We Gave Your Family Our Best

by Heather Steinberger

All companies have an origin story, and in the marine industry, that story is likely intertwined with family history as well. That’s not uncommon at all in this business.

What is uncommon: Taking the time to compile all the memories, anecdotes, facts and figures, and then craft a written narrative that is so compelling, readers can’t stop turning the pages.

When John Winn, co-founder of Four Winns, first sat down to write a book about his family and the company they built together, he thought it might appeal to current and former employees and perhaps the local community in Cadillac, Michigan. He never imagined that “We Gave Your Family Our Best” would resonate far beyond those circles as, quite simply, a great American story.

Born in 1946, Winn grew up in Greenville, Michigan, in the heart of the Midwest. He and his two older brothers fell in love with boating as children, spending summers with their grandmother Ruby at her home on the Miami River near Hamilton, Ohio.

They started with a wooden rowboat and a canoe, but the throaty sounds from inboard engines at a nearby boat club proved to be a siren call. Winn says he would run down to the dock when he heard them, eager to see the sleek mahogany boats.

Did he ever think, in those days, that he might end up working with boats for a living? Winn chuckles.

“I knew it as a kid,” he says. “It’s all I ever wanted to do, all the way through school. I never thought about doing anything else.”

Winn’s grandmother bought the boys’ first powerboat, a used 1957 molded plywood Trojan runabout with a 40-hp Mercury outboard. Winn says he remembers everything about that day (and the beloved boat still hangs in his iconic Lake Charlevoix boathouse).

From there, the boats and engines got bigger. The boys learned more about how they were built and how they worked. They built and raced hydroplanes. And when Winn graduated from Western Michigan University, he set his sights on the boat companies.

After a stint as a sales associate for Starcraft, he and brother, Bill Jr., worked as sales reps for several small manufacturers — including Saf-T-Mate, a boat company in Cadillac. On August 27, 1975, he, his brothers and their father purchased the company from owner George Spicer.

“With that,” Winn writes, “the four of us were unemployed and self-employed.”

The four Winns dedicated themselves to growing and improving Saf-T-Mate. Wife and mother June, now 102, worked alongside them as the honorary fifth Winn.

Just three years into their journey, however, disaster struck. A chopper glass gun self-ignited, and the Winns lost all their manufacturing buildings, their offices and 70 boats in the fire.

While they were able to drag 30 completed boats out of the warehouse, this valiant effort damaged the hulls. They would all need to be repaired.

The Winns were bankrupt, no question about it. Yet no one wanted to throw in the towel.

“We talked about it and figured, none of us have jobs, so why not keep going?” Winn remembers. “My only hesitation was whether or not the company could financially support all of us. So we were conservative in the beginning. We took small salaries, we had working wives, and we communicated continually with banks, creditors, vendors. That’s how we survived.”

Personal sacrifices were part of the deal. Bill Sr. already had his net worth invested in the business. All three brothers got rid of their leased cars, opting to share their parents’ vehicles and putting new tires on a 1960 Plymouth Valiant that had come with the Saf-T-Mate purchase.

Winn also sold his lakefront home, which he had remodeled himself. He threw in his personal effects as well, everything except family photos and clothing.

“I no longer owned a fork, a plate, or a towel, but we now had $75,000 to put into the business,” he writes.

He and his wife moved into a 30-foot trailer surrounded by hay bales that they named the “Cando,” which would be home for the next three years.

“You did what you had to do in those days,” Winn says. “Being an entrepreneur has risks, and if you’re going to do it, it takes everything.”

In 1979, as part of their comeback, the Winns changed the company name to 4 Winns by Saf-T-Mate. They dropped Saf-T-Mate in 1980.

That same year, daunting new challenges reared their heads: A global oil crisis, a 10% luxury tax and a government threat to ban weekend boating. But, as they always had, the family pulled together, weathered the storm and continued to build their business.

In the 1980s, 4 Winns became Four Winns. It also became the third largest boat company in America, building 65 boats a day at its facilities in Cadillac and Texas.

Now 76 and retired, Winn says he misses the people the most. Not necessarily the business travel and trade shows, he acknowledges with a laugh, but the connections with the employees.

“I used to stay late and walk down the lines of the second shift so I could get a feel for what was really going on,” he recalls. “I wanted to talk to them and make sure everyone was happy. I’ve received unbelievable letters from them since the book came out. It’s heartwarming.

“I really do miss motivating people, building rapport, and being part of something where everyone is working for the good of the company,” he continues. “We had three generations at Four Winns, and we were friends with everyone. If one person had to stay, we all stayed, and we had a lot of fun. This is boating… it’s supposed to be fun.”

Over the years, the family created new programs and amenities to care for their employees and make sure their company was a great place to work. For example, they introduced a profit-sharing program and annual “State of the Company” event, which encouraged employees to be more efficient.

“There’s really no unselfish way to motivate people, and we knew profit sharing would be such an easy tool to help the employees understand the business,” Winn says.

They also hired a professional chef for an on-site, subsidized cafeteria. Not only did employees love the food, they took pride in it. In the book, Winn recalls being called out of an off-site meeting for an emergency back in Cadillac.

And it was quite an emergency. Apparently the Cadillac Chamber of Commerce had not given permission for the Four Winns chili recipe to be included in the annual Snow Festival chili cookoff. Winn made a call, the chamber approved the entry, and the cafeteria ended up winning the top prize.

Back then, Cadillac overflowed with locally owned companies. They are, Winn says, long gone.

“In those days, the local Chevy dealer would say, ‘You never have to ask how we’re doing… we’re doing how you’re doing!’” he remembers. “It was small town America. You had loyalty to your company and pride in your community.”

Although times certainly have changed, the old days come to vibrant life in “We Gave Your Family Our Best.” Readers will catch a glimpse of other companies’ origin stories, recognize familiar characters, and experience the myriad highs and lows of life in the boat business.

“The feedback has been a lot better than I anticipated,” Winn says. “Readers are telling me they laughed out loud. I didn’t mean to be funny; they’re just stories.”

Many of the stories are quite funny, however, and at the heart of them all is an enduring love and respect for family, colleagues, community and good old-fashioned hard work. Winn’s voice shines through every one.

“I write the way I talk,” he says. “I wouldn’t let the editors change my words. This is me.” ★

“We Gave Your Family Our Best” is available at Horizon Books in Cadillac and Traverse City, Michigan; Round Lake Books in Charlevoix, Michigan; and McLean and Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Michigan. It also is available through Amazon.