On August 5, 2012, the owners and employees of Carlisle & Bray Enterprises christened one of the company’s towboats as the Christine B at its Silver Grove fleeting operations in honor of Christine Bray, matriarch of the Bray Marine family.

Founded in March 2011, Carlisle & Bray Enterprises was created when Bray Marine, operated by the Bray family, merged with Greater Cincinnati Marine, operated by the Carlisle family.

Christine Bray and her husband, Bill, started Bray Marine in 1997 and operated the company with their family for 14 years before merging with Greater Cincinnati Marine. Greater Cincinnati Marine was started by Griffin Carlisle in 1966. Both the Bray and Carlisle families work together in the new company.

“We thought it was appropriate to christen one of the towboats in our fleet to honor our mother, who along with our dad, built Bray Marine from literally nothing into a thriving river business that today is part of the Carlisle & Bray family of companies,” said Chad W. Bray, chief operating officer for C&B Marine.

The Christine B — a 1200-horsepower, Tiger-class towboat built by Serodino, Inc. — is one of 16 towboats operated by C&B Marine. The company also has 50 barges, “multiple” deck floats for clamshell unloading, and several port and dock facilities. The company employs 125 employees.

Another towboat in the company’s fleet is named the Fran C in honor of Fran Carlisle, the mother of Robert W. Carlisle, president of C&B Marine, and wife of Wayne Carlisle.