The Time has Come

The time has come to create the Washington State Office of Recreational Boating. Three states (Oregon, Ohio and California) already have departments of boating. In Washington State, we have spread the boating programs across seven different agencies. I am convinced that combining these efforts into an Office of Boating will cause the State to improve services to boaters, eliminate gaps and overlaps. Most importantly of all, it would create a new position which I will call the Director of Boating, who will be responsible for prioritizing services and expenditures to serve boaters better.

This goal to create an Office of Boating is a huge undertaking. It qualifies unconditionally as a BHAG (BEE-hag). If you are not familiar with the acronym it stands for a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. It was created by Jim Collins, the author of the book Good to Great.

He says, “A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as a unifying point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clean finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal.”

In order to accomplish this goal, we will need the help of all our members, boaters across the state, legislators, the Governor and countless employees of the impacted state agencies. Since we are going to try and “move the cheese” and alter the status quo, not all the stakeholders will come on board… but that is what makes this a particularly inspiring challenge.

Here is why I think this goal is achievable. Over the last nine years, we have laid the groundwork by working with the members of the legislature in Olympia to passing pro-boating legislation. We have created a unified voice for boaters and industry through the creation of the Washington Boating Alliance in partnership with the Recreational Boating Association of Washington, Yacht Clubs, the Washington Public Ports Association, Fish Northwest, the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association and the Northwest Sport Fishing Industries Association and the list goes on. We have educated legislators on our issues and identified those who have the greatest interest in boating. We have created a database of boaters through the Seattle Boat Show attendees who we have mobilized in the past to lobby the legislature in support of our efforts.

Bottom line. We are ready to go.

But what about the huge financial deficit that the State is facing? Won’t that make the efforts to create an Office of Boating impossible?

My answer is no. In fact, I think this is the perfect time to look for efficiencies and savings. The legislature will convene in Olympia on January 12, 2009. Between now and then we are contacting key legislators seeking their support and input. Anyone going to Olympia with their hand-out this year will be out of step with the challenges of the real world. Of course we will make it clear, we want boating programs and services to grow but in challenging times, boating programs need to be evaluated just like everything else in the budget. Better there is a Director of the Office of Boating charged with the responsibility of prioritizing spending rather than having the budgets cut across seven different agencies, where boating is just a blip on their overall responsibilities.

A few years ago, the State embraced a planning concept called the “Priorities of Government.” In a nutshell, POG suggests that the State prioritize spending to buy the activities that are most crucial, eliminate gaps and overlaps and improve services to the tax payers of the State. I am suggesting that the state can better serve the 350,000 owners of vessels in the State by applying the POG principles specifically to boating which leads me to the conclusion that creating an Office of Boating should be our association’s legislative goal for 2009.

Let me know if you would like to help.

With warm regards,

Michael Campbell
President