This is a pretty important waterway. After all, for a bunch of you
guys on the east coast this is the only place you can boat that isn't
frozen solid all winter. :-)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864,
Date: October 26, 2007

CONFERENCE TO LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF
INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY

AIWA Meeting Slated for November 15 - 16 in Myrtle Beach, SC

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA) will hold its
Annual Meeting on November 15 - 16 in Myrtle Beach, SC. The meeting,
at Kingston Plantation, will feature reports on the waterway's status
from the individual states it passes through to new strategies to
"Keep the Waterway Working," this year's conference theme.

Stretching over 1,200 miles from Norfolk, VA, to Miami, FL, the
waterway has been called "the boater's Route 66," but it is also a
vital commercial transportation route.

Two challenges face the waterway today, according to AIWA: minimal
Congressional appropriations for maintenance and an awkward federal
budgeting process that fails to recognize the waterway's importance as
a integral transportation system for waterborne commerce and
recreational vessel traffic along the Eastern Seaboard.

"We're making steady progress at the federal level on both issues,"
reports Ryck Lydecker, AIWA vice chairman and BoatU.S. assistant vice
president for Government Affairs. "But we are also working
successfully with the state governments which are now realizing the
critical need to find new funding solutions. The waterway is an
economic engine for coastal communities and their small businesses,
from marinas and hotels to boat repair yards, cargo terminals and
visitor attractions. State officials now appreciate that fact."

The conference begins on Thursday, Nov. 15 with reports from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, which is charged by Congress with maintaining
the waterway. Panel discussions on the waterway's economic importance
follow, and strategy sessions for continued maintenance funding round
out the program. A highlight of the conference will be a breakfast
address on Friday, November 16 by Intracoastal Waterway historian and
author William Crawford.

More information, plus on-line conference registration, is available
at http://www.atlintracoastal.org or by phone at: 877-914-5397.

BoatU.S. - The Boat Owners Association Of The United States - is a
charter member of AIWA.