News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 3, 2005

Personal Watercraft Industry Association
Welcomes Aaron Castelo as State Affairs Manager

Contact:
Personal Watercraft Industry Association, www.pwia.org
Elinore Boeke 202-737-9768 or Brian Berry 202-777-3524
(Photo available upon request to eboeke@pwia.org)

WASHINGTON, DC —The Personal Watercraft Industry Association (PWIA) is pleased to announce that Aaron Castelo has been selected to be the lead advocate for the Association’s state and local government relations program.  As State Affairs Manager, Castelo will promote boating safety and fair access to public waters at the state level.

Castelo comes to PWIA after five years at the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), where he was director of state legislative analysis. Working with the association’s regional lobbyists in all 50 states, Castelo worked to successfully expand market access and defeat tax increase attempts around the country. 

“Aaron is a strong addition to the PWIA team and no stranger to the state and local regulatory environment,” said Maureen Healey, Executive Director of PWIA.  "Aaron is the right person to help the industry promote its message of safe boating and fair access for all motorized boats.”

“In addition to stopping discriminatory restrictions on PWC use,” Healey continued, “Aaron will be actively working state legislatures to implement PWIA’s model legislation, which promotes mandatory boating safety education for all PWC users, a minimum age of 16 to operate PWC, daylight-only usage restrictions, and prohibitions against reckless operation.” 

Said Castelo, “There is no refuting the fact that the personal watercraft industry has gone to great lengths to produce boats that belong on the same waterways as other motorized vessels.  It’s disheartening when people fail to consider the environmentally-friendly technological advancements that have been accomplished or, conversely, punish an entire community of boaters because of the reckless behavior of a few.  This is clearly an industry with a commitment to advance both marine technology and boating safety, and I’m pleased to be a part of it.”

An Indiana native, Castelo has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Indiana University, and a Master’s degree in Political Science from Ball State University.  Prior to joining DISCUS, Castelo managed state legislative activities at the American Academy of Otolaryngology, did state legislative research at a consulting firm, and was a staff member for a Member of Congress from Indiana.  His interests include baseball, camping, and boating.

PWIA, an affiliate of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, represents personal watercraft manufacturers BRP (Sea-Doo), Honda (AquaTrax), Kawasaki (Jet Ski), and Yamaha (WaveRunner).  For more information on personal watercraft and the PWIA model legislation, please visit www.pwia.org.