DEMA Board of Directors to Meet in San Diego, CA for Board Meeting on August 16th and 17th

DEMA’s 2018 Board of Directors will meet on August 16th and 17th to strategize ways to help grow our Industry and maximize DEMA’s benefits for Members. Topics for discussion will include the Association’s goals for 2019; DEMA Show; DEMA’s consumer marketing campaign, Go Dive Now; how DEMA can serve the needs of the industry worldwide; and more.

 Day one of the Board meeting will begin with the Board approving reports from past and completed activities as part of the “consent agenda.”  For August, the consent agenda will include:

• DEMA Show 2018 Update
• Membership Update
• Public Policy Update
• Go Dive Now Program Update
• Go Dive Now Pool Update
• 2018 Q2 Financial Summary and Manufacturer’s Fund Report

Following approval of the consent agenda, the Board will discuss DEMA’s goals for 2019 including: Go Dive Now marketing strategy and promotions, retailer education opportunities at DEMA Show and beyond, research programs, public policy initiatives, and other relevant topics. Day one will conclude with the Board covering any consent agenda items that require further discussion.

 Day two will provide the Board Members with time to discuss how the goals set during the previous day can be fulfilled, as well as how DEMA can continue to promote the business interests of members and the industry. The Board of Directors Meeting will conclude on the afternoon of Friday, August 17th after any new business has been addressed. More information on DEMA’s Board of Directors and Bylaws is available on the DEMA website. Complete minutes from past Board of Directors Meetings are available to current DEMA Members from the Member Dashboard of www.dema.org. The next Board of Directors Meeting will be held on November 12th in Las Vegas, NV.

DEMA Calls for Nominations for the 2018 Wave Makers Award

**Finalists and 2018 Recipient to be Honored at 2018 DEMA Awards Party in Las Vegas, NV**

DEMA will once again recognize new professionals in the diving industry who are employed by (or own) a DEMA-Member business at the 2018 DEMA Awards Party! The Wave Makers Award was first introduced in 2017 and aims to recognize professionals who have been working in the industry for five years or less and have made a significant contribution to the industry during that time. The Wave Makers Award encourages the Industry to support a culture that fosters innovative thinking and encourages engagement with the association and industry by new professionals. Nominations for the 2018 Wave Makers Award will be accepted until Friday, August 31, 2018. All finalists will be recognized at the 2018 DEMA Awards Party where the final honoree will be announced.

Wave Makers are employees or owners of DEMA-Member businesses who have been involved as a professional in the Diving Industry for 60 months or less and who should be recognized for their contributions to the industry, a dive business and DEMA.  A complete overview of the criteria to qualify can be found here. Member professionals who have been active with DEMA by attending DEMA Show, serving on a committee or task force, or volunteering for the Go Dive Now Pool, or other activities related to DEMA, can qualify.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A NOMINATION in any of the following categories: Contribution to DEMA’s Mission, Providing Business or Community Service, or Contributing to Dive Industry Growth.

The Wave Makers selection process for 2018 will be as follows:

1. DEMA Members nominate a potential honoree, using the established criteria. 
2. The Awards Committee reviews these nominees, narrowing the field to the top candidates.
3. The top candidates are notified and asked to create a one-minute video about what they envision for the future of the association and/or the diving industry.
4. The videos are then placed on social media, and DEMA asks members to view them prior to DEMA Show, and vote on DEMA.org for the Wave Makers winner for 2018.
5. Only DEMA Members can vote, as a log-in to the DEMA website and Member-only voting page will be required.
6. The top candidates and a guest are invited to attend the DEMA Awards Party at DEMA Show 2018. 
7. Each of the top candidates’ self-made videos will be played during the Party and the winner will be announced during the Awards celebration. 

Nominations are open now until August 31, 2018!  Finalists and the new professional chosen as the 2018 Wave Maker will be honored at the DEMA Awards Party being held on Friday, November 16, 2018 in Las Vegas, NV at the Las Vegas Westgate Resort Ballroom. Complete DEMA Awards Party details and tickets are available on the DEMA Show website.

DEMA Show 2018 Registration is Now Open!

** DEMA Members, Register by October 12th to Save with Early Bird Rates **

DEMA Show’s online attendee registration system is now open! Qualified Dive Industry professionals looking to grow their business and connect with Industry professionals can now register to attend DEMA Show 2018. Thousands of attendees from all over the world will come together for the Dive Industry’s only trade-only event, taking place November 14-17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV.  To register, visit the official DEMA Show website.While there, visitors can review exhibitor listings and booth locations using the interactive floorplan, book a room in the Official DEMA Show Hotel Block, and review information about DEMA Show Features.

Attendees can choose from four different packages when registering: The All Access Package, Seminar Package, Exhibits Only and the Saturday-Only Immersion Pass.  Each package varies in price and opportunities.  You can view complete details on each by visiting DEMAShow.com. Current DEMA Members can save up to $175 on their DEMA Show All Access Package over the non-member rate when registering on or before the early registration deadline of October 12th. 

SO, ACT NOW AND REGISTER TODAY!  Stay tuned to the DEMA Show website for the latest details on DEMA and Exhibitor-Sponsored Seminars, Show-related activities, DEMA Awards Party, and other information as the Show approaches. To have DEMA Show news delivered directly to your email, exhibitors should subscribe to the Show’s Exhibitor Companion. Attendees are encouraged to subscribe to DEMAIL for important Show information, announcements, and Industry news. 

Louisiana House Bill Prohibiting Dive Professionals from Promoting Professional “Certifications” Amended

The Louisiana Senate has passed a revised version of House Bill 748, which was amended to clearly permit the use of professional certification credentials in the state. 

HB 748, the “Occupational Licensing Review Act” was originally proposed with the intent of increasing employment opportunities in Louisiana by loosening licensing requirements for certain jobs. DEMA and other associations objected to wording in the initial text that would have restricted individuals holding a voluntary certification from using the term “certified” in their title.

For the diving community, if enacted as originally proposed, this bill would have prohibited certified instructors, divemasters/dive cons, rescuers, equipment repair professionals and others from acknowledging their professional credentials in offering their services to the public. Conversely, these professional statuses would have ceased – by law – being dive community standards that exist for the protection of the public, with the potential result that diving education and services could more easily be offered by untrained individuals.

DEMA urged the diving community in Louisiana to reach out to representatives there and oppose the bill, and, after receiving objections from DEMA and others, HB 748 was amended by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Julie Emerson (R).  As a result, the measure was significantly amended before the LA Senate Commerce Committee considered it. The certification prohibition was removed in the amended version.

The bill now provides for the governor’s office to review 20 percent of the agencies engaged in regulatory and licensing activities within five years. The term “certification” has been removed from the bill entirely.

As of this writing, the amended bill still must be passed by the full Louisiana Senate. It will then require a vote for concurrence on the House floor or be sent into conference.  DEMA will continue to monitor changes to this bill and will remain on watch to prevent similar bills from being proposed or passed elsewhere. 

Industry members who encounter legislation of any kind which is averse to the interests of the diving community are urged to contact DEMA for assistance. 

DEMA Announces Go Dive Now Retailer Co-Op Advertising Program

DEMA has announced the launch of a new Go Dive Now retailer co-op Facebook advertising program. It is designed to assist DEMA Member retailers in reaching a greater number of customers while using the Go Dive Now campaign advertising materials including Go Dive Now social media ads and videos.  DEMA Member retailers can customize these professionally-designed ads and videos to include their own logo, name and website.  The co-op matching funds are meant to help increase the frequency of advertising, while using any of the Go Dive Now campaign collateral.  The co-op program is designed to help more DEMA Members engage with the Go Dive Now campaign, recognizing that the program can increase the number of new divers in the US when more Members are using the professionally-designed Go Dive Now materials.

DEMA will match up to $450 per DEMA Member retailer for the co-op ad campaign on a first-come, first-served basis, using the date the application is received. Matching funds from DEMA for the media buy are distributed directly to the retailer at the end of the retailer’s Facebook ad campaign once required documentation is provided to DEMA. To be eligible for co-op funds, Member participants must use the professionally-produced Go Dive Now marketing collateral in Facebook advertising.

All advertising eligible for these funds must follow the rules of the co-op ad program process and co-op ad costs must be pre-approved by DEMA prior to running.  To facilitate approval, retailer should complete the online application. The Go Dive Now retailer co-op advertising program will run until October 1, 2018 or when all available co-op funds are distributed, whichever occurs first.

DEMA Legislative Alert – LA Bill Poses Threat to Professional Certification Programs

DEMA is urging training organizations, dive retailers, and independent diving instructors to contact state legislators on a pending bill that would severely restrict the use of professional certifications in the state.

Louisiana House Bill 748, the “Occupational Licensing Review Act,” would prohibit use of the terms “certification” and “registration” for nongovernmental professional credentialing unless state law requires certification or registration to work in the profession (as in the medical field, for example).

DEMA’s contact with the general counsel firm for the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, concluded in a client memo that the proposed legislation “could be disastrous” for nongovernmental certifications.

“In particular, HB 748’s definitions for the term ‘certification’ effectively prohibits certified professionals from holding themselves out as such unless such certification is a requirement for state occupational licensure,” Pillsbury writes. For the diving community, if enacted, this bill would prohibit certified instructors, divemasters/dive cons, rescuers, equipment repair professionals and others from acknowledging their professional credentials in offering their services to the public. Conversely, these professional statuses would cease – by law - being dive community standards that exist for the protection of the public, with the potential result that diving education and services could more easily be offered by untrained individuals.

DEMA is joining ASAE and other associations to oppose the bill. The bill, authored by Louisiana State Rep. Julie Emerson (R), has already advanced through the Louisiana House of Representatives and is slated for consideration by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs Committee in the next several days. Without significant opposition, the bill could pass before the Legislature’s targeted mid-May adjournment.

DEMA is working to deliver a letter of its own to Rep. Emerson this week and urges DEMA members in Louisiana who are concerned about this bill to contact their member of the state senate and voice their opposition to HB 748.

DEMA Board of Directors to Meet in San Diego, CA for Face-to-Face Board Meeting on May 21st and 22nd

DEMA’s 2018 Board of Directors will meet on May 21st and 22nd to strategize ways to help grow our Industry and maximize DEMA’s benefits for Members. Topics for discussion will include DEMA Show; DEMA’s consumer marketing campaign, Go Dive Now; the Go Dive Now Pool Tour and other consumer activities; how DEMA can serve the needs of the industry worldwide; and more.

Day one of the Board meeting will begin with the Board approving reports from past and completed activities as part of the “consent agenda.”  For May, the consent agenda will include:

• DEMA Show 2018 Update
• Membership Update
• Public Policy Update
• Go Dive Now Program Update
• Open Water Diver Research Results
• Continuing Education Diver Research Results
• Dive Traveller Research Results
• Equipment Purchaser Research Results
• 2018 Q1 Financial Summary and Manufacturer’s Fund Report

Following approval of the consent agenda, the Board will discuss DEMA’s annual trade show, DEMA Show, and consumer-centric programs such as Go Dive Now, DEMA’s continuing consumer marketing campaign; the Go Dive Now Pool Tour; and discuss DEMA’s role in engaging divers. Day one will conclude with the Board covering any consent agenda items that require further discussion.

 Day two will provide the Board Members with time to discuss association membership and member needs strategy, as well as how DEMA can continue to support the industry worldwide. The Board of Directors Meeting will conclude on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 22nd after any new business has been addressed. More information on DEMA’s Board of Directors and Bylaws is available on the DEMA website. Complete minutes from past Board of Directors Meetings are available to current DEMA Members from the Member Dashboard of www.dema.org. The next Board of Directors Meeting will be held on August 16th and 17th.