All Speakers

Writer; Outboard, Trailer & PWC Expert
In Alan Jones' 24-year career as an editor for Boating World magazine, he's tested more than a thousand boats and written more than 500 boat reviews and video walkthroughs. One of his passions is testing new products that make boating easier and safer. He is currently the president of Boating Writers International.
 

Anne-Marie Runfola Prior to moving to Cape Cod in June 2010, Anne-Marie Runfola was the Deputy Director of the Bronx River Alliance, and earlier, the Education Director. She is currently the Volunteer Coordinator for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and serves on the steering committee of the Coonamessett River Trust and the outreach committee of TC3 (The 300 Committee). Anne-Marie holds a B.S. in Corporate Communications with a focus on Instructional Design and Instructional Media from Ithaca College, and an M.A. in Educational/Cognitive Psychology and Instructional Technology from Columbia University, Teachers College.

Audrey McClelland, a social media consultant and brand advocate is the founder of MomGenerations.com, an online destination for mothers. Mom Generations is in its 11th year and is a destination for mothers featuring over 3000 videos and 10,000 postings on the latest trends in fashion and beauty for moms, kid fashion, baby gear, product reviews, toys and many other pieces of advice for busy moms. She is the mother of 4 boys and a girl – William (13), Alexander (12), Benjamin (10), Henry (9) and Victoria (4). Audrey has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, the Rachael Ray Show, The Daily Buzz and in publications such as The New York Times, The New York Post, WWD, Parenting Magazine, Pregnancy Magazine and Redbook. She also is the co-founder of 3 additional digital properties: Permission to Hustle (permisttiontohustle365.com), Digital Mom Handbook (DigitalMomHandbook.com), Rhody Mamas (facebook.com/RhodyMamas), Permission to Hustle FB Group (facebook.com/group/permissiontohustle) to extended her influence and presence online. Audrey was named to “The Power Pack” Moms in Nielson’s Online Power Moms list, naming her one of the most influential moms online and named Top 50 Fashion Blogs by BlogRank. She serves on the Pampers Blogging Board, JOHNSONS’ Baby Council and is a charter member of the Hanes Comfort Crew. Audrey has been a spokesperson for many companies such as TJMaxx/Marshall’s, Got Milk?, Lands’ End, Suave, Tide, Pampers, Healthy Choice, etc. She speaks frequently on the topic of motherhood, fashion/beauty and social media at Blogging conferences, Twitter conferences, Social Media mixers and women’s business conferences.

She hosts Twitter Parties, Facebook LIVES, Insta Stories, Brand Events and Social Media Conferences with Vera Sweeney under A+V Media.

Audrey’s business book – The Digital Mom Handbook – published by Harper Collins is on shelves.

Audrey has a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Brown University and lives in RI with her husband and 4 sons and daughter.

Billy Costa is an Emmy award-winning and popular radio personality with KISS 108-FM in Boston. He serves as co-host of The Matty in the Morning Show and hosts the KISS Top 30 Countdown. He is also the host of High School Quiz Show on WGBH. He and co-host Jenny Johnson currently star on Dining Playbook, a 30-minute show that combines two of New England’s favorite pastimes… food and sports.

Captain Chris has been in the tackle industry for close to 10 years which has helped him gain a wealth of knowledge from meeting and fishing with some of the best Captains on Cape Cod. Chris gained a passion for the outdoors, specifically fishing at a young age and continued to pursue a career in the fishing industry. Captain Chris has written articles for New England Fishing Magazine, The Goose Hummock Outdoor Guide and appeared in New England Fishing TV episodes on NESN

Captain Dave Steeves has been a professional fishing guide for over 20 years on Cape Cod....specializing in fly & light tackle fishing around Monomoy Island and Nantucket Sound.  His favorite type of fishing is sight fishing for Stripers in shallow water...poling the flats in a shallow water skiff.

With over 20 years of Regional and international sport fishing experience, Captain Jack of East Coast Charters is one of the most progressive members of New England’s Sport Fishing Community. Capt. Jack is a Freelance Outdoor Writer/Photographer and Published Author. His work is frequently seen in publications like "Saltwater Sportsman," "Sport Fishing Magazine" “Big Game Journal” and “On the Water” Magazines as well as many more. In addition to his freelance work and guided sport fishing operation the Captain is also one of the two men at the helm of the RonZ Lures brand and an active member of Team Shimano U.S.

Capitan John has been fishing the waters off cape cod since he was a child. In his younger years he spent his time on commercial fishing vessels and for the last decade he has been rod and reel fishing off cape cod commercially and chartering in his 24 ft diesel powered center console. From springtime seabass and tautog in buzzards bay to giant tuna fishing his target species and fishing locale are quite diverse.

Captain Matt Perachio of Tighten up Charters is a Goose Hummock pro staff Captain and comes with 25 years experience of targeting Bluefin Tuna with light tackle in the waters off Cape Cod.

Goose Hummock Owner Captain Phil has fished the waters of Cape Cod for over 25 years, firstly as a vacationer from England and now he resides full time in Orleans MA. Captain Phil leads the Team Goose tournament boat, Yoshki.com, a custom built Contender 39ST which can be regularly seen chasing all manner of fish from Stellwagen Bank to south of Martha’s Vineyard.

Veteran marine journalist Charles Plueddeman has been writing about boats of all sizes, personal watercraft, trailering, propellers and engine technology since he joined the staff of Boating Magazine in 1986. His work has also appeared in Outdoor Life, Playboy, Men's Journal, Soundings, Yachting, and Sport Fishing magazines. Plueddeman has been on the water from the Florida Keys to the Inside Passage. He's towed a boat the length of both the Oregon Trail and the Alaska Highway, helped set the standing APBA speed record from Chicago to Detroit, raced a personal watercraft and has dinged his share of props. Self-employed since 1991, Plueddeman continues to contribute to Boating Magazine and is the author of its popular "Off My Dock" column. He lives near Rush Lake, Wisconsin.

Growing up in an Urban Metropolis, Chris and his family would escape the hustle and bustle off the city and head for the countryside where he would fish from sun up to sunset. To further sharpen his skills, Chris began stalking inshore waters from the surf and kayak. This only led to solidify his life long passion and dedication to the sport of fishing. Chris is a prostaff member off the Tsunami fishing team.

President & CEO, Conventures Inc

The year was 1977 and Dusty Rhodes had a new idea – to use special events as a marketing medium. As a result of her ability to execute big picture strategies with critical small detail planning, she was able to establish clientele and create one of the first special events companies of its kind in the country - Conventures.  Now over 40 years and 5,000 events later, Conventures has earned its reputation as New England’s leading special events company through innovation, creativity, knowledge of the community, and total commitment to producing events in a “first class” manner.

Among her many high-profile achievements, Dusty has had a significant impact on the maritime industry since the late 1980s. When presented with the idea of bringing the Tall Ships back to Boston as part of the 500th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ historic journey to Boston, Dusty took it on with vigor. After much hard work, Dusty successfully produced Sail Boston 1992. Through her efforts, the Tall Ships returned in 2000, 2009, and 2017.

Over the years, Dusty was able to make the events even more robust through her engagement with multiple event stakeholders, the general public and businesses. Additionally, with her “All boats rise” mantra, Dusty sought partner organizations that would benefit from the Tall Ships’ visit. She quickly developed marketing partner programs that connected local hotels, restaurants, and attractions to the event through sharing intellectual property rights and promotional activities.

In additional to Sail Boston, upon the Bicentennial of the US Navy’s ship “CONSTITUTION”, Dusty planned the city’s celebration of the US Navy’s ship Old Ironsides by welcoming the ship into Boston Harbor on July 23, 1998. A Bicentennial Salute Committee, chaired by William O. Taylor, chairman and publisher of The Boston Globe, was formed to oversee the 1998 activities. The committee then retained Dusty and Conventures to produce all the Bicentennial activities. Boston’s inaugural International Naval Review was a stirring opening to the planned festivities. Fifteen naval vessels and tall ships from around the world paraded into the port to formally salute Old Ironsides, the world’s oldest commissioned fighting ship afloat. Throughout the week, the public was able to board the international vessels berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard, the Black Falcon Terminal, The United States Coast Guard Station, and the World Trade Center. Other activities that took place included a crew parade through downtown Boston, seamanship competitions, and liberty parties for the international visitors. It was estimated that the event generated $25 million in economic impact, as well as a lot of enjoyment.

Not only has Dusty planned maritime centered events, but has also spearheaded sporting events, galas, non-profit events, First Night Boston, Boston Harborfest’s Parade of Lights, and Reebok’s Boston 10K for Women, just to name a few. All of the events she has created and managed have successfully targeted the in-bound international visitors and have been a major reason why our region’s international visitors have more than doubled in the last 20 years. Dusty has been awarded multiple times, featured in many renowned magazines and news networks, serves on many non-profit and corporate boards, and is a proud mother of six children.
 

Larry Jenk has worked as a master service technician in the marine industry for more than 45 years. Working in both dealerships and on the road as a mobile service technician, he’s encountered, diagnosed and solved nearly every boat problem imaginable. Larry uses his expertise to educate boaters on how best to maintain and care for their boats, with an emphasis on basic, simple ways to keep a boat in ship-shape, ready to enjoy on the water.