Wednesday, March 25, 2015

DEMA Requests Your Input and Engagement at the Beneath the Sea Show on Sunday, March 29th at 10:00 A.M.


** Creating a Shared Vision for the Future **
Join Tom Ingram, Executive Director of DEMA, for a discussion session at Beneath the Sea in Secaucus, NJ on March 29th.  This is an opportunity for you to help DEMA better understand the issues and challenges that the Diving Industry and DEMA will be facing over the next 24-36 months. 
Since 2011, DEMA has been gathering feedback from Industry Professionals  and diving consumers at different brainstorming sessions to help guide the direction of the Association.  The input and ideas generated at these session have been vital  in the DEMA Board of Directors’ ongoing decision making process with many of the suggestions made by attendees at previous sessions having been implemented.  Now DEMA wants to understand more about how Industry stakeholders see the future, how they see DEMA’s current issues, and listen to ideas for how the Association can become more effective in promoting Industry growth.  This session is designed to get feedback on the current “orthodoxies” that may be holding both the Association and Industry back from continued growth.
DEMA’s Board of Directors is looking for your ideas. Please plan to attend this important discussion session at BTS!  DEMA encourages all Industry Professionals to join us on Sunday, March 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Meadowlands Exposition Center to continue the discussion.


  • When?  Sunday, March 29, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
  • Where?  2nd Floor, Press Room at Beneath the Sea
  • Who?  All Dive Industry Professionals are welcome

If you have any questions please contact DEMA at (858) 616-6408 or Tom Ingram directly at tingram@dema.org. DEMA extends its appreciation to Beneath the Sea for co-sponsoring this session.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

DEMA Board of Directors Elects Officers and Establishes Committees for 2015


DEMA’s Board of Directors met in early March 2015 to strategize ways to help grow our Industry and welcome thenewly elected members of the DEMA Board of Directors.  An important outcome of the meeting was the election of Board Officers and the formation of seven committees and the selection of individuals to chair them.

DEMA’s 2015 Board of Director Officers include:
  • Tim Webb, President
  • Dan Orr, Senior Vice President
  • Darcy Kieran, Vice President
  • Tom Leaird, Treasurer
  • Werner Kurn, Secretary

Each Board Member can volunteer to work in various Committees based upon their areas of expertise and interests. Committees are tactical and the goals of Committees include creating new ideas, improving current programs and benefits, clarifying or resolving pending issues and soliciting feedback from Industry stakeholders.  Once data and other information is gathered, the details are provided to the Board at large to aid in strategic decision-making. 

The Committees established and those who will chair them for 2015 are as follows:

DEMA Show Committee
Jenny Collister*, Chair
Finance Committee
Tom Leaird, Chair
Public Policy Committee Recommendations
Jeff Nadler*, Chair
Research Committee
William Cline, Chair
Retailer Resource Committee
Scott Taylor*, Chair
Manufacturers’ Committee
Scott Daley, Chair
Consumer Marketing Committee
Kristin Valette, Chair

*Not a current Board Member.

Additional Committee information is available online. 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

Scuba Diving Promoted on Nine Different News Stations to Over 825,000 Households in the First Quarter of 2015 Alone Thanks to the Traveling Be A Diver Pool Tour


**Five Events in Two Months Provide Opportunities for Retail Dive Center Participants from California to Tennessee**
Big Wave Dave Reidenbach and the traveling Be A Diver Pool Tour have traveled from California to Tennessee in the first quarter of 2015 to bring the try diving experience to hundreds of event participants and into the homes of tens of thousands television viewers. The Tour’s 2015 stops to date have included the Travel & Adventure Shows in San Diego and Los Angeles, CA and Sportshows in Nashville, TN; Chicago, IL; and Kansas City, MO. Thanks to the PR received by the Pool, the Industry was exposed to over 825,000 audited viewer impressions.
Scuba Diving was highlighted as one of the top activities show attendees should try and the unique Be A Diver try diving experience and scuba diving were featured on news stations KSHB-NBCKSWB-FOXKNSD-NBC, WRTV-FOX, WTVF-Nashville News, KUSI-San Diego News, KGTV-ABC and XETV- CW and The Dolly McCarthy Radio Show.Coverage included reporters broadcasting from the Pool and interviewing “Big Wave” Dave to discuss the try diving experience, top dive spots for local diving and dive travel as well as diver safety.
“Exhibiting at the Progressive Boat and Sportshows and the Travel & Adventure Shows has given us a great opportunity to introduce scuba diving to people, and have attendees connect with local dive retailers who can assist with completing their dive certification,” commented “Big Wave” Dave Reidenbach, Pool Tour Coordinator for DEMA. “The Pool can be the introduction people need to develop a lifelong passion for the sport.”

According to Rich Holladay, “Waterdogs Scuba & Safety was proud to be part of the Be A Diver exhibit at the Nashville Boat and Sport Show.  Even though we are actually located about an hour away, we were really able to connect with a target audience of nautically inclined customers.  Several participants even mentioned they came to the show just to try Scuba Diving.” Rich further explained, “Even with this extremely harsh local winter, the Be A Diver pool already benefitted our business.  Due to contact and trial at the Show, we have already certified one military veteran and three other Scouts are almost complete with training.  None of these were really aware there was local diving available.  THE BE A DIVER POOL FIXED THAT!  Thank you for your outreach with this program and it does make a difference.”

The Be A Diver Pool Tour will continue to travel to these large scale venues to provide consumers with the opportunity to try diving. Retailers who are interested in participating in a scheduled Pool stop or who may be aware of an event with potential for attracting new divers are encouraged to contact Dave Reidenbach at (920) 205-3657 or bigwavedave@dema.org. There are also a variety of different sponsorships available to those interested and detailed information about the various sponsorship packages available can be found in the Be A Diver Pool Prospectus or by contacting Dave Reidenbach.
Making stops throughout the year at various consumer-oriented travel, outdoor activity and adventure shows, the Be A Diver Pool gives anyone 10 years old and up the opportunity to discover the fun and exciting sport of scuba diving for FREE in the comfort of a large, tropically warm Pool. Event attendees are also able to test out some of the latest scuba equipment and have a photo of themselves taken underwater that can act as an everlasting keepsake. Those who take the plunge need not to worry about getting wet, since the Be A Diver Pool provides wetsuits, towels, hair dryers and dressing rooms. 

DEMA Executive Director Tom Ingram Discusses Association and Small Business Issues with Officials in Washington, D.C.


On Behalf of Diving Industry, Ingram Discusses Association and Small Business Issues with Offices in the U.S. Senate and House

DEMA’s Executive Director Tom Ingram has spoken with members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and their staffs in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Diving Industry, DEMA and the Association Industry.  Ingram joined four other association executives as part of a delegation from California sponsored in part by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), and provided information critical to DEMA to officials in the offices of Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Susan Davis (D-CA), and Scott Peters (D-CA).  Issues on the meeting agenda directly impact the Diving Industry as well as DEMA Show; attendance and non-profit tax status. 

Since 2010, the Office of Management and Budget and the current Administration have taken a number of aggressive steps requiring all agencies to reduce conference and travel budgets with of goal of reaching 70 percent of FY 2010 levels and keeping those reduced budgets in place through FY 2016. The Administration has also instituted a series of internal measures to tighten the approval process for travel and conference-planning.

DEMA understands and agrees with the need for fiscal responsibility and the reduction of unnecessary spending. However, blanket restrictions that prohibit travel, especially in response to isolated incidences, are shortsighted. The dual goals of public-private partnership and good government can be achieved simultaneously without severing attendance at private meetings. The private sector’s ability to coordinate vital education as well as dialogue at meetings and conferences for government and private sector employees is beneficial to all. Such dialogue leads directly to the sale of equipment.  Significant numbers of federal employees currently attend DEMA Show, many to learn about and purchase equipment from diving manufacturers or to receive training on repair and maintenance, and to learn best practices. Oftentimes, important working relationships are formed by post-education discussions following up on the topics presented, making other technologies such as teleconferencing and video conferences less useful than face-to-face communication. DEMA has seen a reduction in the number of federal employees attending DEMA Show since 2010.

Item two on Ingram’s meeting agenda dealt directly with DEMA’s ability to provide resources back to the Diving Industry.  As congressional leaders continue to discuss overhauling the U.S. tax code, which has become overly complex and burdensome for American businesses and middle-class families, two provisions could negatively impact the revenue streams of many associations, including DEMA. These provisions would change the tax treatment of so-called “royalty” income and certain qualified sponsorship payments. 

A “royalty” is the money paid for the use of intellectual property such as an organization’s name, logo, copyrighted content or mailing list. For example, banks pay royalties to tax-exempt organizations for use of their name or logo on affinity credit cards. Royalties are currently regarded as “passive income” because the organization has entered into a licensing arrangement for use of its name or logo but is not actively involved in the marketing or administration of the product or service. The discussion draft released last year by then-Chairman Dave Camp proposes to treat such royalty income as an unrelated trade or business that is subject to unrelated business income tax (UBIT). Revenue from royalty agreements is reinvested in education, promotions and other activities. The proposal to subject this income to taxation would reduce DEMA’s ability to provide these services to members.

Sponsorships for non-profit organizations are also under scrutiny as the tax code revisions are developed.  Currently qualified sponsorships, from which a business sponsor receives an acknowledgement or “thank you,” are not treated as unrelated business income and not subject to tax (e.g.: “The Keynote Address, Sponsored by Ajax Corporation.”). The Camp plan proposes to render some qualified sponsorship payments taxable, reducing the funds that can be reinvested in the Diving Industry to create promotions and education, pay for legislative advocacy and more.

DEMA will continue to monitor these issues and provide input to our elected officials as other issues arise.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

DEMA Show Honored as One of the 50 Fastest-Growing Shows!

DEMA Show has been named as one of the fastest growing shows in 2014 by Trade Show Executive Magazine and will be honored in a three-day celebration May 19-21 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago! Learn more about what category DEMA Show was honored in and view the complete list of honorees.


LEARN MORE

DEMA Show 2015 Call for Speakers

DEMA is soliciting proposals for speaker abstracts for DEMA-Sponsored Seminars at DEMA Show 2015, taking place November 4-7 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Deadline for submissions is April 6, 2015.