The Spirit of Fall

Welcome to the November Edition of the Northwest Dive News. As fall’s chilly winds cool the temperatures, it forces most divers to head indoors. However, the cooler temperatures kill the surface algae layers and greatly improve visibility when you are out diving. Keep the dive gear out of the closet and keep it wet. The best diving of the year is generally in the fall and early winter. We have been diving all summer and have some really great trips planned for late November through mid-December.

As we head into the fall, we are busy getting ready for the annual DEMA Show and celebrating our most recent milestone. The DEMA Show is the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association annual trade show. Each year, the people “in the business” gather at the trade show convention site (held this year in Las Vegas, NV) to reconnect with other industry counterparts, meet new vendors, see the latest gear coming out next spring or get important updates on training/qualifications.
DEMA is an important event for the diving industry. Many industry members will go this year – after all, it is in Vegas! However, many will not. Many industry members are facing cash flow effects and have to make important decisions between wants and needs. They as if DEMA attendance is a “must have” or can they skip it and catch it next year when it is scheduled to be in Miami FL, a whole lot closer to the Southeast.  As for us, we are heading to DEMA for a variety of reasons with a renewed enthusiasm for diving and what we do.

As the magazine continues to grow and develop, both in print and online versions, we are becoming a better resource for the communities that we serve. Our local dive retailers have a larger message and larger readership for the local news and events, and we have more support than ever. More than 400 retailers have joined the Dive News Network connecting us with their customers.

This connection helped us grow. Our Network now has an Edge Ranking of one million people - our friends and their friends. As social media continues to expand, our lexicon continues to grow as well. We are now Facebooking, Tweeting and sharing our news faster than ever before. Growing to one million is a big step with many more steps to go. We will all go to DEMA to brag about the accomplishments this year and get recharged for the challenges that are sure to come. We will face the challenges and overcome each, giving us and our members more strength through unity of purpose and ferocity of spirit.

See you on the next dive!

Rick