March 22, 2007

2007 North American Safe Boating Awareness Week

The 2007 North American Safe Boating Awareness Week campaign will take place across Canada from May 19th to 25th, and as the name implies, it is also being promoted and celebrated in the United States during the same week.

Last year’s campaign was a great success thanks to the invaluable contributions of volunteers such as you. The goal was to ensure that the millions of Canadians who head out on the waters in canoes and kayaks, sailboards and sailboats, fishing boats, personal watercraft, power boats and cruisers were equipped with the knowledge necessary for a safe day on the water, and we feel that we went a long way to accomplishing that goal.

For 2007, this initiative is once again being organized by the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC), a non-profit organization and its members and partners from all areas of the marine community including manufacturers, marine trade associations, boating education organizations, water safety and marine law enforcement sectors.

The Canadian Safe Boating Council needs your help to continue to make Canadian waters safer.

To accomplish that formidable task, AMTA would like to request its members reach out to their customers and, in particular, those clients who have direct consumer contact. We encourage your customers to participate in the program by contacting the CBSC to order resource materials.

As industry leaders, there’s an additional role your business can perform – contact your local media and encourage them to use the Safe Boating Awareness Week radio, TV and print public service announcements – all provided free of charge from CSBC.

Offering to give an interview or host your own activities to promote safe boating will also provide an opportunity for you to showcase the products and services your organization provides.

For more information, or to receive campaign materials, email your name, company/organization name, mailing address and phone number to Ian Gilson at sbaw@csbc.ca by March 30th. You will receive all the components required to support the 2007 North American Safe Boating Awareness Week campaign.

If you would be willing to participate should a media outlet contact CSBC wishing to interview a boating expert in your area, please indicate this in an email to Ian as well. The CSBC web site is at http://www.csbc.ca/