Marine Movers: Boating writers elect officers, directors

WILMETTE, Ill. – Boating Writers International (BWI) members voted in late January to elect writer and editor Roger Marshall president, writer and photographer Kim Kavin 1st vice president, and writer and author Betsy Frawley Haggerty 2nd vice president, the association reported in a statement today.

Bill Pike, senior editor of Power & Motoryacht magazine and Mike Walker, a writer/broadcaster and communications agency president, were elected to the group’s Board of Directors.

Marshall is editor of Boatbuilder and editor-in-chief of Dockwalk, a power and sailboat designer, and has written twelve boating and gardening books. He comes to the presidency after six years on the BWI Board (as a director, second and first vice-president) and almost 10 years as part of the NMMA Innovation Awards judging committee.

“BWI is in great shape and is financially sound. I look forward to advancing the position of the organization within the industry,” he said. “Over the years, I have seen boating writers become more and more professional and would like to see the organization do more and provide more for its members.”

Marshall earlier was the technical editor at Soundings and Yachting. He is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, Garden Writers of America, and the Storm Trisail Club.

1st vice president Kavin is the editor of Voyaging magazine and has been a freelance writer, editor and photographer since April 2003. Her work appears in magazines and newspapers worldwide. Before going freelance, Kim was the executive editor of Yachting for more than three years and a daily newspaper editor for seven years. She is a member of the American Society of Magazine Editors, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Society of Professional Journalists. Kavin has been a director of BWI for three years and serves as the Writing Contest Committee coordinator.

2nd Vice President Haggerty is a freelance writer, book author and editor-at-large for Offshore magazine, where she was the editor from 1998 until October 2004. Prior to joining that magazine, she worked as a freelancer, writing for corporate clients, general interest magazines and newspapers, as well as many of the major boating publications. She is the author of New York and New Jersey Coastal Adventures, a travel guide published by Country Roads Press. She has been a member of BWI since 1988, and served as a director for six years.

Newly elected board member Pike jumped from the maritime trades after gaining a 3,000-ton Master’s license and a celestial-navigation endorsement to continue an earlier writing career with The St. Petersburg (FL) Times and then for various marine publications. He was an editor at Boating for nearly a dozen years and, for the past seven years, has been a senior editor for Power & Motoryacht magazine. He has also served as the commander of his local Coast Guard Auxiliary flotilla for two years

Walker is known for The Walker Agency specializing in marine accounts, and he is also an active writer, producer and reporter for The World of Ducks Unlimited daily radio program (343 stations) and freelances marketing columns in trade media. Walker served on the board of directors for the Southeast Outdoor Press Association and was its president, served as a board member of Outdoor Writers Assn. of America (OWAA) involved in Professional Standards, Supporting Member relations and Industry Ethics, and is a founding member of Western Outdoor Writers Assn.

Continuing as directors are Michael Sciulla, editor of BoatU.S. Magazine, Liz Walz, senior editor of Boating Industry magazine, Betsy Clayton, boating and outdoors writer at The Ft. Myers (FL) News-Press, and Jim Hendricks, associate publisher of the Ehlert Boating Group. BWI Executive Director Greg Proteau serves as secretary/treasurer of the board.

BWI is a non-profit professional organization consisting of writers, editors, publishers, broadcasters, photographers, public relations specialists and others in the communications profession associated with the recreational boating industry. Members include active marine journalists across the U.S., in Canada and worldwide, supporting marine manufacturers and service entities, and associates in communication roles.