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Building the ACBS Inland Empire Chapter
The Inland Empire Chapter was a result of a few people getting together to charter a club whereby enthusiast wouldn’t have to drive 5 to 8 hours to enjoy the companionship of other boaters and the fun of being an ACBS member. The two people who founded the Inland Empire Chapter are our immediate Past President, Chris Knapton and a woman who served as Vice-President for a time, Victoria Paulson. That was in September of 2000. After quickly gathering 20 people on a petition and submitting the necessary paperwork to ACBS, we became a bona fide chapter.
Our chapter is lucky in that we are surrounded by many lakes all of which are set in a serene setting with mountains and trees and really great people. There are over 100 lakes in the Washington/Idaho Northern area. The largest lake is Pend Oreille, then Coeur d'Alene and finally Priest Lake.
We have very
active board members and continue to be blessed with a sizable group, averaging 100 members per calendar year from all over the country. To keep our group in the loop we use a combination of emails (with over 70% of our membership on our distribution list), a 12-page bimonthly newsletter called Scuttlebutt, USPS mailings, and this website. We have numerous sponsors; our strongest being
OfficeTECH,Inc a Xerox corporation Sales Agency. @
xofficetech.com who incurs our printing costs of producing our newsletters and so much more.
Our first official boat show was in July of 2001 in Coeur d’Alene, ID. We currently hold our annual
Wooden Boat Show and Festival
in Sandpoint, ID in July. In 2006,
we had over 60 entries and are still growing. With so many boat shows in the Pacific Northwest and so little time, the surrounding chapters decided to create the
Great Northwest Tour of shows throughout the Pacific Northwest region a few years ago. Any member who travels to all 4 shows (Portland, Seattle, Coeur d’Alene, and Kelowna, B.C.) receives a special plaque to mount their dash plaques given at each show for a Pac Four Presentation. We still do this today. Four clubs, four weeks, four great shows!
Our chapter starts its’ boating season with
a Show and Shine
at the Resort Boat Shop in Post Falls, ID in late
April. There’s the annual
Wooden Boat Show and Festival in Sandpoint on Lake Pend Oreille in July. Our 2008 show marks the
6th year for the Inland Empire Chapter ACBS Show in Sandpoint Idaho
and is scheduled for the weekend of July 12-13. The Show is a nationally recognized event bringing boats and visitors from as far away as Florida, New York and California. With thousands of visitors attending the show. We typically end our season with an all out 3-day weekend party called the
Dry Rot Boat
Show and Parade on Priest Lake,
over the Labor Day Weekend. Of course, there are many other activities going on throughout the year.
To learn more, check out our “Event Details” Page.
Our chapter has been asked to facilitate the hosting of the
ACBS International Boat Show
in Coeur d’Alene, ID in Sept 14-20 2008. Coeur d’Alene is a thriving resort community with a natural beauty that most people can only dream about. Its defining image is sunny days, clear blue waters, pine-studded vistas and open spaces. The pristine serenity of the lake and its surroundings has earned Lake Coeur d’Alene a reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful.
We’re a fun, active club. If we haven’t met you yet, we’d like to. If you’d like to become a member of the Inland Empire Chapter, download the membership application form from our Membership Page. If you’re an old friend, we look forward to seeing you on the waters!
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