American Boating Congress (ABC) registration is coming up, and you don’t want to miss it. The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) describes the event as “the marine’s industry’s premier political and legislative event.” The ABC is an event that welcomes boaters to to advocate for themselves, instead of being spoken for on behalf of lobbyists. This means that real people, like you and me, can pitch our feelings to the congressmen who will be at the conference with the intention of listening and creating possible solutions to problems.
The NMMA government relations team works hard to bring issues to the forefront of the minds of congressmen, but their voice is nothing compared to the voice of the people. When ordinary people, such as businessmen and constituents speak up, the people of congress are much more likely to listen.
“It has a profound impact on their understanding of what our industry needs to be successful and therefore, in the actions they take on key pieces of legislation that directly impact the bottom line of the businesses in our industry, NMMA Chief Communications Officer & VP, Ellen Hopkins shares, “The more people we have attend ABC, the more successful our industry will be in the long term in our advocacy efforts.”
Issues that will be discussed during the webinar include the following listed on the NMMA website: getting the Modern Fish Act passed, stopping the year-round sale of E15, and defending our industry from domestic and global tariffs. These three issues especially have an impact on recreational boating, but you don’t have to wait until the ABC to take action. Links at Boatingunited.org, allow boaters to make their voices heard now through writing members of Congress.
Registration has already begun for the webinar, which will take place on May 2nd from 3:00-4:00 PM EST. During the webinar, key issues will be briefly covered and it will be discussed to how to effectively stand up for your business or the industry in general when it comes time to speak on Capitol Hill.
The ABC itself will take place from May 9th through the 11th.
For More Information
Boating United
www.boatingunited.org
American Boating Congress
www.nmma.org/government/abc
