Five Questions for Lana Bernstein
Lana Bernstein last month made business pages when, after working at Ocean Drive magazine and Modern Luxury for over 20 years, she landed a major position as the Vice President Marketing of Informa’s U.S. Boat Shows. Informa is the largest global exhibitions company in the world and manages and produces the five major boat shows in Florida including the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the Miami Yacht Show, which in 2019 will move to just north of downtown Miami, The St Petersburg Power and Sail Show, The Palm Beach Boat Show and the Suncoast Boat Show in Sarasota.
We caught up with Bernstein and asked her 5 Questions, including her take on South Florida’s most luxurious hobby, the best in style, and of course her forever-progressing philanthropic footprint in this community.
What is the most glamourous aspect of a boat shows and the yachting community overall?
Boating as a hobby and sport is something that is very personal to each and every person who enjoys it – which is most people here in South Florida. From the yachtsman (and woman) who enjoy their personal time with family and friends, spoiled with the most delicious foods prepared by world-class yacht chefs, to finding the deepest nooks and crannies of the world that only personal vessels can locate, that is a fabulous luxury. There is also the avid sport fisherman who craves the open, crystal-blue waters and is on an ever-adventure of discovery. And there are the leisure boaters who really love the feeling of all the fun watersports, skipping along the beautiful Biscayne Bay, or cruising to dinner at some of our most amazing restaurants, boating has something for everyone. Personally, I absolutely love the beachside BBQ’s and delicious faire created by today’s sophisticated yacht chefs. I also love the new, modern resort-chic fashion, swim suits, cover-ups and chic accessories by Etro, Hayley Style, Ramy Brook, Taj and many others.
What is the most important impact on South Florida?
Most definitely the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and the upcoming Miami Yacht Show’s most important business attributes for South Florida are enormous economic impact to our region. With the myriad of jobs the shows create, hotel room nights, activity in restaurants and business transactions, it certainly is one of the regions’ top economic drivers.
Are there any backbones of yachting etiquette, as a guest or host?
(Because of the beautiful craftsmanship of the yachts, bare feet is the proper etiquette and of course, keeping in yachting style, a gorgeous pedicure. State of the art stabilizers on vessels of all shapes and sizes these days help to keep even a rough sea more like a dip in a jacuzzi so your champagne won’t spill.
Is there a philanthropic aspect to boat shows?
For each show there are a myriad of ways we benefit and raise awareness for local charity. Each of the five shows have different organizations we work with. For the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show we are offering buy-one-get-one-free tickets through Bennett Auto Supply which benefits Make-A-Wish of South Florida.
For which charity do you feel the most passion, personally?
I am proudly going on my third year as a mentor for the Women of Tomorrow Mentoring and Scholarship organization. I have served as a volunteer for Women of Tomorrow for over 20 years and have enjoyed working with the highschool girls to get them ready for college and really learned so much from them. I am also pleased to serve as the co-chair for the BreakThrough Miami Support-A-Scholar Gala taking place on Oct. 20. The work that BreakThrough has been able to accomplish, making sure that the most academically-brilliant, but underserved middle-schoolers in Miami’s leading college-prep high schools are served.
