About Us
Humble Beginnings
In 1962, Ted and Monica Johnson, and 16 yr. old son, Jerry, bought the fuel dock and rental boat business on the Intercoastal Waterway in Pompano Beach. Very simply, they always said they wanted to be sure they always treated their customers the way they wanted to be treated. The family worked the business together, forging a name for themselves in the waterside community.
Accelerated Growth & New Additions to the Family
In 1979, PBMC took on Grady-White Boats and the business grew more. This began a terrific partnership that became the cornerstone of success for PBMC into the coming decades. 1988 ushered in a new happy chapter at Pompano Beach Marine Center, when Jerry married June Burkert and added two wonderful children, Jill and Jon, as part of his new family. The next big change came in 1990 as PBMC became a full-line Yamaha dealer.
Pompano Beach Marine Center began winning awards for their Sales and Service achievements with Grady-White Boats and Yamaha. For 4 consecutive years, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997, PMBC was presented the Gold Anchor Award for Sales Achievement—the highest sales for the entire Grady-White dealer network around the world. In 1998, they were inducted into the Admiral’s Circle which awards Grady-White dealers who maintain high sales volume but also have the highest Customer Satisfaction scores, maintaining an average of over 9.5 on their annual One Year Owner Satisfaction Surveys. Since that time, PBMC has been a member of this prestigious group for 20 years as of the 2019 Model Year.
PBMC won the Gold Anchor Award for Customer Satisfaction in 2008, and again won the Gold Anchor Award for Sales in 2011.
The Next Generation On Board
PBMC still continues as a family-run business. As teenagers, both Jill and Jon worked at the dealership. Jill recounts that she started working helping out in 1989 at age 15, and Jon quickly chimes in that he was only 14 when he started working at the dealership in 1993.Jill earned her Associates Degree and in addition, attended University of Central Florida, but returned full time to PBMC in 1996 to run the day to day very busy parts business, which she still manages today. Jill also loves being fully involved with the South Florida Grady-White Club activities, helping to plan the gatherings and trips that are so important to their customers.
Since 1995, Jon has been full time at Pompano Beach Marine Center. He is an integral part of the business at PBMC. On any given day, he could be doing a boat demo, fixing an engine, or helping a new couple on their first day with their new Grady-White boat. He might be wearing the General Manager hat and supervising some work being done at the marina, or leading the South Florida Grady-White Club on an adventure.Jerry is still working hard and smart at Pompano Beach Marine Center, managing things in his quiet unassuming way, maybe a little more behind the scenes than he used to. He and June still make the run up I-95 to pick up boats at the Grady-White factory and enjoy time together talking and planning. Today, all of them are still working and still holding true to their founding belief in treating customers like they themselves want to be treated.