Chamber Challenge 2008 - update #5 ($20,300)

[Chamber Day]

What a lovely week it was as we count down to the 20th annual Chamber Day and the 10th annual Chamber Evening. We not only were able to announce a good start, but we got some very nice and very large donations right after we made that announcement.

Remember too that this year we’ve got our special “20/10” club, open to the first 20 $1000 donors to the Challenge and the first 10 $500 donors. They all get their names on a permanent plaque that will be displayed at our Chamber. And here’s who were adding this week.

Starting of with a very generous $2500 donation are Mike Emmerman, Pat Stockhausen, and TJ (they’re a family). Mike’s an expert in the Hyperbaric field and he and his family have been longtime supporters of the Catalina Chamber.

Next was The Deep (RVM & Associates) who called in with a $2000 donation. Although we can’t give many details yet, we can tell you they’re working on a very exciting concept for scuba diving that will provide all of us with better diving opportunities down the road.

Jeff Smith and Pacific Wilderness joined the list of Gold Sponsors with a very generous $1000 contribution and Steve Ladd and Ocean Adventures added their name to the Silver sponsors list with a $500 donation. Many thanks to all of our donors this past week, including a couple of more at the bronze level ($100).

So we’re really moving along. But we hope this isn’t just an initial surge. There are many of you reading this right now who have donated to the Challenge in the past - at all levels - and we’d like you to dig deep this year to make our 20/10 celebration a most special one.

Remember that all of these funds go to help our Chamber be available to divers on a 24/7/366 basis (it’s a leap year so we add a day at no extra charge) and these finds also allow the Chamber to sponsor programs or education within the diving community so we can all become better and safer divers.

So let’s keep the ball rolling this week. Whether it’s $100, $1000, or any amount that’s right for you, you need to step up and support your Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. So . . . who’s next? Who will help push us over $13,000?

CHAMBER CHALLENGE 2008 - $12,600 total (Updated 3/16/08 @ 11PM - last updated 3/12)
(New donors are marked with an asterisk.)

Gold ($1,000 and up)
* Mike Emmerman, Pat Stockhausen, & TJ
* The Deep (RVM & Associates)
* Pacific Wilderness
Sport Chalet
DiveVets
Laurie Kasper & Ken Kurtis

Silver ($500-999)
* Ocean Adventures
Karl Huggins

Bronze ($100-499)
* Indian Valley Scuba
* Jerry Nickelsburg
Susy Horowitz
Diver.net
Sea Divers Dive Club
Old Broads Dive Club
Barnacle Busters Scuba Club
Chris Rybak & Conoco-Phillips (matching grant)
California Wreck Divers
Derek & Debbie Karimoto
James Haw
Kevin Lee
Gorman Dive Adventures & Travel

Ken Kurtis
Chairman, Chamber Day/Eve 2008
310/652-4990

 

[Chamber Day]

(And I actually spelled "Chamber" correctly correctly in the title bar this time . . .)

Normally we look to do these updates about once a week. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d need to do our next one three days after our last one but here we are. And what a remarkable three days it’s been.

We’re very happy to tell you that we’ve already hit $16,000 in this year’s Chamber Challenge. These funds are critically important to the Chamber because 100% of the money donated goes to the Chamber since we don’t need to pay for a t-shirt, a dinner, or other goodies out of the monies collected. And to me personally, the donations to the Chamber Challenge are always a good way measure how the diving community feels about our Chamber since the only “reward” the donor gets back is the knowledge that they’ve help keep our Chamber on sound financial ground. So here are our latest benefactors.

We start out with Alberto Mantovani and DiveNav, Inc. (they make very clever 3-D underwater maps) with a $1000 Gold-level donation.

Next we have our $500 Silver-level donors who include Scuba Schools of America in Montclair (Rusty Berry is also a member of the Chamber Day steering committee), Jeanne Sleeper (who is also spear-heading a fund-raising campaign for the Aquarium of the pacific), and the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (not only producing beautiful images but also making a beautiful donation),

We got another $500 donation but it was an unusual one as it came from our friends at The Deep (RVM & Associates) who had already given $2000. But when they saw there was a $2500 donation given at the same time as theirs, they upped their previous donation by $500 for a total of $2500. (And if anyone else wants to play one-upsmanship, we’re happy to have our Chamber benefit from that.)

We also added some Bronze-level $100 donors, including Fran & George Ollweiler (of Dover, DE) who have the distinction of being the contribution that brought us to $16,000 for the second year in a row. (Timing is everything.)

And even though we’re off to a rousing start and well ahead of last year’s pace, our fear is that there will be temptation to rest of our laurels. There are many of you who have donated to the Challenge in the past who we haven’t heard from yet. Now’s as good a time as any. So . . . who’s next??? Who will push us past $17,000?????

CHAMBER CHALLENGE 2008 - $16,000 total (Updated 3/19/08 @ 4PM - last updated 3/16)
(New donors are marked with an asterisk.)

Gold ($1,000 and up)
* DiveNav, Inc.
Mike Emmerman, Pat Stockhausen, & TJ
The Deep (RVM & Associates)
Pacific Wilderness
Sport Chalet
DiveVets
Laurie Kasper & Ken Kurtis

Silver ($500-999)
* Scuba Schools of America
* Jeanne Sleeper
* Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society
Ocean Adventures
Karl Huggins

Bronze ($100-499)
* Fran & George Ollweiler
* Michael Swinney
* Claudette Dorsey
* Walter Watson
Indian Valley Scuba
Jerry Nickelsburg
Susy Horowitz
Diver.net
Sea Divers Dive Club
Old Broads Dive Club
Barnacle Busters Scuba Club
Chris Rybak & Conoco-Phillips (matching grant)
California Wreck Divers
Derek & Debbie Karimoto
James Haw
Kevin Lee
Gorman Dive Adventures & Travel

Ken Kurtis
Chairman, Chamber Day/Eve 2008
310/652-4990

 

[Chamber Day]

I must confess that all of us on the Chamber Day Committee are amazed and gratified by the initial response this year. Whether it’s because o four 20/10 anniversary theme or simply that Chamber Day really IS the social event of the diving community is moot. The bottom line is that we’re starting off very strong.

For the first time ever, we’ve had sponsor request for EVERY table at Chamber Evening. (This doesn’t mean there aren’t still seats available, just simply that the sponsorships for each table are already assigned.) We’ve started off very strong on the Chamber Challenge and are well ahead of last year’s pace. The boats are starting to fill up. And even though it appears the Flying Dutchman is running slow (only 11 divers so far), that’s actually ahead of last year’s pace which ended up being a record. So we’re in the pinch-me-I’m-must-be-dreaming stage.

So let’s keep the momentum going. Remember that the monies we net from this event all go to help keep our Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber on sound financial footing. And lest you think the Chamber isn’t needed, I can tell you that there have been four cases that they’ve dealt with in the last four weeks alone.

Our Chamber is a vital safety net for the SoCal diving community. Your support keeps it strong. So get involved with one or more aspects of Chamber Day 2008. Here’s where we are as of noon on 3/21:

CHAMBER DAY BOATS (sponsor)
245 total spots - 151 sold (61%) , 94 still available

Boats can be booked either through the sponsor, the website, or by calling us at the general phone number:

Bottom Scratcher (Pacific Wilderness) - 15 sold, 15 available
Cee Ray (Reef Seekers & Douglas Dive Club) - 23 sold, 7 available
Flying Dutchman (Open) - 11 signed up so far (don’t forget to include your “pirate” name)
Island Time (Sport Chalet) - 2 sold, 20 available
Magician (Sport Chalet) - SOLD OUT
Mr. C (CA Wreck Divers) - 6 sold, 19 available
Pacific Star (Scuba Schools of America) - SOLD OUT
Psalty V (Scuba Schools of America) - SOLD OUT
Sand Dollar (Open) - 0 sold, 25 available
Sea Bass (SoCal Tec Divers) - SOLD OUT
Second Stage (Scuba -Doo Dive Center) - SOLD OUT
Sundiver (Ocean Adventures) - 20 sold, 6 available (open spots only through Ocean Adventures)
Sundiver II (Ken Kurtis) - SOLD OUT

CHAMBER EVENING TABLES (table sponsor & total seats)
500 seats total - 312 sold (62%) , 188 still available

Note that a few tables that are listed as SOLD OUT may actually still have unpaid/available seats through the table sponsor. Please check with them directly. (Table sponsors names are listed in the order they appear in our book because it’s a nightmare to track them on this sheet any other way.)

Reef Seekers (20) - 11 sold, 9 available
Tom Wetzel & LA County (10) - 3 sold, 7 available
Sole Searchers (10) - SOLD OUT
Beach Cities Scuba (40) - 6 sold, 34 available
Private Scuba (10) - 6 sold, 4 available
Barnacle Busters (20) - 7 sold, 13 available
Aqua Adventures (10) - 0 sold, 10 available
LABUE (10) - 0 sold, 10 available
Haven’s Reef (20) - 14 sold, 6 available
Scuba Schools of America (40) - 4 sold, 36 available
Sport Chalet (30) - SOLD OUT
Ocean Adventures (20) - SOLD OUT
Deep Sea Supply (10) - SOLD OUT
Hollywoodivers (10) - 6 sold, 4 available
Ocean Institute (20) - SOLD OUT
Eco Diver Center (50) - SOLD OUT
DDD Club (10) - 0 sold, 10 available
Burbank Dive Club (10) - 1 sold, 9 available
Dive Vets (10) - 2 sold, 8 available
Pacific Wilderness (20) - 8 sold, 12 available
South Coast Divers (20) - 14 sold, 6 available
Tammy & Gordy Boivin (10) - SOLD OUT
CA Diving News/Scuba Show (10) - SOLD OUT
Bluewater Divers (10) - 0 sold, 10 available
SoCal Tec Divers (20) - SOLD OUT
Antelope Valley Desert Divers (10) - SOLD OUT
Mako Strategies (10) - SOLD OUT
Dive Boat Captains (20) - SOLD OUT
Chamber Guests (10) - SOLD OUT

CHAMBER CHALLENGE
$16,000 as of 3/19. Who’s next???

 

[Chamber Day]

And the hits just keep on coming . . .

We’ve crossed the $18,000 mark (earliest ever in the history of the Challenge) and are hopefully headed into record territory. There’s still many of you who have donated in the past who we’ve yet to hear from and we hope to include your name(s) on our next update.

We welcome some new Silver-level sponsors including Mike & Kim Lancaster (from the Cee Ray) and a matching grant from Taco Bell (where Kim works during the week); Eo Ong (and the Burbank Dive Club, long-time supporters of the event; and the guys and gals of Hollywoodivers who are also long-time supporters of Chamber Day & Eve.

How about you? Can you donate $100? Maybe $500? Or even $1000 to become a Gold-level sponsor? The Chamber Challenge funds have become an essential part of the overall success of Chamber Day and help maintain the financial health and stability of our Chamber. We hope you never need to use it but if you do . . .

So who’s next??? Who will help push us towards $20,000???

CHAMBER CHALLENGE 2008 - $18,100 total (Updated 3/25/08 @ 11AM - last updated 3/19)
(New donors are marked with an asterisk.)

Gold ($1,000 and up)
DiveNav, Inc.
Mike Emmerman, Pat Stockhausen, & TJ
The Deep (RVM & Associates)
Pacific Wilderness
Sport Chalet
DiveVets
Laurie Kasper & Ken Kurtis

Silver ($500-999)
* Mike &Kim Lancaster/ Taco Bell
* Eo Ong/Burbank Dive Club
* Hollywoodivers
Scuba Schools of America
Jeanne Sleeper
Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society
Ocean Adventures
Karl Huggins

Bronze ($100-499)
* Great Escape dive boat
* Rex Uber
* Melvin Isa
* Divematrix.com
* Frank Huntley
Fran & George Ollweiler
Michael Swinney
Claudette Dorsey
Walter Watson
Indian Valley Scuba
Jerry Nickelsburg
Susy Horowitz
Diver.net
Sea Divers Dive Club
Old Broads Dive Club
Barnacle Busters Scuba Club
Chris Rybak & Conoco-Phillips (matching grant)
California Wreck Divers
Derek & Debbie Karimoto
James Haw
Kevin Lee
Gorman Dive Adventures & Travel

Ken Kurtis
Chairman, Chamber Day/Eve 2008
Welcome to Chamber Day 2008
310/652-4990

 

[Chamber Day]

Well, we’re halfway there. (Halfway to Chamber Day, that is.) And wouldn’t it be grand if we could double where we are in the Challenge as well?

Don’t forget that the Chamber Challenge is very valuable (no pun intended) to our Chamber Day efforts because these are not only unrestricted funds, but they’re funds from which there are no expenses like t-shirts or dinners associated with getting the donation. (We do purchase plaques for the Gold and Silver donors but that’s a fairly small expense.) But the point is that the Challenge funds in the past have accounted for 20-25% of the net from the event so they’re vitally important.

And while we appreciate donations of every level, we always like to take time in these updates to specifically acknowledge our new Gold and Silver donors.

This time around we start off with Robert Wagner (the Reef Seekers diver, not the actor) who is again this year supporting our Chamber with a generous $1000 donation.

On the Silver level, we extend our thanks to Tobin George and Deep Sea Supply (they’re also got a table at Chamber Evening) as well as Jim Krasne, another Reef Seekers diver who chooses to go the extra mile to support our Chamber.

How about you? Who’s next?? Who will help push us past $21,000???


CHAMBER CHALLENGE 2008 - $20,300 total (Updated 3/31/08 @ 11AM - last updated 3/25)
(New donors are marked with an asterisk.)

Gold ($1,000 and up)
* Robert Wagner
DiveNav, Inc.
Mike Emmerman, Pat Stockhausen, & TJ
The Deep (RVM & Associates)
Pacific Wilderness
Sport Chalet
DiveVets
Laurie Kasper & Ken Kurtis

Silver ($500-999)
* Deep Sea Supply
* Jim Krasne
Mike &Kim Lancaster/ Taco Bell Corp.
Eo Ong/Burbank Dive Club
Hollywoodivers
Scuba Schools of America
Jeanne Sleeper
Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society
Ocean Adventures
Karl Huggins

Bronze ($100-499)
* Second Stage dive boat
* Gary Sanders
Great Escape dive boat
Rex Uber
Melvin Isa
Divematrix.com
Frank Huntley
Fran & George Ollweiler
Michael Swinney
Claudette Dorsey
Walter Watson
Indian Valley Scuba
Jerry Nickelsburg
Susy Horowitz
Diver.net
Sea Divers Dive Club
Old Broads Dive Club
Barnacle Busters Scuba Club
Chris Rybak & Conoco-Phillips (matching grant)
California Wreck Divers
Derek & Debbie Karimoto
James Haw
Kevin Lee
Gorman Dive Adventures & Travel

Ken Kurtis
Chairman, Chamber Day/Eve 2008
Welcome to Chamber Day 2008!
310/652-4990