Dear Friend:

As an important part of the Massachusetts boating community, your awareness of and participation in public policy matters is critical to maintaining and growing recreational boating. We believe we have identified a simple yet effective way for you and our fellow boaters to remain informed to the benefit of all recreational boaters that sometimes feel disconnected from Beacon Hill and beyond.

Boaters have a vested interest in being apprised of regulatory changes and legislative initiatives with the potential to curtail the freedom to boat, which is an integral part of life for much of the Massachusetts citizenry. We ask that you give your fellow boaters the opportunity to do so by distributing the email message copied below, with the objective of developing a "grassroots" database of boating enthusiasts.

We do not wish to infringe upon your relationships by asking that you share any email addresses without permission. Rather, we ask that you simply email the message found below to your existing email database to present this opportunity to stay "in the loop" and get involved through legislative outreach only when broad participation is absolutely critical. Indeed, distribution of any such "e-blasts" would require an MMTA Board of Directors vote and would be limited to just several times per year. Additionally, email addresses would be secure and accessible only by authorized MMTA staff and participants could easily "opt-out" at anytime.

For your convenience, our webmaster can put your "face" on the message and send it out on your behalf, yet it would reflect distribution from you. If you would like this done for you, please contact webmaster@boatma.com. Please note that all email responses, including "opt-out" and "remove" responses, will be directed back to you as the sender. A final list of interested participants will then be requested of you.

If you have any other questions about our grassroots effort, please feel free to contact nkgrady@boatma.com. Thank you for your consideration of our request.

Cordially,

Tom Cox, Constitution Marine, Chairman, MMTA Public Affairs Committee
Tina Marie Giambro, Port O' Call Productions
Lou Gainor, Nautical Talk Radio
Tom Haut, John Alden Insurance
David Jensen, Marina Bay at Boston Harbor
David Watson, By-The-Sea.com
Nathalie Grady, MMTA Public Affairs