The boats sold at Debbie A. Wood’s business, Warwick-based Wood Boat and Motor Inc., only go in one direction at a time. But that is not the case for Wood, who is commonly multitasking, firing on all cylinders and managing multiple businesses stretched across different industries.
Because when you are president and co-owner of a boat sales and repair dealership with your husband, there’s no reason not to also own a jam company, realty company and seasonal wreath business.
And just in case she had a moment of downtime, Wood has now taken on the annual Rhode Island Boat Show. She said it wasn’t a project she went looking for, but when the previous organizers of what was then the Providence Boat Show decided in 2018 they weren’t going to run it after three decades, Wood saw no other option but to step in.
“We’ve always participated as an exhibitor in multiple boat shows,” she said. “When they decided they were going to concentrate on other things and the Ocean State was not going to have its boat show, I thought, ‘How do you own a dealership, live in the Ocean State and not have a boat show? This must mean I need to run this. There is no other answer.’ ”
Wood, a Smithfield resident, did not start out in any of the fields in which she now works. She was actually invested in another industry: banking.
For 27 years she was an employee of Citizens Bank. When offered early retirement, she started helping at the boat dealership, which her husband, Russell Wood, started in the 1990s. Now she handles sales, and her husband manages the service-related part of the company.
‘Mountains are made to be climbed. I worked to give [the R.I. Boat Show] new life.’
DEBBIE A. WOOD, Wood Boat and Motor Inc. president
The seasonal wreath and flower business came next. Blooming Buddies began as a way for the couple’s nonverbal, autistic adult son Jason to work. After he finished school, Debbie Wood said, there were not a lot of options in terms of opportunity.
“For me, it’s a no-brainer: He’s going to work, like I do. But securing work was probably one of the most difficult tasks,” she said. “The world just isn’t ready.”
With a goal of having Jason participate in the community socially and economically, the Woods focused not on what Jason couldn’t do, but what he could. Blooming Buddies was created in order for Jason to have a work environment where he could flourish.
“Blooming Buddies was kind of a test for the jam,” Wood said. “We needed a license but not a food license. During the holiday season, I was good at decorating wreaths. Jason would deliver and collect money with support. That grew into me being up until midnight making wreaths. But I like the challenge of deadlines.”
Now he works for We Be Jammin’, the Woods’ thriving year-round jam business, which has built a following at fairs and festivals, and packs orders and ships to customers. Jason and Debbie have staff members to help. The jars of jam are also made available to customers who come into Wood Boat and Motor.
The Woods’ realty company, RDJ Realty LLC, was formed to purchase the boat dealership building. Next up, she said: A building purchase for We Be Jammin’.
Wood is driven.
Calling herself a type-A personality, she said she isn’t afraid to take on new challenges, systematically seeking information (regulations for jam sales was a learning curve, for example, she said) and setting about to get tasks completed.
Before now, she had never run a jam company or realty company. So when she learned that the state’s boat show was in need of organization – having many contacts in the marine world – stepping in just came naturally. Wood sought information and reached out to venues.
One of the first things she did was change the date of the 2019 boat show, which had previously been held on Super Bowl weekend in February. She moved it to January. Planning began in August – for an event that usually takes a year to plan, she said.
“Mountains are made to be climbed. I worked to give it new life, start over, and get support of politicians and other marine-related businesses and dealerships,” Wood said. With lots of support and feedback from the boating community, the boat show continues.
The 2020 show at the R.I. Convention Center will feature a giveaway of a 17-foot boat, motor and trailer package, she said, the first such giveaway in the history of the boat show.
Banking taught Wood to be organized, she said, a skill that has served her well in her business endeavors. She is also not afraid to ask for help.
She encourages others to reach out and utilize resources available to them to accomplish business goals.
“All state agencies will help you … you have to be forthcoming and tell them what you are trying to do. There are many things that are free, [such as] the volunteers at [the American Association of Retired Persons]. You can’t buy the wisdom and experiences they have gone through,” she said. “Break it down into steps. If it’s 200 steps, do it!”
