Jeff Napier, the first president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, died April 24 at his home in Italy from complications of Parkinson's disease, the Chicago-based association announced.

Napier began his association career in 1964 as an attorney and lobbyist for the Boating Industry Association. In that role, he performed much of the legal work to merge BIA with the National Association of Engine and Boat Manufacturers in 1979, creating NMMA.

Napier became the association's founding president, helping grow the group from an initial 450 members to more than 1,800. He also established a Washington, D.C., office and grew the number of NMMA boat shows from four to 20.

Napier left the association in 1998.

"A friend, colleague and mentor, Jeff was a visionary who helped push the boating industry forward in so many ways," NMMA Executive Vice President Ben Wold said. "Jeff understood the need for the boating industry to own and control major boat shows to give the industry a voice in how they were produced, and also saw how shows' revenue could support other industry initiatives and ultimately grow boating."

Napier was inducted into the NMMA Hall of Fame in 2003 for his work on behalf of the industry. http://bit.ly/2r1txgh

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