Agency Culture (Truth in Humor?)

[drbill]

I don't believe in agencies (although I agree that "religion" can be good for some people)

 

[Wookie]

I don't believe in agencies (although I agree that "religion" can be good for some people)

A person should not believe in an agency, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, “I don’t believe in ‘Beatles’, I just believe in me.” Good point there. After all, he was the Walrus. I could be the Walrus, I’d still have to bum rides off of people.

Wisdom from Ferris Bueller

 

[Sam Miller III]

Sam great history lesson .... I still remember that ,blow up of the sheep dog and the rule at padi NO DARK GLASSES OR HATS because of it , these threads are SO VERY important to keep alive , the history of us.... I still impart a lot of this history to my newly minted instructor I train ...and I maintain a small museum of old diving gear and tell them all about it

I do not comprehend "blow up of the sheep dog ???"

"and the rule at padi NO DARK GLASSES OR HATS"'
Another urban myth ....

That was from the US WW 11 (and maybe before ) services which was a integral part of LA Co UICC, NO DARK GLASSES OR HATS" as well as no speedos only red swim trunks and a white coat(if needed) while lecturing on deck.

Speedo were acceptable in the teaching environment IN the pool, the beach or on a boat.

White LA Co Jackets were recommended but not required on a boat

I commend you for your museum -- as I recall from that first day in anatomy class "We lean from the dead" and divers should know about the very short history of such a great activity as recreational diving which is less than a hundred years old-- Keep up the good work !

Sam Miller, 111

 

[KDAD]

There is a solution for this: the Everything Specialty certification card.

First, you acquire a card printer. I got mine from the NACD.

1. Photoshop your picture on the card.
2. Fill in your full name on the card.
3. Pick the logo from your diving organization or religion.
4. Print the card and show whenever asked for it.

View attachment 441297

Note: in case you want to go diving in Ginnie, add the words CAVE and CCR somewhere on the card as well. Although Everything already includes these, some people have a hard time reading.

I tried using that card one dive trip but the DM wouldn't let me on the boat. He said it was suspicious because FIGJAM was spelt incorrectly. He eventually relented and let me dive after I told him how great of a diver I really was. It was actually a nice dive as I ended up sharing his air on the safety stop after running low so I got to stay down longer.

Maybe I should have tried PADI instead?

 

[rhwestfall]

Blow up of the sheep dog = fallout of a dog getting a card.

No dark glasses or hats = restrictions on content/composition of pictures for cards.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Blow up of the sheep dog = fallout of a dog getting a card.

No dark glasses or hats.[ = restrictions on content/composition of pictures for cards

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well son of a gun !

John Gaffney's (Goofy Gaf by his close friends) PADI certified dog lives on in the annals of diving lore... After all these many years an honor indeed for the Gaf.

NO DARK GLASSES OR HATS" as well as no speedos only red swim trunks and a white coat(if needed) while lecturing on deck. = restrictions on content/composition of pictures for card

When accepted into LA Co UICC, the candidate was issued a pair of official red trunks and a plain white jacket. Upon successful completion of the course they were given a LA Co UW instructor patch which was sewn on the left breast of the jacket

Interesting !

SDM[/QUOTE]

 

[boulderjohn]

NASDS is no more -- absorbed by SSI who gave us the SSI Pro 5000 Platinum Pro Award
So both NASDS and SSI roots can be traced back to LA Underwater Instructors Program

The reality is the opposite--SSI was absorbed by NASDS, but it assumed the SSI name instead of the NASDS name. The following information comes from a workshop I attended that was led by Doug McNeese, the last owner of NASDS and the then owner of SSI.

NASDS was originally named the National Association of Skin Diving Stores, a trade association dedicated to promoting the sale of scuba gear, and it later changed its name to the National Association of Skin Diving Schools when it realized that instruction was the best way to promote equipment sales. It was eventually doing very poorly as an agency, and one of its most successful dive shop owners, Doug McNeese, purchased the agency and went to work for it. It meant walking across the street from his main store (out of 4) to the NASDS headquarters. He maintained ownership of those stores, and still had ownership when I participated in that workshop.

When NASDS merged with SSI and assumed the SSI name, McNeese moved to SSI headquarters in Fort Collins, Colorado. After not too long a time, McNeese bought out the old SSI ownership and took total control by himself. He brought all the old NASDS philosophies into the system, all of which were based on the original goal of NASDS--equipment sales. The workshop I attended focused completely on how to use scuba instruction to maximize equipment sales. Thus, SSI is actually NASDS with a new name.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Thank you @boulderjohn
Appreciate your comments and clarification of the relationship of NASDS & SSI A bit of interesting and valuable historical information that needs to be recorded-- and now it is!

I knew John Gaffney very well - as a fellow pioneer spear fisherman, a member of the SDM team and as a organizer and leader of National Association of Skin Diving Stores/National Association of Skin Diving Schools.

Through the long friendship and mutual respect I certified students through both organizations but was never a card carrying member of either organization. John was that sort of a friend

I also met Dough on several occasions but like my relationship with John never discussed the relationship of NASDS/SSI. As I recall the last meeting was when son Dr. Sam IV received his SSI Pro 5000 award about 10 years ago. Sam IV and I are one of the very few, at that time 3 father and sons, to receive that very prestigious award.

Trace, the OP of this thread is also a SSI Pro 5000. I suspect some time the future you will also be eligible for the SSI Pro 5000. It, like LA County Underwater Instructors Association (LA Co UIA) , has very restrictive member ship but is composed of the shakers and movers of the dive international community

Thanks again for this and you many informative posts

Sam Miller,III

 

[drbill]

I don't believe in quantity of dives but in quality of dives and what one does with the information gleaned from the dives. I'm sure that's true for you, Sam, and your son. I've seen divers who may do 100 dives all under the same conditions and without much variety.

I never logged my dives from 1962 to 2000 because I never planned to travel internationally until that year. Of course I wasn't even certified until 1969 so no agency was involved during most of the 60s. I can only document about 3,300 dives (all since June, 2000) but feel I have taken what I've learned and transformed it into things that can educate and inspire other divers.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I don't believe in quantity of dives but in quality of dives and what one does with the information gleaned from the dives.

A bad day diving is better than a good day on ScubaBoard.