Making the transition

Transition isn’t easy, no matter how welcome or smooth. And when I first learned in October of last year that Boating Industry was being purchased by Ehlert Publishing Group,
I didn’t know what to expect. New owners meant new staff members to get to know, a new editorial style to adapt to and a new home office to adjust to. Then, a decision was made to refocus the magazine and the Web site on the North American market, another major adjustment.
The biggest changes, however, were the plans we began to make
to bring a new energy and a renewed commitment to focusing on the needs of our readers in the magazine. And now that those plans are being acted out, I feel — and I hope you do too — that they represent changes for the better.
The magazine now has a sharp new look that betrays a more in-depth approach to covering our industry. In the new, re-energized Boating Industry, our editors are honing in on the markets that are close to home and on the personalities that drive those markets, providing inside intelligence on the forces that are moving the industry forward today and that will be moving them forward tomorrow.
Part of this effort involves being an ethical and trustworthy partner to our readers, which has already paid off. During the American Boating Congress in early May, I was granted an exclusive interview with Professional BoatBuilder (PBB) Publisher Carl Cramer and NMMA President Thom Dammrich in Washington, D.C., as they signed the documents that made final their commitment to merge the two boat building trade shows.
This occurred only moments before they announced one of the greatest accomplishments in the industry so far this year. The establishment of the new IBEX demonstrates not only the power the companies in this industry can summon when they work together, but also that our leaders are listening and are willing to make sacrifices for the good of the whole. NMMA and PBB should be applauded for their achievement.
Meanwhile, Boating Industry has some of its own accomplishments to celebrate. 2004 marks our 75th year serving the marine industry, the timing of which couldn’t be better. In our ongoing pursuit of becoming the best media partner in the marine industry, we’ve been returning to the best of what Boating Industry has been while striving to adapt to the industry’s needs now and in the future.
Also, toward the end of the year, look for changes to the Boating Industry Buyer’s Guide as we work to make it the must-have directory it has been in the past.
With all of these changes, we urge you to visit the Contact Us section of our Web site to find the best way to share information with us. I look forward to hearing from you.