The Roanoker - May/June 2014 - 89

COURTESY BRIDEGWATER MARINA

WANYE SKRANK

Bridgewater Marina has built a sense of family and community involvement both at its facilities and around the lake as a whole.

BRIDGEWATER MARINA: 25 YEARS OF FUN, SAFETY AND COMMUNITY INVOLVMENT
The owners of Bridgewater Marina and Boat
Rentals are celebrating an important milestone for their popular Smith Mountain Lake
business, which for many, has become a staple
of the lake community.
Since its opening 25 years ago, the marina
has become a place where the same lake visitors and locals flock each year to rent watercraft. In fact, the grandchildren of regular
customers now rent equipment at the marina.
Ed and Greg Waters opened the business in
1989 at Bridgewater Plaza in Franklin County.
Several years later, Roy Enslow, general manager, became co-owner of the marina, when
Greg Waters got out of the business.
The marina still rents boats, water skis,
wakeboards and an array of other watercraft
equipment, with pontoon boats being the
most popular rentals, Enslow says. But the
business has expanded with two additional
lake locations.
In the early through the mid 1990s, Bridgewater owners opened marinas in Moneta and
Huddleston, which operate seasonally during
the warm weather months.
One is Bernard's Boat Rentals at Bernard's
Landing in Moneta, and the other is State
THE

R OANOKER.COM

Park Boat Rentals, located on the beach at
Smith Mountain Lake State Park in Huddleston.
The Bridgewater marina remains the business' hub, and Enslow has built a strong reputation for water safety. In 2011, he received
the Governor's Transportation Safety Award
for Water Safety, an award rarely given to a
business person. Enslow was recognized for
his work to improve safety on the lake's water
through his work at the marina.
That includes his efforts to communicate
regularly with game wardens, the U.S. Coast
Guard, fire departments and other emergency personnel so that "we make sure we cater
our [water safety] education to our renters,"
Enslow says.
He also started a popular program, called
Lifesavers for Lifejackets, to encourage children to wear lifejackets that fit properly.
When children come to the marina wearing
lifejackets correctly, Enslow rewards them
with Lifesaver candy.
Other efforts include creating safety videos for the marina's website and requiring
in-depth training for employees.
"He has taken this to great levels in so

far as making sure his boats are always in
impeccable condition," says Vicki Gardner,
executive director of the Smith Mountain
Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce. "Everything about that business is just done at
the top level."
Enslow is chairman of the chamber's board.
The marina's many former employees are
an important part of its history and longtime
success, Enslow says. For many who are high
school and college students, the marina is the
site of their first job.
On the weekend of June 7-8, the marina
will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a host
of events, including entertainment and a visit
by professional knee boarders. One of the
premier events will be a reunion for its past
and current employees on June 7. As many
as 600 are invited, Enslow says.
On a recent March afternoon, he interviewed a new crop of employees for the 2014
summer season.
"I enjoy the interaction, seeing the young
adults that come through here, to see where
they've gone on in life, knowing and hoping that we've been a part of that," Enslow
says. -JKB
MAY/JUNE 2014

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