president's waves

REMINDER, our meeting location has changed to the Pompano Beach Elks Lodge. The new room is large and much better acoustics than our previous location. The Lodge opens at 5:00 and they have assured us they will have food available, so please come and learn about our new location. The meeting will start at 7:00 since the Lodge closes at 9:00 and we need to be out of the building. We are required to prepare and clean up the space(part of the savings) so any help is appreciated. There is one aspect that we need to be aware of, because this is a private club only members(Elks) can purchase alcohol. Everybody else will need to pay the member(elks) for any drinks they order on that member(Elks)’s tab.

As always, we would love members that are interested in helping or getting to know the club better to join the Board of Directors. We would enjoy some new blood and the perspective of new members.

Our schedule is filling up with new Local Dives and Social Events, please come out and join your fellow members. We all joined the club for these activities and the friends we have made through the years.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Welcome to Spring,

The Board of Directors has listened to the complaints about the noise at the Aloft. March 24^th Ronnie and I were initiated as Elks so we can move our meetings to the Pompano Lodge. Clare will be initiated the 4^th Monday of April as she had a conflict. We will have our April meeting at the Aloft as this was too soon to be established with the Elks.

The BoD was able to get the Aloft to terminate our contract without any penalties, big think you to Ronnie, Nils and Julie for their work on this.

The Elks has a projector and a sound system in their facility, Nils and I visited and tested their sound system and one of their projectors, but they still need to mount the projector. The Lodge anticipates having food available for our meeting, but they are working out volunteers, so the menu may change or be limited depending on the volunteer that particular evening. There is one aspect that we need to be aware of, because this is a private club only members(Elks) can purchase alcohol. Everybody else will need to pay the member(elks) for any drinks they order on that member(Elks)’s tab.

Noticed will be sent out after our April meeting with directions and more details about the Elks Lodge.

As always, we would love members that are interested in helping or getting to know the club better to join the Board of Directors. We would enjoy some new blood and the perspective of new members.

Our schedule is filling up with new Local Dives and Social Events, please come out and join your fellow members. We all joined the club for these activities and the friends we have made through the years.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Happy March,

The year is progressing awfully fast, hard to believe it is time for St Patrick’s Day already and Spring will be here soon. The weather is nice and the water is warming up, this is why we are here in Florida.

I would like to address some of the concerns that have been voiced recently about our meetings. I have been working with other BoD members to address the technical issues. We have eliminated some and are working on the rest. Additionally, we have found a potential new location in Pompano Beach where the acoustics should be drastically improved. This location also has food and adult beverages for those that partake. I will be visiting this location next week with other BoD members. Our contract with Aloft requires a 4 month notice, so the move won't be instant, but we are working on improving our meetings. 

The BoD has heard the complaints and we are working to address them as much as we can. 

As always, we would love members that are interested in helping or getting to know the club better to join the Board of Directors. We would enjoy some new blood and the perspective of new members.

Our schedule is filling up with new Local Dives and Social Events, please come out and join your fellow members. We all joined the club for these activities and the friends we have made through the years.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Happy February, I hope everybody has transitioned into 2025 successfully. Your Board of Directors met and appointed the members not elected in December. The following is your Board of Directors for 2025:

• President (Chris Hardham)                                           Elected
• VP of Programs (Rick Dayan)                                        Elected
• VP of Overseas Diving (Nils Jacobsen)                      Elected
• VP of Local Diving (Ryan Goheen)                              Elected
• VP of Social Events (Lureen Ferretti)                         Elected
• Secretary (Amy Wellman)                                             Elected
• Treasurer (Ronnie Farr)                                                  Elected
• Hospitality (Clare Anthon)                                            Appointed
• Membership (Julie Manhold)                                      Appointed
  Photo Gallery Coordinator (Julie Manhold)            Appointed
• Photographer (Laura Moran)                                       Appointed
  Social Media Coordinator (Laura Moran)                Appointed
• Newsletter (Roger Cooper)                                           Appointed
• Education Coordinator (Howard Ratsch)                 Appointed
• Historian (Robert Shearer)                                            Appointed

As always, we would love members that are interested in helping or getting to know the club better to join the Board of Directors.

Our schedule is filling up with new Local Dives and Social Events, please come out and join your fellow members. We all joined the club for these activities and the friends we have made through the years.

 Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Happy New Year to everyone.

Thank you to everybody that joined us at the Holiday party, it was a fun gathering for everybody.

Please sign up and join the club out diving. Please keep an eye on upcoming dives and join in if you are inclined. It is always a lot of fun catching up on the boat and having lunch afterward with friends. The Blue Heron Bridge crowd is still very active also.

Our Board of Directors election has been completed. The following is your Board of Directors. At the January BoD meeting the remainder of the BoD will be appointed.

• President – Chris Hardham
• VP of Programs – Rick Dayan
• VP Overseas – Nils Jacobsen
• VP of Social Events – Lureen Ferretti
• VP of Local Diving – Ryan Goheen
• Secretary – Amy Welman
• Treasurer – Ronnie Farr

We would love to have new members join the Board to learn more about the club and get to know our membership better. There are many appointed positions available for members interested in joining.

Please come to meetings and help our club grow.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Happy Holidays to everyone. Please join us at our Holiday party, I believe there are seats available still.

Please sign up and join the club out diving. Please keep an eye on upcoming dives and join in if you are inclined. It is always a lot of fun catching up on the boat and having lunch afterward with friends. The Blue Heron Bridge crowd is still very active also.

It is that time of year again for Board of Director elections, the Board is proposing the following slate of electors.

• President – Chris Hardham
• VP of Programs – Rick Dayan
• VP Overseas – Nils Jacobsen
• VP of Social Events – Lureen Ferretti
• VP of Local Diving – Ryan Goheen
• Secretary – Amy Welman
• Treasurer – Ronnie Farr

As in recent years, the election will be held online for a week closing with the Holiday Party.

There are several positions on the Board of Directors where help would be greatly appreciated. It is a great opportunity to learn about the club and our membership. The members that volunteer their time would appreciate some new blood to join the BoD and help guide the club into the future. Additionally, there are several appointed positions that will be filled after the new year, please reach out if you are interested.

Please come to meetings and help our club grow.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

 

I hope everybody is enjoying the start of weather cooling down. Please double check your Hurricane Plan and be prepared since we still have a month of the season remaining.

Please sign up and join the club out diving. Please keep an eye on upcoming dives and join in if you are inclined. It is always a lot of fun catching up on the boat and having lunch afterward with friends. The Blue Heron Bridge crowd is still very active also.

Our November speaker is Shark Team One which will be a in person speaker.

It is that time of year again for Board of Director elections, the Board is proposing the following slate of electors.

• President – Chris Hardham
• VP of Programs – Rick Dayan
• VP Overseas – Nils Jacobsen
• VP of Social Events – Lureen Ferretti
• VP of Local Diving – Ryan Goheen
• Secretary – Amy Welman
• Treasurer – Ronnie Farr

There are several positions on the Board of Directors where help would be greatly appreciated. It is a great opportunity to learn about the club and our membership. The members that volunteer their time would appreciate some new blood to join the BoD and help guide the club into the future. Additionally, there are several appointed positions that will be filled after the new year, please reach out if you are interested.

Our overseas participation has dropped this year compared to last year, this is a major benefit of our club and source of revenue. If you have locations you would like to visit, please let Nils know so he can look for good deals at DEMA this fall.

Please come to meetings and help our club grow.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Fall has officially started. I hope everybody is enjoying the start of weather cooling down. So far this year it doesn’t seem very significant though. Please be aware that we are entering the most active portion of the hurricane season. Please double check your Hurricane Plan and be prepared since it is projected as an active season. We dodged a serious hurricane with Helene.

Local diving is in full swing with many options available, please sign up and join the club out diving. Please keep an eye on upcoming dives and join in if you are inclined. It is always a lot of fun catching up on the boat and having lunch afterward with friends. The Blue Heron Bridge crowd is still very active also.

Our October speaker is Plant a Million Corals Foundation which will be a zoom speaker.

It is that time of year again for Board of Director elections, the Board is proposing the following slate of electors.

• President – Chris Hardham
• VP of Programs – Rick Dayan
• VP Overseas – Nils Jacobsen
• VP of Social Events – Lureen Ferretti
• VP of Local Diving – Ryan Goheen
• Secretary – Amy Welman
• Treasurer – Ronnie Farr

There are several positions on the Board of Directors where help would be greatly appreciated. It is a great opportunity to learn about the club and our membership. The members that volunteer their time would appreciate some new blood to join the BoD and help guide the club into the future.Additionally, there are several appointed positions that will be filled after the new year, please reach out if you are interested.

Our overseas participation has dropped this year compared to last year, this is a major benefit of our club and source of revenue. If you have locations you would like to visit, please let Nils know so he can look for good deals at DEMA this fall.

Please come to meetings and help our club grow.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

The Summer is nearing the end and hurricane season is getting to the most active part. Please prepare your houses and have a plan in case a hurricane takes aim at our area.

 Goliath Grouper season is here, I went this weekend and the Castor had 5 Goliath on it. We had a surprise a manta ray was feeding at the wreck. We were lucky enough to see it at the beginning and it returned at the end of the dive. I hope this special guest sticks around for others to enjoy.

 

Ryan has a lot of local dives scheduled, come out and look for the flora and fauna we hear about in our monthly presentations. Many of our members are diving actively currently in addition to our dedicated bridge divers. Please keep an eye on upcoming dives and join in if you are inclined. It is always a lot of fun catching up on the boat and having lunch afterward with friends.

 There are several positions on the Board of Directors where help would be greatly appreciated. It is a great opportunity to learn about the club and our membership. The members that volunteer their time would appreciate some new blood to join the BoD and help guide the club into the future.

 Our overseas participation has dropped this year compared to last year, this is a major benefit of our club and source of revenue. If you have locations you would like to visit, please let Nils know so he can look for good deals at DEMA this fall.

The club has been growing at a faster rate than since I joined the club, please come to meetings and help our club grow.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Picture by Karen Hausheer

Picture by Karen Hausheer

Our summer travel for the club has started with the BVI trip. Looking forward to pictures and the trip report. The trip to The Solomon Islands has departed, we look forward to pictures and that trip report.

Summer is here and the weather is ready to cool off diving. Ryan has a lot of local dives scheduled, come out and look for the flora and fauna we hear about in our monthly presentations. Many of our members are diving actively currently in addition to our dedicated bridge divers. Please keep an eye on upcoming dives and join in if you are inclined. It is always a lot of fun catching up on the boat and having lunch afterward with friends.

There are several positions on the Board of Directors where help would be greatly appreciated. It is a great opportunity to learn about the club and our membership. The members that volunteer their time would appreciate some new blood to join the BoD and help guide the club into the future.

Our overseas participation has dropped this year compared to last year, this is a major benefit of our club and source of revenue. If you have locations you would like to visit, please let Nils know so he can look for good deals at DEMA this fall.

The club has been growing at a faster rate than since I joined the club, please come to meetings and help our club grow.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President