Okay Guys--Here is what we have to do,
educate the media! Below is the letter I sent to him before heading down south to Melbourne for the toy run. Was a GREAT success! Channel 13 local news interviewed us, Hometown News also took names and photographed the event! We took them out on the boats- and their faces were lit up with thrill and excitement. The toy box was overflowing- even had to stack them on the ground. Amazing, what we airboaters do for the sake of our beloved sport!
rneale@flatoday.net
Hi Rick,
Thank you for your coverage the Southernairboat.com ride to collect toys for children in need. I appreciated your call the other day. Hope I gave you some information you might use in future news coverage regarding the community services airboat clubs provide throughout the state of Florida. I am sure you are aware of airboats role in rescue efforts in the wake of hurricane Katrina. The Florida Airboat Association received a letter of Congressional Commendation for our efforts in mobilizing volunteers to head to Louisiana to do a service for their fellowman.
I'm hoping you will be able to attend the "toy run" today. Quite possibly you will notice that the "roar" and "noise" you refer to in your article is actually very palatable. The airboating sportsmen throughout the state have gone to great lengths to "quiet" their vessels. For over three years now airboaters have worked with state and local officials in an effort to require mufflers on all airboats. We volunteered our boats for use in the sound study done by Florida Atlantic University. Just this past week, in Key Largo at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting, the rule to enforce mufflers on all airboats was accepted and will go before the legislature during the upcoming session. The Florida Airboat Association is pleased and encouraged that this legislation we have worked so diligently for will come to fruition.
Use of the word "noise" in reference to airboat sound is a biased, term that airboaters are offended by. Airboat "sound" is music to our ears and we have gone to great expense and effort to make that sound palatable for all. We appreciate our news media contacts referring to the word "sound" as opposed to the word "noise." Thank you again for your efforts to cover this worthwhile community event, just another service provided by the airboating sportsmen of Flordia.
Lauren Brown, RN
Florida Airboat Association Public Information Officer
(386) 871-8945