Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/834717
www.BoatingIndustry.com INDUSTRY NEWS 8 | Boating Industry | July 2017 BY JONATHAN SWEET More than 250 individuals from the boating industry descended on Washington, D.C., May 15-17 for the 2017 edition of American Boating Congress, the industry's annual leg- islative conference. ABC 2017 featured a full three-day lineup of speakers, hill visits and networking events. This year, industry stakeholders took part in approximately 185 meetings with legislative and regulatory staff, more than ever before, said Nicole Vasilaros, NMMA's vice presi- dent of federal and legal affairs. Those meetings play a key role in advancing the industry's issues, making a bigger impact than NMMA's government relations staff can, Vasilaros said. ABC is organized by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and co-hosted by 25 organizations, including Boating Industry. The other co-hosts include American Sportfishing Association, Association of Marina Industries, BoatU.S., Boats Group, Center for Sportfishing Policy, Connecticut Marine Trades Association, International Yacht Brokers Association, Lake Erie Ma- rine Trades Association, Marine Industries Association of South Florida, Marine Re- tailers Association of the Americas, Ma- rine Trades Association of New Jersey, Michigan Boating Industries Association, National Marine Distributors Association, National Marine Lenders Association, National Safe Boating Council, National Yacht Broker Certification Program, Norman-Spencer Marine Insurance, Soundings Trade Only, States Or- ganization for Boating Access, The American Boat Builders and Repairers Association, The Boating Trade Asso- ciation of Metropolitan Houston, U.S. Super- yacht Association and the Yacht Brokers Association of America. "The American Boating Congress would like to thank all of our co-host organizations for their efforts in making this year's event such a success," said NMMA President Thom Dammrich. "With our co-hosts' help, ABC has evolved into the marine industry's premier political and legislative event, ef- fecting positive change in Washington for recreational boating." This year, the Connecticut Marine Trades Association received the ABC Co-Host Mar- keting Award, which each year recognizes an ABC co-host who promotes the conference through various marketing initiatives. "We're proud to bestow this year's Co- Host Marketing Award to the Connecticut Marine Trades Association," Dammrich said. "Their outstanding marketing efforts and achievements greatly contributed to rais- ing awareness of the 2017 American Boating Congress, building enthusiasm for boating advocacy and driving attendance to this year's conference." Grady-White Boats was also recognized at ABC with the BoatPAC Champions of Growth Award, for the company's efforts to promote BoatPAC, the industry's political action committee. Scott Deal of Maverick Boats received the inaugural Hammond Marine Industry Leadership Award. Dammrich presented the Boating delivers industry's message at ABC 2017