National Marina Day participation up 30 percent

WASHINGTON – The Marina Operators Association of America has reported a 30-percent increase in program participation for the third annual National Marina Day – to be held Saturday Aug. 14, according to a MOAA release yesterday.

As of May 11, MOAA – which produces the annual celebration of America’s marinas – had pre-registered 206 marina facilities to participate in National Marina Day 2004. Last year, 158 marinas participated in the program, MOAA said.

Stephen Wakefield, MOAA’s manager of State Government Relations and Outreach, said a number of factors have contributed to the increased participation.

Reasons for the increase
One reason has been the widespread support of state and national marine trades associations, as 23 state and national associations have stepped up efforts to promote the NMD program, offering staff time and local support in an effort to build industry participation. State marine trades associations have also been critical in collecting proclamations and resolutions recognizing National Marina Day. To date, four states have officially recognized Aug. 14 as National Marina Day, MOAA said.

Wakefield also credits a growing awareness amongst marina operators on the value of educating the public about the industry. National Marina Day provides a forum for marina operators to educate their local officials about matters of importance to the industry, so that when the legislator is asked to act on issues related to the marina industry, he or she can do so with a fair, open and educated mind, MOAA said.

Finally, Wakefield credits positive word of mouth and peer-to-peer recruiting among marina operators as helping to grow participation in 2004.

National Marina Day Resource Kits are available, at no cost, online at www.moaa.com/nmd. For more information about National Marina Day or to pre-register your National Marina Day event, contact MOAA Manager of State Government Relations and Outreach Stephen Wakefield at 202-721-1622, swakefield@nmma.org.

Boating Industry magazine is the 2004 National Marina Day media partner. NMD 2004 is also made possible, in part, by the sponsorship of the following companies: Atlantic-Meeco Inc., Bellingham Marine, BoatU.S., EMP Industries, Inc., EZ-Dock Inc., Flagship Marinas, Formex Floats, HydroHoist International, Marinas International, Onyx-Mansfield Energy Services, Premier Materials Technology, Inc., ShoreMaster, Universal Insurance Services and ValvTect Petroleum Products.

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