08/13/2026
Congratulations to Don Finkle, CPYB, RCR Yachts, 2026 Vin Petrella Chairman's Award Recipient! 🎉
The Chairman's Award was first presented in 2019 and renamed in 2020 for Vin Petrella, honoring him as the founding member and first chairman of the Certification Advisory Council. Recipients are individuals actively engaged in boating and sailing at the local, regional, or national level; who exemplify the professionalism, ethics, and business practices that define the CPYB certification; who actively promote the CPYB program; and who serve their community to help those in need.
This year's recipient is Don Finkle, CPYB, CEO of RCR Yachts, Inc. Don grew up in a sailing family and went full-time in the boating industry in 1971. He has been with RCR since its founding in 1972, became a partner in 1975, and took over as CEO in the late 1990s. He joined YBAA in 1986 and was elected to the YBAA board in 2012. Today RCR runs new boat sales and brokerage across five sales locations in Upstate New York and Western Pennsylvania in both sail and power — carrying Beneteau, Back Cove, Alerion, C&C Yachts, and J/Boats — along with two full-service boatyards and marinas.
Beyond the business, Don has served on numerous dealer advisory councils and industry volunteer positions, and has spent more than forty years in sailing event organization, youth sailing, regatta management, and yacht club and sailing association leadership. An active sailor and racer, he lives in Youngstown, New York with his wife Heather, and has three grown children and four grandchildren.
