Page 6 - Mid America Boating - June 2023 issue

Ohio’s Lt. Governor, lawmakers Boating: A Wave of Employment and Enjoyment!” documents boating’s importance. For example,
Moreover, a report recently completed by the Boating Associations of Ohio entitled “Ohio
attend Catawba Island show; there are 20,300 good paying jobs in Ohio’s dealerships and marinas. And, another 24,400 indirect
JUNE 2023 [ MID-AMERICA BOATING ] 6
jobs are positively impacted by Ohio boating activities.
Ohio has 653,136 registered boats, ranking the state 6th in the America and those registered
highlight boating economy boats are estimated to take a whopping 36.3 percent of all Ohio residents out on-the-water at least
once each year – that’s 187 million hours in registered boats with another 128 million estimated
hours paddling non-motorized craft.
“It’s important that we show our lawmakers that boating not only makes big contributions to
Lt. Governor Jon Husted and a delegation of the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association this our quality of life,” explains Michelle Burke, LEMTA president, “but emphasize all of Ohio’s annual
top lawmakers joined Ohio marine dealers on year at which top elected state officials were watercraft programs are funded through the Waterway Safety Fund (WSF) which is a national
opening day of the Progressive Catawba Island in attendance including Ohio Governor Mike model user-pay, user-benefit program.”
Boat Show, April 28, 2023, to hear an update on DeWine who has previously attended The Lake The WSF gets no general revenue funds. Ohio boatowners annually pay into it via boat/engine
the recently completed economic impact study Erie Marine Trades Association’s Progressive titling and registration fees that total more than $6.6 million. The WSF also gets 7/8 of 1 percent
of recreational boating in the Buckeye State. Cleveland Boat Show in 2022. of Ohio’s gasoline tax for off-highway use that annually totals $22.8 million. Additionally, Ohio’s
It was the second boat show produced by Additional special guests at the recent myriad of educational and development watercraft programs consistently gains national recogni-
Progressive Catawba Island Show from the tion being awarded more than $5 million annually in U.S. Coast Guard and other grants. “It says
Ohio General Assembly were: Senators Theresa boating is good for Ohio and Ohio is good for boating,” emphasizes Burke. MAB
Gavarone, and Bill Reineke, along with Repre-
sentatives Haraz Ghanbari and DJ Swearington.
Glen Cobb, Chief of the Division of Parks & Catawba Island Boat Show
Watercraft, and Chief Legislative Officer for the
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Katie
Hagarty, were also attendance. launches the boating season
The lawmakers applauded the just complet-
ed study that documents recreational boating
in Ohio. It’s the first full update in more than It was a record-size Progressive Catawba Island Boat Show with over 125 boats in-the-water and
6 years. Specifically, the report documents nearly 100 accessory displays in tents ringing the marina of the prestigious Catawba Island Club.
boating now has an annual statewide econom- And with a long slate of entertainment, special family features, a big new Kids Zone, food trucks
ic impact of $6.4 billion. and more, the crowds showed up to, make it as much a summer boating kick-off party as a show.
“After rain on Friday, Saturday and Sunday had exceptional attendance and we saw many good
prospects and closed sales,” confirmed Jim Armington, Buckeye Sports Center. “Most customers
Ohio’s Lt. Governor Jon Husted (left) also commented on how great the show looked and how many boats and accessory displays there
with Catawba Island Club owner, Jim were. Even more, the show definitely proved that talk of any economic slowdown hasn’t impacted
Stouffer, at the Progressive Cataw- boat buyers looking forward to their time on the water this year,” he added.
ba Island Boat Show, in the wake of A similar note was echoed by Rockey Piacentino of Catawba Moorings. “This was a fantastic
the newly released economic impact show by LEMTA’s staff, a great job by the CIC (Catawba Island Club) crew. All the entertainment,
study that shows the boating indus- food, and especially the work of the CIC grounds people were outstanding. We are projecting our
try contributes $6.4 billion annually to overall sales will make this one of the best shows we’ve had there in 4 years. It’s been a particularly
Ohio’s economy! big weekend for our Regulator boats!,” he emphasized. MAB