NAUI Members – Attend Annual General Membership Meeting – January 25, 2014

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

NAUI-Member-200FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2013

A message from NAUI Members Dallas Edmiston, NAUI 4099, Rick Lorimor, NAUI 44715, and Michael Feld, NAUI 50134

Dear Member:

Where will you be January 25th?

Join us at NAUI HQ in Tampa, FL for the Annual General Membership (AGM) meeting of NAUI members!

In accordance with Article IV, Section 4 of the NAUI Bylaws, the Board of Directors is required to schedule and conduct an annual meeting with the membership. The meeting is open to both voting and non-voting members and any member may submit agenda items to the secretary or chairman anytime up to 15 days prior to the meeting. This year the meeting is scheduled at NAUI HQ in Tampa, Florida on January 25th at 10:00AM.

Part of our pledge during the campaign was to improve communications between the NAUI board and members. Your participation in the AGM is a great way to show your support of renewed engagement of the board with members. We believe that effective leadership, as a director requires at least in part, knowing what is of concern to our members.

We welcome the opportunity to meet as many of you as possible at the upcoming AGM and would like to extend an invitation to attend. This is an important meeting, because it is the one time each year when members directly meet with and are able to question directors. While participating by viewing the meeting online may be informative, the best way to assure communication between you and the directors is to attend this meeting. You have the right to request agenda topics as noted above and to know how your directors are working on your behalf.

Thank you, and we hope to see you in Tampa!

Michael Feld, NAUI #50134
michael@oceanbluedivers.com
(917) 533-7100

Dallas Edmiston, NAUI #4099
dallasedmiston@gmail.com
(716) 725-5333

Rick Lorimor, NAUI #44715
Rick@RangerRickScuba.com
(321) 363-2084

Posted in Industry, Training & Education | Leave a comment

HEAD Signs Agreement To Acquire Scuba Schools International (SSI)

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

Mares-Logo-200                                             SSI-Logo-150

For Immediate Release

Rapallo, Italy. MARES S.p.A., one of the worldwide market leaders in diving equipment announces that its mother company HEAD has signed an agreement to acquire Scuba Schools International (SSI). The effective date will be January 1st 2014.

In recent years, SSI has become one of the fastest growing training agencies in the world. Dive Centers and Resorts alike are turning to SSI for the depth and quality of their training materials, plus their “signature” business support.  With more than 40 years of experience, innovative products like Swim, Freediving and Extended Range keep SSI in the forefront of both the active diver and new consumer.  This is only possible through the SSI network of 2500 plus Dive Centers and Resorts around the world providing “The Ultimate Dive Experience!”

Looking at the depth of the HEAD product lines, one is struck by the obvious.  Not only is HEAD one of the leading manufacturers of many well known sporting goods brands, they also own MARES, one of the world’s 3 leading diving equipment brands. Their products are a perfect match with SSI – Swimming, Snorkeling, Freediving, Spearfishing and Scuba.  With direct subsidiaries in most developed countries, MARES also has distributors in 50 other countries.

SSI will continue to focus on its current Business Model – Swim, Snorkel and Scuba. MARES will continue to build high quality diving equipment. You can expect the same emphasis on building strong relationships with both companies and “even more” with SSI’s development and quest for creating the finest education system in the diving industry. All based on supporting the retailer and resort, promoting equipment sales, continuing education and travel.

SSI will continue to work with ALL major manufacturers and MARES will maintain relationships with all training agencies. There is no obligation for an SSI dealer to do business with MARES or vice versus.

What can be expected is unequaled business support for dive centers and dive professionals.  This will remain the pillar of both businesses.

Bringing these 2 companies together represents a huge paradigm shift for the diving industry and a tremendous growth opportunity.

Please remember, SSI is not just a certification agency and MARES not just a manufacturer. WE ARE YOUR PARTNER IN BUSINESS!  What we offer around the world is way ahead of even much larger industries.  If you want to break the bonds that hold you back from reaching your potential, call MARES +39 0185 201320 or visit us at www.mares.com or www.divessi.com.

Welcome to a new direction, SSI/MARES, “Where Your Business Comes First”

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Visible Divers Releases Customer Management Feature

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

visible-divers-200gifby Stephen Ellis, President
Visible Divers

At DEMA Show 2013 last month, Visible Divers had extraordinary growth and adoption by dive centers and manufacturers alike.  Their logo was seen in dozens of booths throughout the show.  Their booth was busy all day, every day with attendees excited to experience the power and ease of their new program.

A unique approach to the way Visible Divers runs their company is that they actively involve their users to shape the system.  “We’re an interactive company,” says President Stephen Ellis. “If we’re missing something that stores really need, we’ll build it.  Stores just need to tell us what that might be, and we’ll get busy on it.  We don’t sit on things.”

The proof?  Visible Divers released their new Customer Management feature on Friday, and it’s their third release since the DEMA Show to answer requests specifically from the show.  “This was a feature that many stores really asked for at the show.  They wanted to use the power of our centralized system, but have the private control of their customer records at the same time.  This wasn’t a small challenge to solve, but stores are saying we really nailed it,” remarks Stephen Ellis.

The new Customer Management feature is included automatically in all dive center accounts and can be found in the Point of Sale section.  Elements of the feature can also be found usefully integrated throughout other features in the system.  One particularly useful new integration is the ability to add more customer information during a sale.  This addition also answers one of the requests from many store owners.

“We’re hard at work on other requests that have been brought up as well, and dive centers will continue to see new features or constantly refining features,” comments Stephen.  Visible Divers aims to ensure that their system is always the easiest, fastest, and smartest way to run a dive center.  With constantly emerging features and upgrades, they’ve already taken a massive piece of the market.  Visible Divers also continues to add more manufacturing brands to the list of supporters and endorsers that make the inventory system so powerful and fast.

Starting today, Visible Divers is also launching a special trial plan for stores.  For just $5, a dive center can try an all-access account for 30 days.  This includes unlimited staff, computers, sales, customers…the works.  “We had tremendous results with our DEMA Show pricing, and we realized that stores need a chance to try it out before making any real financial commitments,” said Stephen. “If our program is as good as we claim, they’ll keep using it…and they do.  Until now, stores have been using programs that they just ‘live with.’  It’s time for something they can’t live without.”

Visible Divers, Inc. is a fast-growing software company built just for the SCUBA industry that provides full-service dive shop management including Point of Sale, scheduling, accounting, social networking and more. With the ability to work anywhere in the world on any device, it’s the most versatile and powerful system for complete dive shop management.

For more information, sign up for a free account at https://www.visibledivers.com and use it for free.  If you have questions or would like a tour of the system, please contact us at jira@visibledivers.com, or call us at 888-832-3483

If you are a manufacturer and want to know what Visible Divers does for manufacturers, please contact us at: jira@visibledivers.com, or call us at 888-832-3483.

Posted in Products | Leave a comment

Beneath The Sea – Children’s Hospital Holiday Party

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

Christmas-Party-Draft

Posted in Industry, Non-Profits | Leave a comment

1,200 Dive Centers Join DiveReport.com

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

DiveReport-Logo-200by Dive Report Ltd
London, England
December 9, 2013

Dive Report, the fast growing Dive Travel guide, has seen rapid growth in Dive Centers advertising their services – with over 1200 Dive Center pages being added to the website over the past 6 months. The website, which also tells divers the best time to travel to see their favorite marine life, has also seen it’s diver-membership grow by over 2000% over the past three months.

KohSamui_Page-400“We are delighted with the current progress! Adding a free page to Dive Report is a no-brainer for a Dive Center and it does not take very long” says Catherine Jones, Dive Report’s MD.  “We have spent a lot of time developing our anti-spam systems that, so far, have proven to be 100% reliable against the usual spambot activity.”

The website so far promotes approximately 150 diving locations and has been growing steadily since they launched one and a half years ago. The recent surge in popularity has been a real boost for the young company and has helped drive product improvement.

“We have learned a lot about working in the diving industry over past couple of years and we feel we are getting close to having a product that is useful for divers and dive centers alike” says Catherine.  “We are now focusing on increasing the number of locations we serve to provide a better coverage of world-wide diving locations.”

To document the world’s diving locations is clearly a big task for a small team however Dive Report aims to triple the number of locations they serve during 2014. “We are currently reaching out to Dive Centers to help us with locations and we provide advertising and exposure for those who help in return.”

About Dive Report
DiveReport.com is a Dive Travel guide where Divers can quickly find out the best time of year to see their favorite marine life – and also to find dive centers to dive with. You can view the website by visiting; http://www.divereport.com

Contact
We can be contacted directly by emailing: enquiries@divereport.com

Posted in Industry, Travel Destinations | Leave a comment

Unfragmenting the Diving Industry – Staying On The Same Page

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

DIALogo-tag-200by Gene Muchanski
Executive Director
Dive Industry Association, Inc.

Dive Industry Association, is a member-centric Marketing & Trade Association dedicated to “Building a Better Industry, One Member at a Time.”  We are constantly improving our blogs, press releases, newsletters, directories and web sites to promote your business and keep you current with the state of the industry.  We’ve invested heavily in new technology tools and programs that improve our marketing reach and frequency.

There is no question that the diving industry is fragmented.  Different stakeholder groups have different agendas and different customer bases.  It’s not a problem indigenous to the diving community.  All markets have this trait in common.  We need to work together, regardless of our differences in order to make this industry better.

This year, Dive Industry Association, Inc. is promoting your business using the best technology available but we can only maintain a closer “connection” with you if we are on the same business wavelength.  Here are several ways to help make that happen.

In order for all of us to be on the same page at the same time, you should:

  1. Become an active Member of Dive Industry Association and consider serving on our Board of Advisors or on an Industry Sector Committee.  Join
  2. Subscribe to and read our Blogs at www.diveindustrynews.wordpress.com
  3. Subscribe to and read our Weekly News Press Releases.  opt-in
  4. Send us press releases to publish.  They are FREE to Members.
  5. Subscribe to and read our Monthly Newsletter “The Dive Industry Professional”  opt-in
  6. Visit our web site often at www.diveindustry.net
  7. Visit and use our NEW Directory, www.DiveIndustryDirectory.com
  8. Visit our Facebook Page and “Like” us at www.facebook.com/diveindustry
  9. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/diveindustry
  10. Donate to the Dive Industry Foundation and help us promote diving to the general public. www.diveindustry.org

We are looking forward to promoting your business this year and making Dive Industry Association the Premier Trade Association in the Diving Community.

Posted in Industry | Leave a comment

Last Call For Entries – BTS International Imaging Competition

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

Last Call Imaging Contest v1

Posted in Trade & Consumer Shows | Leave a comment

Diving Non-Profit Seeking Donors

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

DIF-200by Gene Muchanski, Executive Director
Dive Industry Foundation

The Dive Industry Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational and charitable organization that is dedicated to promoting the economic impact of the recreational diving industry while it works to protect and preserve the marine environment.  As the scope of the Foundation grows, it is looking for Donors to help fund the non-profit.

The Dive Industry Foundation promotes diving at numerous dive, surf, and adventure travel shows.  The Foundation conducts primary research in the diving business community and is defining industry norms and “best practices” in the retail, manufacturing, travel, and sales rep sectors of the industry.

The Dive Industry Foundation is the Business Resource for companies wishing to start, grow and succeed in their diving and watersports business.  Qualified NxLevel Foundation and Kauffman Foundation Fast Trac Business Consultants conduct business courses and business seminars on business planning, marketing and operations.  The Foundation lends marketing and business support to other non-profit organizations.  We currently support Diveheart and the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society.

The Foundation is always looking for dedicated volunteers to establish and participate in a number of committees, such as;  Trade Show Committee (exhibiting); Travel Committee; Fund Raising; Public Relations; Marketing (Electronic, Print, Face-to-Face, Social Media, Web Sites), Research; Environmental Programs; and Government Relations.

“Friends of the Industry” can make their tax-deductible contributions via credit card, paypal or square, via our Fundraising web page at www.diveindustry.org  Checks may be made payable to “Dive Industry Foundation” and sent to Dive Industry Foundation, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.

Interested individuals wishing to volunteer their time & talents to the Dive Industry Foundation should send an interest letter and resume to Gene Muchanski at gene@diveindustry.net

Posted in Industry, Non-Profits | Leave a comment

DivingGlobal Introduces Mascot – “Cloudy”

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

by Robert Klein
BookItGlobal

BookItGlobal Introduces Cloudy

DivingGlobal-Cloudy-200San Francisco, CA – November 25, 2013.  We, at BookItGlobal are a proud bunch, and wish to announce the latest addition to our family with great fanfare!

Our Mascot, Cloudy, has officially arrived and is ready to greet the world!  Made up of equal parts water, sea salt, bubble and nitrogen, Cloudy embodies the passion, pride care and dedication that make BookItGlobal the premier CRM solution for recreation, travel and leisure.  Cloudy’ tour starts in the western United States and includes stops at diners, hotels, shops and roadhouses.

Keep your eyes open to see Cloudy blowing through your community.  Cloudy’s chaperones will take plenty of pictures along the way, posting them to the BookItGlobal Facebook and Twitter pages.

When you see cloudy and post or tweet his current location, BookItGlobal will send you a free gift! If you are in the picture, Cloudy will share the secret to running your business from anywhere.

Cloudy wants business owners to be free from the tyranny of software updates and expensive hardware upgrades.  Learn how BookItGlobal’s customers are more profitable and efficient than their competitors who rely on clunky, outdated technology and disparate systems which prohibit growth and innovation.

Guess where Cloudy is?  Comment on Facebook and Twitter! Win fabulous prizes! See how to improve business processes and run a more successful, profitable enterprise from anywhere!

About BookItGlobal

BookItGlobal is a provider of world-wide customer relationship management (CRM) software and a pioneering cloud computing leader.  Our social and mobile cloud technologies, including our flagship sales and CRM application, DivingGlobal, help companies connect with customers, partners, and employees in entirely new ways.  And thanks to the cloud, all of it comes with low cost, low risk, and fast results.

Contact: Robert Klein, BookItglobal, Phone: 916-996-6782.  email: info@bookitglobal.com

Posted in Business Improvement, Products | Leave a comment

Beneath the Sea Marine Careers Program

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Gene Muchanski

Save the Date

Posted in Industry, Trade & Consumer Shows | Leave a comment