KICKER Marine Audio Returning To Back Consecutive Lake Havasu Events
The title sponsor of the Desert Storm Poker Run since 2018, KICKER Marine Audio will return alongside Anderson Powersports in the shared-role for the upcoming April 24-27 happening in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. But the team from the Stillwater, Okla.-based outfit won’t have to travel far to support the famed poker run and its standard-setting Thursday afternoon and evening street party. That’s because the company is returning as a primary backer of the Super Cat Fest West event, which also is based in Lake Havasu City and takes place April 17-21, KICKER shares the title sponsor role of that event with Phoenix-based DCB Performance Marine.
For two consecutive weeks, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., will be the epicenter of high-performance boating world thanks to Desert Storm (above) and Super Cat Fest West. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Jeff Helmkamp Photos.
In 2023, Super Cat Fest West raised more than $200,000 for local children’s charities. Though the event started in 2021, this is the second event being co-produced by Super Cat Fest founder Alvin Heathman, whose signature event happens at the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, and River Dave’s Place, a popular online community owned and founded by Lake Havasu City resident Dave Johnson.
A veteran event producer, Heathman saw potential for a Super Cat Fest event in Lake Havasu City long before he actually produced one.
“Lake Havasu is amazing—there is always something performance going on here,” he said in a KICKER Marine Audio press release. “It’s a giant playground and I think it is the perfect setting for a boating event.”
Like KICKER Marine Audio, DCB Performance Marine is returning as a title sponsor for Super Cat Fest West.
Johnson is a well-known figure in the go-fast boating community. In the press release, he said he is grateful to see the 50-plus-year-old sound system company and DCB Performance Marine returning as title backers.
“These guys took a chance on us last year and I’m very humbled by that,” Johnson explained. “But I’m also very proud that they thought enough of it that they both immediately confirmed as title sponsors for Super Cat Fest West 2024.”
The four-day Desert Storm happening doesn’t lack for action thanks to the Friday poker run and Saturday top-speed shootout. But for KICKER Marine Audio, the Thursday street affair, which takes over downtown Lake Havasu City for more than a mile, is the lynchpin event of the week. In addition to its extensive product display, the company will again showcase its KICKER XRV and its “Boom Room.”
An array of go-fast boats equipped with KICKER Marine Audio sound systems will be on display at both events thanks to local dealer Elite Audio Havasu.
But the company’s involvement and commitment goes beyond marketing its products during the street celebration and sponsoring a poker-run card stop, according to Jim Russell, who co-owns Desert Storm with Steve Ticknor.
“KICKER is highly involved in our event, from donating equipment for our charity auction benefitting the local Marine Corps League at our Welcome Party on Wednesday,” Russell said. “We are very thankful to have built such a great relationship with KICKER Marine Audio and look forward to working with (the company) for many years to come.”
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