Mike Rowe to Headline 2017 SHOT Show State of the Industry Dinner

To: ALL MEDIA

For immediate release
October 17, 2016

For more information contact:

Bill Brassard
203-426-1320

Mike Rowe to Headline 2017 SHOT Show State of the Industry Dinner

Mike Rowe

NEWTOWN, Conn.—The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, is pleased to announce that Executive Producer, Narrator, and TV Host Mike Rowe will provide the headlining entertainment for the 2017 SHOT Show State of the Industry Dinner.

Mike Rowe is best known as the “dirtiest man on TV,” a title he earned on the hit TV series Dirty Jobs, where he completed 300 different jobs traversing all 50 states and transformed cable television into a landscape of swamps, sewers, and coal mines. He has narrated hundreds of documentaries about space, nature, dinosaurs, serial killers, and how stuff works. Most recently, Rowe launched The Way I Heard It, a weekly five-minute podcast of mysteries for the curious mind with a short attention span. He has also forged a handful of partnerships with iconic brands and filmed a boatload of Ford commercials.

As CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, Rowe speaks regularly about the country’s dysfunctional relationship with work, the widening skills gap, and challenging the persistent belief that a four-year degree is automatically the best path to take for the most people. The mikeroweWORKS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial assistance to people getting trained for skilled jobs that are in demand. Through scholarship programs, like the Work Ethic Scholarship Program, the Foundation has helped grant more than $3 million in technical and/or vocational education for trade schools across the country.

“We’re thrilled to have Mike Rowe speak at our annual State of the Industry Dinner, and it’s not hard to see why,” said Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “He is a champion of hard work, fairness and common sense; he has worked tirelessly as an advocate of America’s blue-collar worker; and his philanthropic efforts to put people back to work in skilled jobs have resonated from America’s big cities to its heartland. He’s also one of the most entertaining speakers around, and we think his message is one that everyone at the State of the Industry Dinner will appreciate.”

NSSF’s annual State of the Industry Dinner will take place the first evening of the 2017 SHOT Show, Tuesday, January 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The evening will begin with a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres hour. Following the social hour will be a gourmet dinner, then a variety of industry award presentations and the state of the industry address by Steve Sanetti, NSSF President and CEO, before the stage is given over to Mike Rowe. Individual tickets to the event are $125 for NSSF members and $145 for non-members. Tables of 10 can be purchased for $1,150 by NSSF Members and $1,350 by non-members. Seating is limited and this event will sell out, so those wishing to attend are urged to purchase their tickets early. For more information, visit shotshow.org.

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About NSSF

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 12,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.