ABOUT US AT BUNCH MARINE

In 1962, Roy Bunch started Bunch Marine, a small business primarily focused on servicing boats and motors, while also keeping a few fishing boats on hand for purchase. Curtis Bunch, Roy’s grandson, started working alongside his papaw at the early age of 12 years old making a whopping $10 a day. He was excited about the business, and at age 16, after diligently working to increase his knowledge and improve his customer service skills, he was ordering all parts and accessories, waiting on as many customers as he could and fully running the show!

Fast forward to the late 1970’s — the marine business was in the middle of a dip due to an unfortunate recession. However, Curtis didn’t let that get in the way of progressing the business. In 1980, after an old-time banker took a risk on him and loaned him $20,000, he officially purchased Bunch Marine from his papaw and became owner. It took a few years, but as the economy rebounded, the business significantly expanded. Bunch Marine was back on the up-and-up! They were able to add more employees and widen the spectrum of boats they offered, adding in family and recreational boats. They were also able to add onto their service department with the expansion of a 14,000 square foot workshop, and today they house over 100 boats between their two showrooms.

As the years successfully passed, Curtis’ wife, Shelia, was there, too. She supported Curtis and the business day-in and day-out, serving as a very important part of all decisions that were made along the way. Then some 14 years ago, Shelia became the owner and promoter for The East TN Fishing Show, the biggest fishing event in the South. She has since started yet another fishing show, The Alabama Fishing Show & Expo and even an actual television show called The Outdoor Showcase, which promotes other outdoor-related businesses.

And the Bunch family doesn’t stop there!

As two of their sons, Daniel and Michael, were growing up, they fell right into place within the business. They helped out after school and on Saturdays, doing odd jobs and soaking in the knowledge of running a family business in the same way Curtis had learned from his papaw. Then in 1997, Curtis’ daughter, Riley, was born and essentially grew up in the marine business. Daniel passed away in 2004, but Michael and Riley have continued within the family business, passionately working towards continuing their brother’s and their family’s passions and legacies. And even though not in the marine business, their two other children are very successfully working their own jobs — Steven, an engineer, and Dustin, who works for Raytheon.

When looking back through the years of Bunch Marine, Curtis and his crew have had to jump over multiple hurdles — a recession in the 1980s, the recession in ‘07-’09, a worldwide pandemic, inflation and rising interest rates, and within this past year, an injury to Curtis’ spinal cord. However, despite the ebbs and flows, Bunch Marine has continued to grow. And when we asked Curtis “how?”, he answered with the following — “Just be good to people!” As he’s taken an ever-so-slight step back, he’s instilled in Michael and Riley that when doing business, you have to say what you mean and mean what you say. If in a conversation with a customer you promise to check on a part and then give them a call at a later time, you better be making that call in a few hours! Operating a business in this way results in repeat customers, new customers coming in after a word-of-mouth recommendation, a respectable reputation, and in Bunch Marine’s case, it’s resulted in becoming one of the largest boat dealers in the Southeast.

In closing, Curtis wanted us to make sure we expressed the gratitude he has for his family, his very special friends and of course, all of his customers over the years. He’s still very much a part of the business decisions, but he’s excited to see Michael and Riley take the business to the next level of success.