MRAA announces full support of American Boating Congress

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas announced today that it is responding to an industrywide call for greater support of the American Boating Congress and will not only host a full board meeting at this year’s event and attend the event as one large group, but will also actively promote ABC to its members and encourage their participation.

ABC, to be held in Washington, D.C., on April 24-25, 2012, is a comprehensive legislative conference that brings together recreational boating industry leaders to discuss public policy, address members of Congress and present a unified front on issues that impact the recreational boating industry. One of the top-10, highest-ranked joint action proposals that came out of the recent industry summit in Chicago was that ABC should be expanded "to all boating segments, beyond manufacturers and get support and attendance from all areas.

"If all industry players, associations, dealers, came together,” the joint action proposal stated, "Congress would listen.”

"While individual MRAA board members and staff have participated in ABC over the years, this year will be much different,” says Matt Gruhn, president of the MRAA. "To show our support for the industry as well as the results of the Summit, we simply decided that we would support the event and everything it stands for as a united group and demonstrate to Congress, as well as our industry colleagues, that our industry stands together. And I’m proud to report that our board unanimously agreed to support this endeavor.”

As a co-host of ABC, MRAA will work closely with the National Marine Manufacturers Association to build an agenda that discusses state and federal regulatory issues affecting marine retailers. This agenda will provide insight into the status of key federal legislation, updates from experts on pending legislation, and first-hand knowledge as to the trends that will affect the marine industry.

"It’s extremely important to our businesses, to be aware of the issues and to fight for not only our own interests but also for the interests of our customers,” says Dave Foulkrod, chairman of the MRAA. "In our leadership position as the board for this national retailer association, it’s critical that we take a lead role in supporting the efforts of the American Boating Congress.”

MRAA will host a series of board meetings over the two days leading up to ABC, and will engage both its full board of 19 members and its Young Leaders Advisory Council, which includes 15 members, in the support of ABC.

About Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
Celebrating its 40^th anniversary in 2012, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is the only North American association dedicated to furthering the interests of boat and engine dealers and other marine-related retailers throughout North America. Under the umbrella of MRAA Rewards, the MRAA offers a host of cost-saving, revenue-generating, business-improvement, and professional-development benefits exclusively for its members. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com.