On The Treasure Coast, FL (June 12, 2008) — June 7th was a beautiful day for boating and a great day to have a boat poker run. The 2nd Annual Stuart Family Fun Boat Poker Run had 25 plus boats take part in this year’s event. Participants played their hands at seven different stops in Jensen Beach and Stuart. The day wrapped up with an island style party at Wahoo’s on the Water.

The winning hand was an ace high flush produced by Chris Loudon who played onboard Frank and Nancy Hayden’s 26’ center console boat. Joe Vasquez on the In a Minute turned in a queen high flush and David Moranz turned in a ten high flush.

“This years event was up in every category”, says Vera Locke, Executive Director of the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast. “We saw in increase in sponsors, the number of participating boats, the number of players and the number of both mayday card and t-shirt sales that were sold at each stop. We are very pleased with this year’s results”, says Locke.

The fun was for two good causes. The Martin County Artificial Reef Program and Stuart Sea Scouts Ship 801 are both beneficiaries of this year’s event. Thank you to all the sponsors and volunteers who made this event successful.

For additional information about other MIATC events, call (772) 692-7599, view our website at www.miatc.com or e-mail vlocke@miatc.com.

The Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast, Inc. (MIATC) is a not-for-profit trade association representing Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee Counties. MIATC is dedicated to the promotion of pleasure boating and its related industries. The Marine Industry’s economic impact in Florida--$18.4 billion annually— is more than citrus and the cruise ship industry combined. The annual economic impact to the Treasure Coast is $930 million, providing approximately 7,600 jobs.

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