WASHINGTON -- The nation's chief executive is ready to go fishing.
The White House, highlighting examples of homegrown excellence, featured Flippin-based Ranger Boats this week at an event on American-made products.
President Donald Trump paused to admire a top-of-the-line Ranger Z521L ICON, which was parked near the South Portico.
The 21-foot, 7-inch watercraft, a special edition commemorating the company's 50th anniversary, retails for $98,995.
Company officials shipped it from Arkansas so it would be there in time for the White House exposition, the 2018 Made in America Product Showcase.
"Good-looking stuff, huh? Anybody want to go fishing?" Trump said to those around him.
Jimmy Houston, a pro angler and Ranger Boats ambassador, said he chatted briefly with the president.
"He told me he liked my hair. Him and I have kind of the same crazy hair, as you know," Houston said. "I told him the last president that I had taken fishing was President George W. Bush, and I asked him when we were going to go [fishing]. And he said, 'I'm ready. Let's go.'"
Houston, sporting a Ranger Boats shirt, emphasized the watercraft's Natural State and all-American roots.
"He asked about where the boat was made and I told him, 'Flippin, Ark.,'" Houston said. "I said, 'The Mercury motor is made in Wisconsin. ... The batteries are made by East Penn in Hershey, Pa. Basically everything on a Ranger boat, including the trailer, is made right here in America.'"
All 50 states were represented at Monday's exposition.
There were MoonPies from Chattanooga, Tenn., and Round House jeans from Shawnee, Okla.; even a fighter jet from Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin.
In a speech, Trump portrayed the companies and their wares as world-class.
"We're here today to celebrate the greatest products in the world, products made with American heart, American sweat and American pride," Trump said.
Brian Lancaster, who owns a Thurmont, Md., boat dealership, helped deliver the Arkansas boat to Pennsylvania Avenue.
It passed through three security checkpoints along the way, undergoing canine and X-ray scrutiny.
He said he was happy to assist with the journey.
"It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was quite awesome, actually," Lancaster said.
Residents of Flippin and Marion County were delighted to see their homegrown company in the spotlight.
"It's an awesome recognition, as far as I'm concerned. I couldn't be more proud," Flippin Mayor Jerald Marberry said.
The company, founded by Forrest L. Wood in 1968, employs about 1,100 people, making it the area's largest employer.
Ranger Boats has been a blessing for the past half-century, Marberry said.
"It has furnished a lot of growth and supplied a lot of people with a good place to live and a good place to work. ... It just absolutely put Flippin on the map," he said.
Now that the White House event is over, the boat will be headed for the market, according to Matt Raynor, a Ranger Boats spokesman.
"Somebody somewhere will eventually own this particular Ranger Icon that will have been featured at the White House," he said.
Metro on 07/25/2018