Established to unify Ohio's recreational boating community, the Boating Associations of Ohio (BAO) works to bring boat owners and the industry together to improve boating. Together these entities have strengthened boating's presence in the Ohio State House by constantly keeping lawmakers aware of boating's interests and issues.
The BAO serves Ohio boating with year-round Columbus representation and is widely respected by lawmakers as the "voice of Ohio boating." Along with the lobbying services of the Towner Policy Group, BAO supplies state lawmakers with accurate information on bills and proposed regulations that affect Ohio's boating community.
"Through its proactive legislative efforts," said Norm Schultz, BAO Executive Director, "BAO has literally saved Ohio's boaters millions of dollars in double sales taxes, convinced lawmakers to allocate twice as much money to boating programs and stopped a variety of plans to increase fees on marinas and yacht clubs, among many other accomplishments. In Ohio's State House, BAO is the voice of all boaters, and the support of BOAT-PAC is the way every boater can participate in making sure boating remains influential in public policy decisions that directly affect our sport," he added.
"It's a fact that if every boater would give just $1 a year, boating's PAC in Columbus would be quite significant because there are a lot of boaters in our state," said Schultz. "Put another way, it means that boaters are willing to invest, even something as small as a dollar or two, to help insure boating is recognized as an important constituent group by lawmakers and agencies in Columbus."
Just what is BOAT-PAC? It's a Political Action Committee that can raise funds voluntarily from people who share a common interest (boating in this case). Under Ohio election law, these funds can be given to support the campaigns of candidates running for state offices in the Ohio Senate, House or Administration.
"All our BOAT-PAC funds go directly to campaigns of candidates who have a clear track record of supporting boating issues," noted Schultz. "Each contributor to BOAT-PAC automatically receives the BOAT-PAC Newsletter which comes out 2 times yearly and shows which candidates received BOAT-PAC funds and how much. The Newsletter also recognizes who gave to the PAC," he added.
To contribute to the BOAT-PAC, or to learn more about the Boating Associations of Ohio (BAO), go to BoatingAssociations.com. For those without Internet access, call the BAO office at (440) 899-5009.
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