Boat builders and exhibiting dealers, as well as suppliers of marine products and services, were not the only businesses who profited from mid-February's Miami International Boat Show.

Post-show results were equally positive for Poker Runs America magazine and another very important prime directive - the American Poker Runs Association (APRA)!

I still can't quite believe that it was only about a year and some months ago that we met with some of the nation's leading performance boat builders and suppliers who, like us, were becoming more and more concerned about the future of poker run events.

Our 17-year track record of organizing well-run, incident-free and fun-filled poker run events quickly started the ball rolling, soon resulting in the formation of APRA, an industry-supported organization strongly focused on safety.

Years before APRA started to make its imprint, many poker runs operated without rules. A beer in the hand on the run was not an uncommon sight. Poker run crews wearing life jackets or PFDs, however, were uncommon. For the most part, driver's meetings were unheard of.

Which is not to say that every poker run didn't follow some basic rules. Simple truth is that we were one of the first organizations to introduce the poker run phenomenon. This magazine you're reading has also been instrumental in developing the unbelievable growth of both the size and quality of poker runs and the increased participation by power boaters from all points of the compass.

Just to set matters straight, American Poker Runs Association and its growing list of members have no intentions of burdening power boaters with a ton of rules and regulations. We're not out to remove the fun from poker runs. What APRA is all about is caring. Like our members and corporate sponsors, we will do whatever we can to make sure you and your family arrive home safely!

And judging by the recent (and still growing) additions to a poker run sanctioning association that really does make a difference, I don't think that's too much to ask! ( Top )