SMITH’S HILL CREEK MARINA

Open since 1986, Smith’s Hill Creek Marina has grown by leaps and bounds in its nearly 30 years of existence. What started as a 55-stall boat dock when owner Pauline Smith opened the business has grown to a 200-stall marina with a store that spans 2,500 square feet and carries everything from food, camping supplies and boat supplies to what Smith said are “all kinds of fun toys.” Taking care of customers is job No. 1 for Smith and her employees. “You don’t have a business if you don’t have a good relationship with the customers,” Smith said. “I have met people from all over the world and have made friends with a lot of them.” With product lines such as Body Glove, Airhead, Stearns and HydroSlide, Smith’s Hill Creek Marina has what just about any boater needs to have a great time on the lake. She teaches her employees to be helpful and friendly. Smith said she wants customers to leave “happy, and glad they came.”

Smith’s Hillcreek Marina has grown steadily in the nearly three decades it has been open. Owner Pauline Smith said customer service has been the key to the business’s success.