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Contact Lakeland Boating

Ahoy! Do you have a comment, suggestion, or problem you’d like to share with the staff of Lakeland Boating magazine?

Please direct it to info@lakelandboating.com. If you have questions about your subscription, please visit our subscription page.

Any other correspondence can be directed to the following:

Editorial Dept.

Kate Bush
Editor
kbush@lakelandboating.com
312-276-0610

Creative/Production Dept.

Christy Tuttle Bauhs
Art Director/Production Manager
cbauhs@lakelandboating.com
312-276-0610

Advertising Sales

Mark Conway
Advertising Sales Representative
mconway@lakelandboating.com
312-276-0610

Joe D’Onofrio
Director of Business Development
jdonofrio@lakelandboating.com
201-906-2586

Linda O’Meara
Publisher and Marketing Director
lomeara@lakelandboating.com
312-276-0610

Editorial, Advertising and Classified Office

1555 Sherman Avenue, Suite 313
Evanston, IL 60201
800-331-0132
info@lakelandboating.com

Subscriptions

P.O. Box 386
Lincolnshire, IL 60069
847-504-8475

Customer Service:
800-827-0289

Lakeland Boating Staff

Walter “Bing” O’Meara

Publisher In Memorium 

Bing was our trusty helmsman of the magazine from 1983 until his passing in 2021. His long career in the marine industry included sales positions with Motor Boating and Sailing magazine and Peterson Publishing’s marine group. He had a passion for boats, the water, people and dogs, which lasted throughout his life. He had an uncanny ability to tell a story, entertain readers and share his passion for boating. We miss him dearly!

Kate Bush

Editorial Director

Growing up in West Michigan, Kate spent her childhood tubing, fishing and adventuring to nearby ports on Lake Michigan. A Michigan State University alum, Kate now lives in East Grand Rapids with her husband, son and daughter, and continues to spend her summers boating on Lake Michigan and sailing on nearby Reed’s Lake.

312-276-0610
kbush@lakelandboating.com

Christy Tuttle Bauhs

Art Director/Production Manager

A graduate of Indiana University’s School of Journalism, Christy joined the staff of American Printer in 1994, where she spearheaded redesigns in 1999 and 2001. She won several design awards before taking time off to take care of her family. Christy came to Lakeland Boating in 2010, where she oversaw several redesigns. She enjoys walking her dog Indy, reading and spending time in Pentwater, Michigan with her husband and two college kids.

312-276-0610
cbauhs@lakelandboating.com

Linda O’Meara

Publisher and Marketing Director

After many years spent cruising and living on or near the water, Linda joined the Lakeland Boating crew. With a passion for boating and a long career in marketing and banking, her skills have been put to good use at the magazine helping to sell advertising, manage accounts and generally keeping the place in ship-shape condition.

312-276-0610
lomeara@lakelandboating.com

Mark Conway

National/Display Sales Manager

Mark grew up on Long Island Sound working as a beach boy in his youth. He then served in the U.S. Army at President Johnson’s expressed request after completing his college education. Mark spent his entire professional career in the publishing industry and has been on board with Lakeland Boating since 2001. His passions include his wife, his daughter, history, and being on or near the water.

312-276-0610
mconway@lakelandboating.com

Joe D’Onofrio

Director of Business Development

Joe has spent his entire career in the publishing business: Ad space rep, publisher, partner and business owner. His focus is on outstanding service, market knowledge, professionalism and relationship building. As an avid boater and fisherman, Joe is extremely excited to “talk shop” and take his experience in print and digital publishing to the world of boating! He resides in New Jersey with his wife where he can be found fishing, entertaining friends and family, playing golf or swimming with Dante his “goldador” (half golden retriever, half Lab).

201-906-2586
jdonofrio@lakelandboating.com

About Lakeland Boating Magazine

Lakeland Boating magazine has been the voice of the Sweetwater Seas for 75 years. From in-depth boat tests and features on weekend getaways, to product roundups and stories about colorful Ports of Call, we’ve got the Great Lakes region covered. Meet the people who love the lake lifestyle and glean useful tips on marine electronics, engine repair and general boat maintenance, and more. LakelandBoating.com supplements the print version of the magazine with exclusive news and frequently updated departments. The content is geared toward the interests of freshwater boaters on the Great Lakes, as well as the connecting waterways and inland lakes.

A January 1948 cover before the name change

A cover from May 1966

A March 1988 cover after the sale from Peterson Publications

The March 2007 cover

The November/December 2022 cover

The January 2024 cover with logo update

Getting Started

Before founding Lakeland Boating, then called Lakeland Yachting and Motorboating, Vic Schoen was an avid boater. Schoen was piloting a 36′ 1925 wooden Burger dubbed Sea Toy II. A great fan of his boat, Schoen also knew it represented the capital he needed to start a new magazine about boating on the Great Lakes.

In early 1946, Schoen placed an ad in the Chicago Tribune putting Sea Toy II up for sale. Schoen sold the boat to 26-year-old Paul Cullen for $1,300, the necessary seed money to begin his new magazine: Lakeland Yachting and Motorboating.

Lakeland Yachting

With money in hand, Schoen started Lakeland Yachting and Motorboating in mid-1946 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Under his guidance, Lakeland Yachting was cordial and upbeat on every page, presenting an enthusiast’s assurance that boating was pure happiness.

In 1957, the name of the magazine was changed from Lakeland Yachting and Motorboating to Lakeland Boating to more accurately depict the nature of the magazine and its emphasis on motor boats.

1963: Mid-America’s Freshwater Yachting Magazine

Only five issues of Lakeland Yachting were published in 1963, and after the first issue of 1964 ownership of the magazine was passed from Schoen to Larry Prakken and Dave Kitz. Prakken took over as publisher, and Kitz assumed the editorship. Along with this change in ownership came a new slogan: “Mid-America’s Freshwater Yachting Magazine.” They also moved the offices to Ann Arbor, Michigan.

While Schoen kept things light and breezy, Kitz set forth his new editorial mission: First, to report for you the interesting boating activities of the past, present, and future; and second, to raise its voice to help protect and preserve this delightful boating area from the ravages of deterioration that all too often accompany the growth of metropolitan areas.

Kitz was a strident voice for boaters. In his “View from the Bridge” column, he gave boaters a conscience and called out politicians when he felt they were wrong. He was particularly concerned with boating safety.

In 1972, Kitz bought out Prakken to take sole ownership of the magazine.

Instead of publishing their normal pre-boat show issue in 1975, Kitz instead published his “Clean Water” issue, calling on government to stop Reserve Mining’s spoiling of Lake Superior, while also lauding the City of Detroit for its work cleaning up the Detroit River, then one of the worst cesspools in America.

Kitz saw boating not as the culmination of one’s life, but as a worthwhile hobby, once writing, “All too often, the boat is misappropriated and used as a status symbol or an experience with the IRS in mind. It could have anything but a wholesome influence on young people.”

For fun with the family, he said, boating, “is still one of the best ways to do interesting things together.”

Kitz again moved the magazine’s offices to Adrian, Michigan, in 1977.

1980: Peterson Publications

Kitz sold Lakeland Boating to Peterson Publications in 1980.

Peterson Publications specialized in niche-market magazines and planned to turn Lakeland Boating, which, at this time, was considered a small-circulation magazine, into a national giant. Peterson quickly tripled Lakeland Boating‘s circulation to a high of 60,000.

Peterson Publications folded its own Sea magazine into Lakeland Boating, growing the magazine from 40 pages per issue to 130 pages.

Kitz, now an associate publisher for the magazine, continued writing his “View from the Bridge” column until the magazine dropped it upon sale to its current publisher.

1983-Present: Walter “Bing” O’Meara

Walter “Bing” O’Meara and David Brown purchased Lakeland Boating in 1983. O’Meara learned magazine publishing in the food service and lodging trade journal industry.

Pleasure boating had been on a downturn since the gasoline crisis in 1974, when President Carter suggested fuel sales should not take place on weekends. Owing to this, Peterson Publications found its efforts to go national stymied and re-focused on the regional aspect of the magazine.

Upon O’Meara’s purchase of the magazine, however, boating began an upturn in popularity that would continue for quite some time.

O’Meara moved the business office to Highland Park, Illinois, and brought original owner Vic Schoen back as a correspondent. In June of 1985, O’Meara bought out his partner, David Brown, and moved the offices to Chicago, Illinois. Offices moved to the Fountain Building in Evanston, Illinois in 1988, then to Chicago’s historic Printer’s Row in 2003, and back to Evanston in 2015 with offices in the Chandler’s Building.