SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – In a lighthearted ceremony June 25 at the annual Boatnerd Picnic in Sault Ste. Marie the event was renamed the Lee and Bill Rowe Annual Boatnerd Picnic, honoring the event’s founder and her husband. Lee Rowe, from Gwinn, MI, started the picnic, then held at Mission Point in the Soo, in 1998. It was eventually moved to the Sherman Park pavilion in the Soo which provides shelter in case of bad weather and has ample parking.
Lee and Bill Rowe with their special proclamation.
The Rowes were presented with a framed proclamation signed by many of the long-time attendees and read by Boatnerd board members Roger LeLievre and Sam Hankinson.
“Thank you for starting this years ago. It’s an honor for Boatnerd to keep the traditional alive,” said Nathan Leindedker, vice president of the Boatnerd board of directors.
The text of the proclamation follows:
WHEREAS Boatnerd has held an annual picnic in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, since 1998 …
And WHEREAS honorary Admiral Lee Rowe and her devoted husband Bill have been the driving force and inspirational leaders behind the picnic for all those years …
And WHEREAS Lee and Bill have made sure that people who love boats have other people to love them with …
And WHEREAS they have turned a picnic into a family reunion for people who didn’t know they were family …
And WHEREAS they have a knack for bringing people together, and once they are together, listening to everyone’s stories …
And WHEREAS their friendship and inspiration have been an example to us all …
THEREFORE, we as grateful members of the Boatnerd community do hereby rechristen the event today and in perpetuity the Lee and Bill Rowe Annual Boatnerd Picnic effective this day, June 25, 2026.
“It’s safe to say Engineer’s Day and Boatnerding as a hobby wouldn’t be what it is today without Lee,” said picnic regular Jeff Gushman, who travels each year from Port Huron, MI. “We all owe you so much,” added Steve Dearth of Cincinnati, OH. “If I didn’t see a single boat, it would still be the best time, ever, being with you and the rest of the crew.”
