Press Releases

ALEXANDRIA, VA (March 28, 2022) – Joanne Martonik, Senior State Marketing Manager at the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF), was recently named to Boating Industry’s 40 Under 40. The list recognizes “young professionals blazing trails of success” across the recreational boating industry.

“I hope to show others, especially women, there is a wide array of things you can do in the marine industry. You don’t need to be a boat captain or fishing enthusiast to play a part and have an impact,” said Martonik. “My work to increase participation in fishing and boating has had challenges but also great rewards.”

Since joining RBFF seven years ago, Martonik has played a crucial role in helping state agencies across the country grow their marketing efforts. Among her responsibilities, she organizes the annual RBFF State Marketing Workshop which brings representatives from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to learn about and collaborate on R3 initiatives. She also oversees RBFF’s Boat Registration Reactivation Program which has resulted in over 450,000 boat registrations since 2012.

“Joanne is essential to the work we do with state agencies to increase fishing and boating participation, and the critical, conservation efforts they support,” said Stephanie Vatalaro, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications. “Across all aspects of her work, Joanne brings an exemplary level of execution and commitment.”

Nearly 200 professionals across the recreational boating industry were nominated for the sixth annual iteration of Boating Industry’s 40 Under 40 list. To read more about the honorees, check out the March/April issue.

ABOUT RBFF

RBFF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase recreational angling and boating participation, thereby protecting and restoring the nation's aquatic natural resources. RBFF's 60 in 60 effort strives to attract 60 million anglers to the sport by the end of 2021. To help recruit, retain and reactivate participants, RBFF developed the award-winning Take Me Fishing™ and Vamos A Pescar™ campaigns to build awareness of boating, fishing, and conservation and educate people about the benefits of participation.

The campaign websites feature how-to-videos and an interactive state-by-state map that allows visitors to find local boating and fishing spots, helping boaters and anglers of all ages and experience levels learn, plan, and equip for a successful day on the water.

RBFF also offers its industry stakeholders many tools including a Fishing License & Boat Registration Plugin to connect their customers with the information they need in just one click, as well as an embeddable Places to Fish & Boat Map to help their customers discover places to fish and boat near them.