NMEA mission is.”