After 67 years, the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association is disappearing from the Buckeye State’s boating scene, replaced by the newly formed Ohio Marine Trades Association.
Official announcement of OMTA was made last week to the state’s more than 800 marine-related businesses from the shores of Lake Erie on the north to the Ohio River banks in the south. LEMTA was the state’s largest and most prominent marine organization, but it served a membership primarily across the state’s northern region.
“This is a strategic move to establish for Ohio’s marine industry, united under one banner, increased leadership and provide greater benefit for all boating interests statewide,” says OMTA president Michelle Burke. “Ohio is a big boating state, ranked fifth in the nation with some 660,000 registered boats served by 867 related businesses employing more than 20,000 people. Today, unifying the industry makes powerful business sense from many perspectives.”
While over the years there have been several local marine associations in different parts of the state (none exist now), only LEMTA had endured for decades. It was always a primary advocate for boating interests, employing a state lobbyist and having its members head to the state capital to address issues.
OMTA will position itself as the entire state’s organization to advocate for all marine interests, including boat owners. It will engage policymakers and stakeholders to shape favorable legislation, regulations and administrative policies that foster the growth and sustainability of the industry. Its membership will be open to dealers, marinas, manufacturers, suppliers and service providers, and related businesses statewide.
OMTA has already engaged Ohio lawmakers on the waters of Lake Erie for it’s first such advocacy event. More than 20 members of the Ohio House and Senate, plus former Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, boarded boats from OMTA member dealers who shared their local expertise while taking the guests out to the popular Lake Erie Islands. As a bonus, OMTA presented the lawmakers with its latest “Boating Means Big Business in Ohio” economic impact study. The study updates how extensive and popular boating is along the state’s more than 7,000 miles of shoreline.
The study surveyed nearly 100,000 boating households and more than 200 marine businesses. Among the findings, it documents that the state’s boating industry produces an annual impact of $6.5 billion. In addition to the 660,000 registers boats, it’s estimated there are an additional 241,993 non-registered, non-motorized craft used in the state. And last year, Ohioans spent 315 million human exposure-hours (187 million hours in motorized boats, 128 million hours in non-motorized) plying the state’s waters.
“We had a perfect sunny day with great boating conditions,” says Burke. “Many guests commented they were in awe of both the boats they were riding in and their experience on the big lake. And that was precisely our OMTA goal — for them to taste our boating lifestyle and recall it when we’ll be down in Columbus talking to them about current boating issues.”
OMTA member dealers that participated included Catawba Moorings and Pier 53, both from Port Clinton; Clemons Boats and True North Yachts, from Sandusky; and Skipper Buds in Marblehead.
“Going forward, we will also be developing a range of OMTA member networking forums, offer timely educational programs, promote industry job opportunities and create a supportive system that can drive success for our members,” Burke says. “But our top objective will always be bringing the power of the entire Ohio marine industry together to advocate for policies that generate boating growth and stability.”
