Executive Director, Water Sports Foundation, Orlando, FL
James (Jim) Emmons is executive director of the non-profit Water Sports Foundation (WSF) and is a long-term recreational boating safety activist and enthusiast. He served two terms on the United States Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council most recently as chairman. He also serves on NASBLA’s Paddlesports Committee.
From 1989 until 2010, Emmons worked in boating and water sports media. He is a co-founder of WakeBoarding magazine and served many years as the publisher of WaterSki and WakeBoarding magazines, which at the time were both considered top consumer titles in their respective niches.
Emmons also served 12 years as president of the Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA) where he developed and launched a series of successful initiatives including the WSIA’s LeaderShip Awards and the WSIA Summit – both remain as highly recognized, influential and successful events. In 2004, he launched the Water Sports Foundation as the educational division of WSIA.
In 2011, Emmons became the Water Sports Foundation’s executive director. Through U.S. Coast Guard administered grants and cooperative agreements, he’s managed more than 59 highly effective and very successful recreational boating safety consumer outreach projects worth more than $12 million. They have delivered more than 1.5 billion highly targeted boater and paddler safety media impressions.
The projects include the production of more than 225 custom video PSAs and hundreds of custom articles promoting boating and paddling safety. Pre- and post-campaign survey data show that these projects have contributed to a positive culture shift toward safer boating and paddling. The data demonstrate an improvement in the boating public’s attitudes and behaviors regarding safe boating.
Emmons also spearheaded efforts targeting boating newcomers including Hispanic boaters and highly specialized special projects directed toward the at-risk paddle sports segment.
Under his leadership, the Water Sports Foundation has earned multiple major recognitions including the NASBLA’s Innovation in Outreach award; numerous first place honors in the Communication Awards at the International Boating and Water Safety Summit (IBWSS); and top national awards in cooperation with allied producers and partners from Boating Writers International and the National Boating Industry Safety Awards.
