1993 | JoAnne Ellis

Ellis always was a boat racer, chief scorer and staunch APBA supporter. In 1963 she began as an A Modified Runabout driver. She won the 1969 and 1970 East-West A Modified High Point Championships, entered the APBA Region 6 Stock Hall of Fame, and was the first recipient of the Harper Chance Memorial Trophy - all while promoting and working at races.

She helped arrange the first Stock Outboard races in the Dayton, OH Hydrobowl. She was chief scorer for the Modified Outboard Nationals and for the largest Outboard race ever run, the 1974 APBA Stock Nationals, with over 825 entries. From Modified Deputy Commissioner she became Modified Outboard Vice President in 1976.

She continued scoring through 1975, doubled the membership and established the J Mod and the 25 Mod classes. She also laid the groundwork for the new two-person Formula E class. Ellis put together and tore down her own racing motors with her husband Bill. Even when she was helping him recover from a stroke, she continued to help racers, referee and work at races. She wrote a book, How to Organize Large Championship Races For APBA.

When she developed cancer, she was still in the pits, watching the races she so dearly loved. Ellis commented, "Boat racing has given me good friends, good times and pleasant memories. I don’t think I could ever give up boat racing."