**Funds Available to Assist DEMA Member Exhibitors and Buyers of DEMA Show 2018 **
The Diving Equipment & Marketing Association (DEMA) announced on October 16, 2018 that the DEMA Executive Committee has approved the activation of the Disaster Assistance Program to assist DEMA-Member Show Exhibitors and Buyers impacted by Hurricane Michael.
DEMA’s Disaster Assistance Program was first created in 2004 and has been used when DEMA-Member companies are impacted by natural disasters which may interfere with their ability to promote their businesses, products, services and destinations. As funds are limited, in this instance, DEMA has earmarked them specifically for DEMA-Member companies who planned to exhibit or buy at DEMA Show 2018 and were negatively impacted by this large storm. Funds are provided to Exhibitors in the affected areas based on their exhibit size and to Buyers in the impacted areas who attend DEMA Show and stay in a DEMA block hotel.
Exhibitors from the areas indicated below are eligible to apply for the funds to help them exhibit at this year’s Show. Buyers who planned to attend DEMA Show can also apply for funds to assist in staying onsite at DEMA Show. "DEMA’s Disaster Assistance Program funds are available to Member manufacturers, destinations and other industry-related entities to aid them in getting to and exhibiting at DEMA Show 2018,” said Tom Ingram, President and CEO of DEMA. “Registered Buyers from DEMA Member businesses who are staying in the DEMA hotel block are also eligible for funds to assist in attending DEMA Show so they can buy the products and services they need to keep their businesses in operation.”
Exhibitor Assistance Program: DEMA’s Disaster Assistance Program funds are available to 2018 DEMA-Member Exhibitors who are fully paid by 5:00 PM Pacific time, September 21, 2018, and physically located in the areas listed at the bottom of this notice.
For affected Exhibitors, for each 100 net square feet of exhibit space purchased and paid for by September 21, 2018, DEMA will provide regular Exhibitors with $US 400.00 in assistance. Funds will be awarded onsite at DEMA Show 2018 to the exhibiting companies who apply and fall within the guidelines deeming them eligible for assistance. Funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis up to the maximum available from the DEMA disaster assistance fund. All interested parties must apply for the assistance funds on site at DEMA Show at DEMA Central in Las Vegas, NV prior to close of DEMA Show at 5:00 pm on Saturday, November 17, 2018.
For more information and to receive a DEMA 2018 Disaster Assistance Fund Processing form visit DEMA Central in Booth #1858 at DEMA Show 2018 in Las Vegas, NV. Complete rules for disbursements will be available onsite at DEMA Show.
Attendee Assistance Program: DEMA Member Buyers who are registered for the Show and staying in the official DEMA Show hotel block at The Westgate Las Vegas Resort are eligible for reimbursement as follows; One registered Buyer from an attending DEMA Member business physically located in the affected areas can receive reimbursement for a one-night hotel stay (single occupancy) in the DEMA hotel block prior to midnight Pacific time, November 16, 2018. The complete rules for disbursement will be available at DEMA Central onsite at DEMA Show 2018. Designated disaster areas eligible for Buyer funds are listed at the bottom of this notice.
The designated Buyer from an affected DEMA Member must apply for the disaster funds and present the receipt for the hotel stay through the DEMA Office prior to close of business on December 6, 2018. Funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis up to the maximum of the DEMA disaster assistance fund. Exhibitors are not eligible for hotel reimbursement assistance under this program but can receive Exhibitor Assistance as described above.
Exhibitors and buyers physically located in the following areas may be eligible to apply for assistance:
Florida Counties impacted (emergency declared):
Alachua,Baker, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington
Georgia Counties impacted (emergency declared):
Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Calhoun, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Clay, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Hancock, Houston, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, Macon, Marion, McIntosh, Miller, Mitchell, Montgomery, Muscogee, Peach, Pierce, Pulaski, Quitman, Randolph, Richmond, Schley, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Upson, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkinson, and Worth
South Carolina (emergency declared):
The Governor has extended the emergency declaration for the entire state of South Carolina.
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