Maybe DEMA should thumb their upcoming Dive Fest in Ft Lauderdale?

[danvolker]

I went to BTS with the Palm Beach Dive Association. While we had nice traffic flow at the DEMA Show, at Beneath the Sea we were mobbed non-stop. BTS blew us away...it felt more like DEMA Shows used to feel in the late 90's. BTS has ENERGY and it had DREAMS. DEMA lost the dreams, and the energy may be resting up in an old folks home.
DEMA needs to see this and totally clean house....

 

[The Chairman]

Divemaster Greg and I will be discussing this issue further on ScubaRadio tomorrow. It should be interesting.

 

[The Chairman]

Greg was pretty passionate about the fact that he was upset about the meeting. Here is the Podcast for those wishing to follow along: http://www.scubaradio.com/srpodcast.xmlhttp://www.scubaradio.com/srpodcast.xml My section starts at the top of the second hour. Please feel free to comment. No, I don't think I got to cover the facts adequately or even to finish a complete thought. FWIW, I was driving through Orlando on my way to cave country during the interview.

One thing that has not been brought up though, is the apparent conflict with Sherri Daye's show, The Blue Wild next year at the end of February (23, 24). I would love to get her take on this.

 

[cerich]

apparent conflict? They come in and schedule in the same place 2 months later not only is that crappy to The Blue Wild but the proceeds from Blue Wild go to charity....


I am all of 10 mins into the podcast of scubaradio. So you want me to listen to the rest when these guys think that with rebreathers you absorb less nitrogen than when you are on OC? Really? Interesting. Of course this followed a theory that using a heating system is better to start half way thru a dive to reduce dcs(very thin logic) and the assertion that one of them is an instructor and can understand stuff that the rest of the world can't.

Now they have Dave from DEMA on to talk about all the great things DEMA is doing to promote diving, after all they seem to feel that the local shops are only teaching discover scuba classes to people who are in the shop...implying that only DEMA knows how to reach out. They can't even manage that with their members! LOL
Netdoc...you got setup. It was a hatchet job obviously done to discredit you and promote DEMA's agenda.

I'm going diving now.

 

[The Chairman]

Look at how she's billing this too: The 6th Annual Ocean Adventure Expo

That was the one thing that struck me. DEMA has been calling this a "Dive Fest" with some cross promotion. Now, they are saying it's an "Adventure Show" and not a dive show, just like Sheri's.

Now, let's look at the cross promotions here: They are cross promoting OTHER activities in their "BE A DIVER ADVENTURE SPORTS FESTIVAL". But, by the name, it's a DIVE show. To actually accomplish their goal of cross promotion, they need to go to existing shows for other activities. Why not a big underwater photography pavilion at a camera show? How about going to a ski, boat or sky diving show and come up with some unique tie ins? They could even go to the local gun shows with a spear gun pavilion. Instead of introducing divers to other activities, they would be introducing non-divers to diving. Anyone else see the disconnect here?

 

[cerich]

you know it has been a few years since I looked up the data on where exactly DEMA is filing wise. The latest data I can get is 2010 so a couple years old (Charity Research Tool | State of California - Department of Justice - Kamala D. Harris Attorney General)

it seems that they have less employees than last I looked (8) and the salary is lower than I remembered but still pretty nice and they gave themselves a raise in 2010..that's a dive industry first for 2010, most of the industry was cutting wages and jobs...They are still spending a CRAP load of cash on industry surveys and awards (just over half a million dollars, and still have another column for market surveys...

Anyway, they are losing money as of 2010 (just over a quarter of a million...may i recommend less "awards"?)

I looked over a few years and it obvious they are in a jam and in my view it obvious they are oblivious with their priorities. In the 7 years of listings I looked at I added up over $4,000,000.00 spent on awards and industry surveys. That didn't include one of the seven years where I couldn't find that line item

Give me a break.

 

[koozemani]

Do we now where the award money is going?

I hope it's not going to each other or cronies. Although there's nothing like getting an award for showing up on consecutive mondays.

 

[The Chairman]

I am all of 10 mins into the podcast of scubaradio.

I am at the top of the second hour.

 

[Bhtmec2]

Pete

I am not a dive Pro but that was a hatchet job on ScubaRadio. He had his agenda and only wanted to paint you and others a a fringe element that does not want to promote diving.
Just my 2 cents
Now back to reading

 

[The Chairman]

You don't have to be a "pro" to have an opinion on this. There are a few elements at DEMA who see me as obstructionist. Yet, I do more to promote diving with ScubaBoard than DEMA ever could imagine doing. I do more to promote manufacturers too, and I don't even charge for it.

But yes, I felt I was never able to express myself completely and it felt (not sure) that I was being muted at times. I'll have to listen to it sometime to see if that's the case. I really don't know, but it was a bit frustrating. In spite of all that, I still consider Greg to be a good friend. We may not always agree with our respective stances, but I am confident that he wants to see the industry grow as much as I do. I am a frequent guest on his show, and get to report often on issues that main stream Scuba wants to ignore. I feel that I have a better understanding of what divers want than most in the industry. I guess that's because I care about divers, dive shops and the concerns that DEMA sees as merely "petty".