Rinker Boat marks the return of a Rinker dealership to the Syracuse and Lake Wawasee area.Rinker Watersports is a soon-to-be-launched specialty boat dealership. Shown are Kim Slocum, president and general manager of Rinker Boat Company; John Rinker, co-founder of Rinkerbuilt, now Rinker Boat Company; Randy and Lisa Rinker, co-owners of Rinker Watersports and Rod Mast, Rinker Boat Company Plant 1 and Engineering manager. Not shown is Mark Mast, plant manager. (Photo by Deb Patterson)
SYRACUSE — Since 1945, the Rinker name has been synonymous with boat lovers. In the beginning the Rinker Boat Company, then Rinkerbuilt, was founded by a family with a passion for life on the water — people who brought that passion to work with them every day and made boating their life’s work. Their shared drive and desire to build something better worked its way down, from their hearts to their hands, and into every boat they made. They dreamt of something more and went to work making those dreams a reality.
So the Rinker story grew, establishing itself as a name that stood for something different — boats for boat lovers. And as they grew, they brought with them the same original values that separated Rinker from the crowd — a dedication to innovation and a desire to provide unprecedented value to boaters everywhere. All this became reality, from a family name and a small town nestled on the shores of Lake Wawasee.
And now there’s another chapter of that story to tell.
Today the Rinker dream lives on, not just through the resurgent growth of the Rinker Boat Company, but in the forthcoming Rinker Watersports, a soon-to-be-launched specialty boat dealership in Syracuse, bringing a Rinker dealer to the area once more. The owners? Randy and Lisa Rinker, custodians of a family legacy of making life on the water better.
“After a multifaceted career with the Rinker Boat Company I’m so pleased to once more be involved with the company and the Rinker legacy,” said Randy Rinker, owner of Rinker Watersports. “I’m excited to share my in-depth knowledge of these boats with customers throughout the region, showcase a product made in our own backyard and continue in a family passion.”
The new dealership will, like everything else Rinker, call Syracuse and Lake Wawasee home and continue a year of renaissance for the Rinker legacy—currently spearheaded by the Rinker Boat Company, once more under the leadership of returning President and General Manager Kim Slocum.
“I’ve known John Rinker since I began here in 1973 and I couldn’t be more proud to carry on that legacy,” said Slocum. “I’m looking forward to working with Randy and Lisa Rinker to extend that legacy to customers in Northern Indiana once more.”
The new dealership will not only provide members of the Syracuse and Northern Indiana the opportunity to once more purchase a product made in their hometown but showcase the hard work of Rinker employees. All of that, backed by the trusted Rinker name—one that’s proven its value time and time again to the citizens of the city and the region.
“It will be good to see the Rinker name once more front and center in the community,” said John Rinker, an original co-founder of the Rinker Boat Company. “This city, this region, means so much to our family to the Rinker Boat Company and now to Rinker Watersports. This is home and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s still to come.”
And while the Rinker name may already be associated with value and a well-made product, it also stands for much more for the people of Syracuse and Kosciusko County. It shows what can be achieved through hard work, determination and a vision, not just by Rinker but by the community.
“Ultimately, we don’t just want to sell boats,” continued Randy. “We want to showcase the quality of a product made right here in our town. Just as with the Rinker Boat Company, I encourage everyone to reach out, stop by, grow familiar with Rinker Watersports and see why both are the kind of company that makes a difference.”
Rinker Watersports will never be just another dealership for Syracuse and Lake Wawasee; it stands as a continuation, not just for the Rinker family, but also for a community that lives on the water, that builds better and that believes in a better way.
Rinker Watersports, located at 8142 E. Hatchery Road, Syracuse, on the south end of Lake Wawasee, and is an authorized Rinker dealer, as well as an authorized Mercury Mercruiser dealer and service center and can be reached at (574) 518-1574.