Tag Archives: Nicole Vasilaros

Yesterday NMMA kicked off the first day of its annual advocacy event, the 2021 virtual American Boating Congress (ABC). The association welcomed nearly 400 attendees and an impressive lineup of speakers, including members of Congress, chiefs of staff, and directors of offices of outdoor recreation (OREC) from around the country. Throughout the initial day of programming, NMMA member companies and ...

NMMA announced today that Nicole Vasilaros, NMMA’s Senior Vice President, Government and Legal Affairs, is moving on from the Association after accepting the role of Vice President, Advocacy and Government Relations at the Business Roundtable. Vasilaros will remain onboard at NMMA through April 23 and following the 2021 American Boating Congress (April 21-22) to ensure a smooth transition.  Vasilaros began at NMMA in 2011, ...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is distributing $1 billion to state wildlife agencies through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR). Generated by the hunting and angling industry, these funds support regional conservation projects across the country. The 2021 WSFR apportionment is $121 million higher than the 2020 apportionment due to increases in firearm, fishing equipment and ...

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Angus King (ME-I), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises (PREPARE) Act. This bipartisan legislation, which matches companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, would allow the Small Business Administration to make low-interest, fixed rate ...

Yesterday, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, Congress passed the Great American Outdoors Act – legislation that will stimulate the recreational boating industry and create more safe and sustainable recreation access for all Americans. The bill – which is expected to be signed by President Trump in the coming days – follows years of advocacy by the outdoor recreation community, including NMMA and ...

NMMA wrapped up a successful virtual 2020 American Boating Congress (ABC) Thursday with a full slate of presentations from several Trump administration officials, political strategists and an economist. Hundreds of participants joined the virtual event again for its second day of programming, where panelists discussed the economic and political landscape amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The afternoon panel session ...

Yesterday marked the first day of the 2020 virtual American Boating Congress (ABC) event where, despite not being able to meet in person, over 800 participants from across the country attended to learn about NMMA’s advocacy efforts to protect the boating industry during the current COVID-19 crisis. The programming – which was covered by Beltway media – included a variety ...

An Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) member survey, in partnership with the Oregon State University Outdoor Recreation Economy Initiative, finds that the outdoor recreation industry is facing dramatically decreased sales and revenue, difficulties with production and distribution and large numbers of furloughs and layoffs. ORR surveyed its member trade associations representing over 100,000 businesses from RVing and camping to boating and ...

The recreational boating community – led by NMMA and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) – announced that the Boating United grassroots advocacy website has been transitioned to a new, more robust platform called SparkInfluence. The new Boating United website – which is now home to BoatPAC as well – will allow the community to be more effective in its virtual advocacy ...

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) members recently applauded the Senate for introducing a bipartisan bill, the Great American Outdoors Act, that prioritizes the $20 billion maintenance backlog facing public lands and waters and fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). It includes the Restore Our Parks Act (ROPA), which would help improve key outdoor recreation related facilities like docks, ...