• Mercury Racing Blog: Thunder in Paradise!

    Kevin Skiba and I just returned from the 10th annual Boyne Thunder poker run. It is rare to come off of any travel feeling refreshed. But this event was refreshing – in many ways. As I had mentioned in my previous post, Boyne City is very close to my home town of Sault Ste. Marie. Driving across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and over the mighty Mackinac bridge brought back many memories as we made our trek to paradise. I had forgotten how beautiful the area truly is.

    We were impressed by the amount of people roaming about the waterfront upon our arrival Friday afternoon. Tad Whitten said our display truck was busy from the moment he arrived. Main street was jammed with people checking out the classic cars and performance boats. It was great to see the community support an event in such a grand way. The incredible weather didn’t hurt either.


    Hospitality Plus

    There are certain unwritten rules and expectations that come into play when it comes to event support. Most promoters understand and deliver the basic needs and expectations of their sponsors. All could improve by emulating what the good folks in Boyne City are doing. It was refreshing to arrive on site with the Mercury Racing banners and pennant stringers visible in every direction.

    The event’s main mission is to support Camp Quality – a camp for kids battling cancer. The city is intimately involved, and a benefactor of the event’s success. The entire staff is voluntary and all proceeds go to the camp. No egos. No hidden agendas. Just a community event focused on promoting the sport we love which in turn supports a great cause.

    Everyone we came in contact with was extremely friendly, even by Midwest standards! Event personnel, city officials and the general public came by to thank us for being there. We genuinely felt welcomed by all. We were also inundated with compliments regarding our products – both current and late model. The 1650 RACE sterndrive was again the star of our display. There were a couple of boats with QC4v power on the run. There was even a brand new Cigarette 42 Huntress with five Verado 350 SCis! That was impressive.

    I got in a conversation with some locals Friday night who were having fun jabbing each other about their boats and experiences on the water. Bob Alger, one of my new found friends, grew up in the area. He was telling me about his boat, an immaculate 2001 Formula FASTech 353 powered by twin 500 EFIs. Bob picked it up from a dealer on the East coast. When visiting with Bob – it doesn’t take long to figure out he is a clean fanatic! He said the boat was clean – but not, “Alger clean,” when he picked it up.

    Bob was gracious enough to provide Kevin and I ride along the poker run route on Saturday. I can attest the boat is “Alger clean” now! The boat is immaculate. It looked better than new. The 500 EFIs ran great too! I’m hoping Formula president Scott Porter had a chance to see it while there. Bob took us out to Lake Michigan to watch the boats as they made their way to Northport, the first card stop. We then proceeded to follow the boats in for the lunch stop in downtown Charlevoix. It was a great day on the water.

    something special when your participation makes a difference. I met with Kristyn Balog, Executive Director of the Camp Quality USA Michigan office, just prior to the dinner. I provided her with two Mercury Racing Propeller Lab Finishing/Repair certificates and Mercury Racing gear bags for the Camp Quality auction. She was overwhelmed with emotion. She was genuinely touched by the outpouring of support event sponsors, participants and the community showed for “her” kids. That is what it is all about.

    Read the full blog post here >>
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