This past Saturday, on June 13th, we held our Demo Day here in Farmville, Va. It was a kayaking explosion. It is the one day out of the year when you can see and paddle almost any kayak, canoe, SUP, etc in the paddle-sports industry. All the vendors we stock show up on the island at Wilck's Lake Park and bring all their greatest products for you to test out. It's a heck of a good time.

 

This year the weather was toasty warm, the skies were blue and the water was calm. Well, until the storms showed up around 3pm. Apologizes to everyone who missed their chance to Demo, but when lightening strikes and thunder rumbles, boats come off the water. From gate open at 9am until the afternoon storm, Wilck's Lake was hopping with psyched paddlers.

Once again we had some of the finest folks in the paddle-sports industry, from National sales Managers to Pro Staff, on hand to help educate and facilitate. There were so many excellent ambassadors to our industry present on the island. We'd like to send a big thank you to everyone who came and represented their brands with such exuberance and professionalism. You guys and gals truly rocked it!

Sales Managers, Reps., and Pro Staff:

Cliff Earle - Rep. Eddyline Kayaks, Elie Kayaks,  Bending Branches Paddles, Aqua-Bound Paddles, Stohlquist PFD

Greg Franklin - Rep. Ocean Kayak, Old Town Canoes & Kayak

Jim Goodrich - Rep. Malone Racks

Lee Williams- Pro Staff Kayak Angler- Ocean Kayak, Old Town Canoe & Kayak

Kayak Kevin Whitley - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Ocean Kayak, Old Town Canoe & Kayak, Aqua-Bound Paddles

Rob Choi - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Ocean Kayak, Old Town Canoe & Kayak, Werner Paddles

Dinver McClure -Rep. Feelfree Kayaks

Joel Boueres - Rep. Feelfree Kayaks

Dave Blanding - Rep. Jackson Kayak

Jameson Redding - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Jackson Kayak, Bending Branches Paddles

Megan Kieninger - Rep. Werner Paddles

Drew Camp - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Jackson Kayak, Werner Paddles

Chip Camp - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Werner Paddles

William Ragulsky - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Hurricane Kayaks, Astral, Werner Paddles

Steve Jordan - Pres. Hurricane Kayaks

Jon Stewart - Rep. Hurricane Kayaks

Andrew Moczygemba - National Sales Manager Railblaza USA

Clay Hardin - Rep. Native Watercraft, Thule Racks

Bradley Scott - Rep. Native Watercraft, Thule

Mark and Kris Lozier - Pro Staff Kayak Anglers - Native Watercraft, Astral, Werner Paddles

Edward Crumb - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Native Watercraft

Spencer Cooke - Rep. Astral, Cannon Paddles, Accent Paddles

Yonton Mehler - VP Operations - Astral

Chuck Morris - Rep. Confluence Outdoor- Wilderness Systems, Dagger Kayaks, WaveSport Kayaks, Perception Kayaks

Lila Menzies - Rep. Confluence Outdoor, At Paddles

Ben Lawry - Confluence Outdoors National Technical Instructor

Aaron Dryden - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Wilderness Systems, AT Paddles

Jay Brooks - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Wilderness Systems, AT Paddles

Ray Montes - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Wilderness Systems

Michael Garrett - Rep Hobie Kayaks

Chuck Wrenn - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Hobie Fishing

Grant Alvis - Pro Staff Kayak Angler - Hobie Fishing

Brian Day - Head of US Sales - Pyranha Kayaks

Harry Longerbeam - National Sales Manager- Point 65 Kayaks

Luther Cifers - Pres. Yak Attack

John Hipsher - Sales and Marketing - Yak Attack

Justin Sams - Rep. BIC SUP

Ben Moore - Pro Staff SUP - BIC SUP, Werner Paddles

Casi Cincotta Rynkowski - BIC SUP Ambassador, Fitness

Thomas Fleming - Pres. Diablo Paddlesports

Jay Korbell - Pres. Diablo Paddlesports

Seth Goodrich - TKAA Board Member

Dan Williams - Rep. Yakima Racks

We'd also like to extend a big thank you to all the volunteers who stepped up and helped out. Long time members of the family like Bo Tucker, Scott Keaton, Elizabeth McBride etc came out and really played integral roles, helping make the day a success.

Big props go out to all the ARC Family on the island, Tom D., Mary, Sara D., Sara M., and Vic. From the organizing of the event to the execution, this is a giant undertaking and everyone rocked it!

We'd also like to acknowledge the backbone of the whole event, the crew. The ARC Family in Farmville works hard for weeks leading up to this day, unloading and loading truck loads of boats, sweating it out day after day. On Demo Day this crew is joined by staff members from the other ARC stores and together they bust their tails loading kayaks, selling kayaks and installing racks, etc. Customer service has always been our focus and our guys and gals on the front lines embody that ethos. High fives and big props all around. You guys and gals crushed it!

Thank You to Sterling, Chris, Brian G, Coltin, Brian VS, Spencer, Al, Reggie, Daniel, Andrea, Hallie, Blake, and Kyle.

So, how did it all go? Well, it was a record breaking year in every facet. Over 800+ people visited the island to Demo boats,etc. And while we measure a great deal of the success of this event by the smiles we see on people's faces, it was also a record sales day, and that makes us pretty happy too. ;)

A Big Thank You to everyone who came out to our Big Demo Day. Without your patronage there would be no event. Your interest and psyche make it happen. We'll be back next year, bigger and better, so keep the second Saturday in June clear on your calendar.

Find more photos from Demo Day on our Facebook Page here.

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Post - Demo Day Kayak Fishing:

I look forward to my post- Demo Day paddle. I had another good bass day this year.

I got to try out the new Wilderness Systems ATAK Fishing Kayak after Demo Day. I took it out for a while on Monday. I'll be posting a review in the coming weeks. First impression is definitely favorable, and the bass seemed to like it. Here are a few shots. The ATAK is very stable and has pretty good hull speed. It was a beautiful evening on Briery Creek Lake.