Recognize the innovators shaping powersports! Categories: 40 Under 40, Women With Spark, Best in Class Dealerships. Winners will be honored at the 2026 Accelerate Conference in Orlando, Florida, January 18–20. We have extended the deadline for nominations in these categories until November 28, 2025.
40 Under 40 – Rising Talent
Past winners: Harrison Herron – Foothills Motorsports; Chris Maynor – Octane/Roadrunner Financial; George Houle – Dealer Spike; Juan Ramirez – California Custom Trailers & Powersports; Taylor Stone – Polaris of Gainesville; Trevor Messersmith – California Custom Trailers & Powersports; Andrew Mastracchio – Yamaha Motor Corporation USA; Clayton Cosby – Evansville Super Bike Shop; Landon McMath – DRT Motorsports; Julian Carlson – St. Paul Harley-Davidson; Alec Morefield – Slavens Racing; Jonathan Duke – America’s Motor Sports Rivergate; Kristie Schafer – Lube-Tech; Todd Skelton – Skelton’s Motorsports.
Women With Spark – Industry Leaders
Past winners: Chrystal Banz – Cycle Refinery; Scarlett Benchley – Skelton’s Motorsports; Teri Heldman – Synchrony; Marisa McInturff – RoadRunner Motorcycle Touring & Travel; Sam Stiles – Pro X Powersports; Ann Courtney Thomas – Joe Hill’s Powersports; Caitlyn Williams – Segway Powersports; Carrie Feinen – Torque Group; Erin Houser – Torque Group; Kelly Allain – American Road Group; Denise Kelley – Sporty Parts; Hope Lewis – Adventure Lifestyle Group; Angela Hierominus – Live Oak Dealer Service; Carrie Fodor – Brunswick Corporation; Fabia Ziegler – LeMans Corporation; Abby Sayo – Broward Motorsports; Amy Tyler – Jet City Harley-Davidson; Erika Domingues – Flemington Powersports; Martine Nuera – DX1; Ali Distel – Turn 14 Distribution; Kensey Edwards – Octane; Cyndi Hollock – Leadbelt Powersports; Brittanie Daigle – GN Gonzales; Marie Rice – Harley-Davidson of Danbury; Nicole Salem – New England Powersports; Alicia Halvorson – Jay’s Power Center; Jackie Lewis – Torque Group; Jackie Frenzel – Zero Motorcycles; Melissa Coffey – CATCH Strategy; Susan Medrano – Synchrony Outdoors.
Best in Class Dealerships
Past winners: Powersports of Greenville – F&I; Moritz Sport & Marine – Pre-Owned & New Unit Sales; Stahlman Powersports – F&I; Broward Motorsports of Miami – Employee Satisfaction; Stubbs Harley-Davidson – Riding Academy; Ken’s Sports Green Bay – Customer Satisfaction; Get Dirty Dirt Bikes – Marketing; Harley-Davidson of Carroll – Customer Satisfaction; Ducati Newport Beach – Customer Satisfaction; Young Powersports XL Centerville – Service, New Units, Community Service; Jay’s Power Center – F&I; Hayward Powersports – Customer Satisfaction Lakes Area Powersports – Customer Satisfaction; Simply Ride – Pre-Owned Units; Sky Powersports Sanford – Service Department.
Nominate today! Deadline: November 28, 2025. Self- and peer-nominations are encouraged. Celebrate the people and teams defining the future of powersports!
Dealership owners and executives, mark your calendars! Performance Brokerage Services is proud to return as both a Gold-level sponsor and an Elevate sponsor of the 2026 Powersports Business Accelerate Conference, taking place Jan. 18–20 in Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Florida.
Performance Brokerage Services, the nation’s highest-volume dealership brokerage firm — with more than 30 years of experience, nearly 900 dealerships sold, and a 90% closing rate — has been announced as both a Gold-level sponsor of the 2026 Powersports Business Accelerate Conference and a sponsor of Boating Industry’s Elevate Conference.
This flagship event brings together dealership leaders and industry professionals for three full days of education, innovation, and powerful networking. The agenda is packed with:
A dynamic Welcome Networking Reception kicking off the conference on Sunday evening.
Industry panels and Power Forum sessions tailored to dealership operations, growth, and retail innovation.
An interactive Power Forum Field Day for hands-on learning and product showcases.
Recognition dinners and award presentations spotlighting the Top 100 dealers (Boating Industry) and PSB Honors Award winners.
Thought leadership from the Women in the Power Trades Panel, breakout workshops, and dual closing sessions for both Accelerate and Elevate programming.
Broader access across Power Week’s three vertical tracks — Powersports, Marine, and OPE — to boost cross-industry synergy.
“Performance Brokerage Services is honored to elevate industry dialogue and deal activity at Accelerate 2026,” says Courtney Bernhard, partner in the Harley-Davidson and Powersports Division. “From succession planning to scale strategies, we’re eager to support dealers in navigating tomorrow’s opportunities.”
With over 30 years of experience and nearly 900 dealerships sold, Performance Brokerage Services is recognized as the highest-volume dealership brokerage firm in North America, maintaining a 90% closing rate built on ethical conduct, integrity, and transparency.
Power Week takes place Jan. 18–20, 2026, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, part of Orlando. The Accelerate Conference is uniquely designed for powersports industry leaders — owners, principals, GMs, and managers across the U.S. and Canada — to explore actionable dealer strategies, retail growth, and business profitability via seminars, roundtables, and peer networking.
Performance Brokerage Services and other sponsors benefit from the year-round marketing cycle included in the sponsorship package. Dealers and industry partners interested in joining the only dealer-focused conference on the calendar can reach out to Mark Rosacker at mrosacker@epgacceleration.com for sponsorship opportunities.
At the upcoming Powersports Business Accelerate Conference, attendees will have the opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills in a session designed to tackle one of today’s toughest challenges: employee engagement and retention.
On Wednesday, January 20, industry consultant Matt Heller, founder of Performance Optimist Consulting, will lead a general session titled “Power Up Your Workplace Culture.”
The interactive session will focus on how dealers and managers can:
Heller promises a fun, upbeat, and hands-on session, using activities and discussion to make concepts stick and help dealers apply them immediately in their stores.
Who is Matt Heller?
Matt Heller brings over 20 years of leadership and HR experience, including stints at Canobie Lake Park, Cedar Fair, and Universal Orlando Resort. Since launching Performance Optimist Consulting in 2011, he has delivered keynote addresses, workshops, and executive coaching to leaders across various industries. He’s also the author of “The Myth of Employee Burnout” and “ALL CLEAR! A Practical Guide for First Time Leaders” and co-hosts the “AttractionPros” leadership podcast.
For dealers facing ongoing staffing and retention challenges, this session offers practical takeaways to strengthen workplace culture and keep top talent engaged.
3 Key reasons to attend:
About the Accelerate Conference
The Powersports Business Accelerate Conference is the industry’s premier dealer-focused event, designed to help powersports retailers grow, lead, and succeed in today’s evolving marketplace. Through a mix of general sessions, breakout discussions, and networking opportunities, Accelerate delivers actionable strategies on leadership, operations, sales, marketing, and employee development.
The results are in, and the people have spoken — for the third year in a row, Simply Ride has won gold in the Star Tribune’s 2025 Readers’ Choice award for Minnesota’s Best motorcycle dealership.
Simply Ride — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year — is the largest dealer and buyer of pre-owned motorcycles in Minnesota, carrying all makes and models. It also recently became a Yamaha dealer, carrying new Yamaha motorcycles, ATVs, and side-by-sides.
Minnesota’s Best is an annual, audience-driven contest put on by the Minnesota Star Tribune, where readers nominate and vote on their favorite local businesses. This year’s win marks Simply Ride’s third gold medal in a row.
As one of the largest and most recognizable motorcycle dealers in the state, general manager Tim Hammond says Simply Ride tries to stay in the public eye, and accepting awards keeps the dealership in the spotlight. In addition to being recognized three straight years by its community as the state’s top bike shop, it’s also been honored within the industry, including a two-time Powersports Business Best in Class award winner.
“It’s nice to be well-known in the powersports community. But consumers are the ones buying bikes. So being voted No. 1 motorcycle dealership, in my opinion, means a bit more,” Hammond says. “That’s the best kind of advertising. Word of mouth.”
Not just customers, but also Simply Ride employees nominate and vote, which speaks strongly to employee satisfaction, something Hammond says is the heart of Simply Ride’s success. The positive atmosphere is contagious and carries over to the customer, creating a climate conducive to successful selling.
One way Simply Ride gauges the overall temperature of the store’s environment is through bi-weekly surveys. These anonymous surveys are handed out to each department, allowing staff to speak freely, helping management know what levers to pull to keep employees — and ultimately customers — happy.
“We want people who want to work here,” says Hammond, who admits that the line separating employees from customers is often blurred. “I would say half of our employees are previous customers … Actually, the entire sales team are all previous customers.”
Hammond says the dealership will continue to go for more Readers’ Choice awards, saying the most difficult thing with winning is keeping the news a secret until publication.
“The hardest part is not letting everyone know the hard work paid off. But once you get to share the announcement, it’s a really great feeling,” adding that the dealership wants to continue stacking awards. “Let’s see how many we can get. We’re trying to break the record.”
Powersports Business’s Accelerate Conference will feature a session designed to help dealership owners plan for one of the most critical phases of their business lifecycle: succession and exit.
The Morgan Stanley Stanek Haack Group will lead a general session titled “Securing Your Legacy: How to Maximize the Value of Your Business and Build Your Exit Roadmap.” The presentation will focus on strategies dealers can use to understand the true value of their business and prepare for a successful transition—whether that’s a sale, succession, or other long-term plan.
Building a dealership takes grit, vision, and resilience, but for many owners, the majority of their wealth is tied directly to the business. According to the Exit Planning Institute, as much as 80–90 percent of a small business owner’s net worth is concentrated in their company and its real estate. Too often, owners only get a clear picture of that value when they’re already facing a transition, which can limit their options.
The session will give attendees insights on how to:
For dealers thinking about the future, or even those just starting to consider their long-term plans, Morgan Stanley Stanek Haack Group’s expertise aims to provide clarity and actionable strategies to ensure your hard work continues to pay dividends well beyond the showroom floor.
Key insights:
Tip: Start planning sooner rather than later; early preparation can make a significant difference in your exit outcomes.
Accelerate only three months away!
Powersports dealers are invited to join industry leaders in Orlando for the annual Accelerate Conference — three days of strategy, education, and networking designed to help your business grow. Powersports dealers will benefit from a dedicated track of sessions and dealer-focused programming, plus the chance to connect across industries. Register now to secure your spot in Orlando!