Marine Dreams is owned by JVL Aquatics, a company started by Jamey and Laura MacArthur. The V stands for Vega, their loyal German Shepard. The company founders come from diverse backgrounds which have combined into a unique formula for success. Jamey is a graduate of Colorado State University, with a degree in Natural Resources. Laura is a graduate of Disney University and a master at customer relations. While in Colorado, a passion for Astronomy developed for Jamey. His senior year, he interned with a major telescope manufacturer and began working professionally designing large aperture telescopes for amateur astronomers.
During this tenure was when the salt water craze first bit Jamey, and he can even still show you his first book when you come into the store. He began keeping a small reef tank in 1995, and found he had a natural talent for keeping a small system. It was back during the 1990’s when Laura was recruited by the prestigious Disney University that she started into the hobby. Selected from thousands of applicants, she was one of the rare few granted a full scholarship and it was while she was working for Epcot the passion for saltwater aquariums began. You can tell today, she has that extra special something. She went on from Disney to work in the hotel industry, working as a regional manager for a major hotel for many years.
As a Bradenton native, it was natural for Jamey come back to family, and he moved back to Bradenton in 1998. With major experience on his resume, he went on to work for some medical device manufacturers in production and quality control for short time before moving onto a valve manufacturer as ISO9000 Coordinator and Quality Manager for several years. During this time he was also selected for a new reality TV show TLC was producing called Escape From Experiment Island. The show was a science based spin off from Junkyard Wars and was filmed in Scotland. Jamey was selected because of a unique combination of survival skills combined with design and fabrication talents. Contestants were put on a deserted island then given projects to construct in order to facilitate escape. Re-runs can still be seen today on Discovery Science channel. The professional background in Quality Control would later become invaluable with Marine Dreams.
After working several years in QC and seeing no shot in show business, Jamey changed careers and began working for a bank as a mortgage broker. It was this time that he met his future wife and business partner, Laura. Ironically, both Jamey and Laura were born in the same hospital, yet never managed to meet until then. The combination sparked a renewed interest in salt water as well because they both had kept saltwater tanks in the past. They began with a little nano tank and within six months they had four tanks. It went on like this for several years, until one day they saw the real estate bubble burst coming, and decided to become professionals. They began by working with a large “wholesale gone retail” operation in Apollo Beach Florida. The facility itself was very large, with over 40,000 gallons of saltwater. They eventually became owners and directors of the operation, making major implements like the QT system they use today. The facility is still in operation today, although much smaller now after relocating due to poor management.
After they left the first operation, Jamey and Laura hung out in limbo for a while, but with the news that their son, Max, was on his way, they decided to build Marine Dreams in the summer of 2006. Marine Dreams was to be Laura and Jamey’s vision of their ideal store. The idea was to create a place were people as a group can enjoy this hobby and be treated fairly. They wanted to build a store that could offer the best prices, and was focused on making the customer successful with the aquarium hobby. Today they have achieved that goal, and for the future, expect more stores to built as the philosophy takes root in the industry.