b'PVA AT 50:PVA AT 50 A NEW YORK STATE OF MINDBY DAVE ANDERSON // FIRE ISLAND FERRIESEditors Note: PVA Past President Dave Anderson shared his story of how he initially got involved in the passenger vessel industry, why hes stayed, and how his involvement in PVA has shaped his successful career. T heownerofFireIslandFerries,thelateEdMooney,who passed away in December 2020 at age 91, was an early member of what was then called NAPVO (the National Association of Passenger Vessel Owners). Now, of course, we call it PVA. I was afforded the opportunity to get involved in PVA by Ed in 1996, and I ran with the offer. Alison Nolan, Dave Anderson and Je Whittaker outside the U.S. Capitol After getting involved in PVA, some of the early NAPVO membersfor the PVA Congressional Fly-In.Source: D. Andersonbegan to get frustrated with the additional cost of paying dues to an association, which started out as a few owner-operators just talkingTo address this issue, I approved and oversaw an aggressive response. about industry issues.It was during my initial involvement that I wasWorking with the PVA Board and Officers as well as the PVA staff, able to convince Ed that we, as a single operator, cannot fight thesewe initiated a letter writing campaign that was presented to all PVA industry issues on our own.A unified approach of the association andmembersencouragingthemtowritetotheirelectedofficialson its members has more teeth. I was able to convince him that I was right:Capitol Hill. We asked them to express their concerns and explain the bigger the association, the stronger our voice will be to industrythe monetary costs associated with the proposed rulemaking should suppliers, regulators and legislators.it become a regulation.An additional measure we took was going to The Hill and meeting face-to-face with Congressional members in Thinkingbackaboutmypresidency,IguessIwaslucky.IhadaWashington, DC to articulate our concerns in person and ask for their relatively quiet year in 2015.The most defining issue then was thesupport as constituents. proposed rulemaking for out-of-water lifesaving equipment for the entire domestic small passenger fleet. Looking back now, I would say that campaign was the highlight of my term at the helm of PVA.Being able to resolve the proposedrulemakingonout-of-waterlifesaving equipment while preserving the existing regulations was important.It did not get signed however, until after my term was complete. But, it was one of the attention to detail first things signed in 2016.Anothernotableeventduringmytermwas theblizzardthathittheEastCoast,including Washington, DC, in 2016. Of course, it struck just asthePVAAnnualConventionatMariTrends 2016 was about to start. Ascrazyasitsounds,Snowmageddon,the meeting during which I was to turn over the baton to incoming PVA President Margo Marks of Beaver Island Boat Co., was something Ill never forget. While the storm prevented many members from attending the convention, I was overwhelmed by the number of members who made the herculean effort to travel in such adverse weather conditions to participate.Whats more, it was a great convention! We put on dozens of sessions (a few of them were presentedvirtuallylongbeforevirtualmeetings www.beurteaux.comPVA AT 50 20 FOGHORN'