Membership blog

Danielle Marchante went diving on the Loggerhead boat on a Saturday morning, and less than a week later she was a member of the USA Dive Club.  While on the Loggerhead, Danielle met USA Dive Club member, Laura.  During conversation, Laura told Danielle about our Club and the rest is history. Danielle holds an Advanced Open Water/NITROX certification and has made lots of dives...too many to count.  Her most memorable dive was in the Galapagos when two whale sharks paid her a visit during her safety stop.  A trip to Thailand is high on her list of dream dive locations and, when not diving, she spends time with family, friends and her doggies.  

David Beckhouse and Rachel Dunn are a married couple and joined the Club together.  David was previously a Club member.  He is an Open Water/NITROX diver with 110 logged dives, and would like to visit the Great Barrier Reef.  His favorite dive was in Cozumel and, when not spending time in the water, he enjoys cycling.  

Rachel is recently certified with 12 open water dives.  David and Rachel are joining USA Dive Club member Nancy Styles and other family members on a USA Dive Club multi-generational overseas dive to Bonaire.

Hector Piza and granddaughter Holly Piza are two more family members re-joining the Club to travel with Nancy Styles on the overseas dive trip to Bonaire.  

Hector Piza is an Advanced Open Water/NITROX diver with over 300 dives.  His fondest memory of diving was on a night dive in Nassau and he hopes to explore the underwater world in the Galapagos Islands.  He thinks a trip to CoCo View Resort in Roatan, Honduras, would be a great trip for the Club to plan in the future.

Holly Piza was certified in 2002 as Advanced Open Water/NITROX.  Diving with a manta ray in Bali is something she will never forget.  Her dream dive would be in clear water with lots of diversity.  Living in Colorado, Holly is happy spending time on the slopes and practicing yoga.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

Along with a brand new year, we have a brand new meeting place for our monthly General Membership meetings.  On January 5, 2023, join us at the Aloft Hotel Delray Beach.

This beautiful new venue is located at 202 SE 5th Avenue in Delray Beach.  Meet up at 6:00 pm, before the meeting, and socialize with friends during Happy Hour for dinner, snacks and drinks in the stylish hotel bar and restaurant.  Hope to see you there.

At the end of December, the USA Membership Directory will be published.  Please look for your name and make sure the contact information is correct.  If anything needs to be changed, just let me know and I'll make sure it is updated.

Also, January brings with it USA's annual membership renewal season.  Don't miss out on the action.  If you haven't done so already, please renew in order to maintain good standing in your favorite club. 

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

Amy Wellman is Newest Hall of Fame Inductee

This month I would like to begin by congratulating Amy Wellman for becoming the USA Dive Club's newest Hall of Fame member.  Amy, along with her husband, Roger Cooper, joined USA in October 2009.  

Right from the start, the couple became active in social events, local diving and overseas diving.  Through the years they have opened their home to the Board of Directors multiple times for meetings and holiday parties.  Amy has been a regular contributor to the USA Photo Gallery which displays many of her colorful underwater photos.

Amy was elected USA's Secretary in January 2016 and has done an exemplary job in the position.  In order to attain Hall of Fame status, Amy served on the Board of Directors for a total of 84 months, or the equivalent of seven years.  

Click on the 'CONTACT' button at the top of this page and take a look at the list of other current Hall of Fame members.  USA Dive Club includes an "In Memoriam" section to remember those Hall of Famers who have passed away. 

The USA Dive Club welcomes Amy to the Hall of Fame and wishes her many more years of enjoyable experiences with the Club.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

Not only is Thanksgiving a time to spend with family, friends and loved ones, it's also a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends sitting at the Thanksgiving table.  Open a conversation about your scuba diving adventures.  Maybe mention that large, friendly grouper, the one that allowed you to approach closely enough to touch.  What about the out-of-season lobster that examined your mask with his antennae as you looked into his eyes?  Don't forget the fast-swimming shark that made your heart skip a beat.  

You may discover that your new acquaintance is a SCUBA diver willing share adventurers... or a bubble watcher with aspirations of becoming a SCUBA diver.  It's fun to exchange "SCUBA" tales.  Be on the lookout for future dive buddies and invite them to join our Club.

However you spend your Thanksgiving, have a safe and enjoyable day.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

Summertime.....and the divin' is easy.  What better way to beat the heat than to take the plunge into our beautiful Atlantic Ocean?

 

Kerstin Ramstrom, USA's newest member did just that.  She found us on the Internet, and a few days after Kerstin joined the Club, she was on a local dive enjoying herself.  Certified in 2011 she has accumulated 160 dives, and enjoys sharks, nudibranchs and underwater photography.

Magic Mountain, Raja Ampat was her most memorable dive with Cocos Island, Costa Rica on her "To Do List".   

Please give Kerstin a warm USA Dive Club welcome if you see her at a meeting, social event or dive.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities

There will be no USA General Membership meeting in July due to the close proximity of the 4th of July holiday.   We wish all of you a safe and happy holiday celebrating the freedom of our country with family and friends.

Who would have thought a routine visit to my dentist's office would result in a prospective new USA member?  I have had the same dental hygienist for a couple of years now, and the subject of scuba diving came up on this particular visit quite by accident.  She simply asked me if I had any vacation plans for the summer.  When I told her I had a SCUBA trip planned to Grand Cayman, her ears perked up and, to my surprise, she told me she was a SCUBA diver.  She asked lots of questions about our Club and seemed interested in attending a meeting and checking us out on our website.  

It behooves us all to spread the word about our Club to people we meet on a daily basis.   There's always that chance of meeting our next USA Dive Club member.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

Now is the perfect time to sign up for a local dive and meet prospective USA Dive Club members.  They are all around us, just waiting to be invited... especially on local dives.    

Ryan, VP of Local Diving, has a full schedule of local dives throughout the summer months and beyond.  Strike up a conversation with someone on the boat and invite him/her to visit our website or join us at a meeting.  

In the meantime, consider joining your fellow members at our in-person General Membership meetings that are now being held at the Courtyard Marriott.  Have a bite with the "Bistro Bunch" before the meeting.  You'll be glad you did.

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.

Spring.....that time of year when a warm-water diver's fancy turns to diving.  Get the gear out, get it checked, and get on the boat. 

Lureen Ferretti was a member in the past, has attended many USA local diving and social functions, and in April 2017, was a guest speaker at our Club with her presentation, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."

 

She has too many memorable dives to mention and feels trips to the Galapagos Islands, French Polynesia and Malpelo Columbia would be great dive destinations the Club might consider in the future.  Lureen has accumulated more than 5,000 dives since she was certified in 1992.  We look forward to Lureen having fun with the Club in Fiji.  WELCOME BACK.

Oh, and if you're lucky enough to still have your mom.....GIVE HER A CALL.  Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8th

As always, we invite you to browse through our extensive Photo Gallery to take a look at our social and diving activities.