president's waves

Welcome to Summer

The group from Little Cayman just returned, I am looking forward to great stories of the diving forthcoming.

Local diving is in full swing with many options available, please sign up and join the club out diving.

Local Diving has started with the first dive scheduled for April 1. 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 lunch afterwards.

Just a reminder that our June meeting is virtual, the hotel had a conflict. Another reminder we do not have a July membership meeting.

Please consider joining the Board of Directors and filling the following open positions. Joining the BoD helps to get to better know our membership even better. Several of our board members have filled these positions in the past and would be glad to help with the positions.

• VP of Social Events – Open
• Audio Visual – Open
• Promotions Coordinator – Open

Reminder: The BoD has voted to rescind the requirement to have a valid COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend a USA function. We hope this allows some members to come and join us at our meetings. The only exception is overseas travel, trips will comply with the local requirements.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham
President

The water is warming up,

Speaking for the two groups that were able to participate in the trip on Damai 1 in Indonesia, this was a great bucket list trip. The club makes many trips more affordable and we should try and take advantage of these opportunities.

Florida Fish and Wildlife is having a meeting in Miami and one of the subjects we are interested in is Goliath Groupers. We had an amazing speaker last month on this subject, so if you can attend this meeting, please do.

• Link to FWC meeting webpage            https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/356f86d

Local diving has started with the first dive scheduled for April 1. 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 lunch afterwards.

Just a reminder that we have a new location for our monthly meetings. We will now be holding our meetings at the Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach. Please come join us and check out our new location.

Please consider joining the Board of Directors and filling the following open positions. Joining the BoD helps to get to better know our membership even better. Several of our board members have filled these positions in the past and would be glad to help with the positions.

• VP of Social Events – Open
• Audio Visual – Open
• Promotions Coordinator – Open

Reminder: The BoD has voted to rescind the requirement to have a valid COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend a USA function. We hope this allows some members to come and join us at our meetings. The only exception is overseas travel, trips will comply with the local requirements.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham
President

Welcome to Spring,

Greetings from Indonesia, group two has arrived and will arrive at the boat Saturday March 24, so this newsletter is a little early.

Local diving has started with the first dive scheduled for April 1. 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 lunch afterwards.

DEP Announces 2023 Florida's Coral Reef Webinar Series

Every year, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Coral Reef Conservation Program celebrates Earth Month by offering a series of classes about Florida's Coral Reef. Join us to learn from staff and local experts on topics including how to identify corals and fish, the threats facing our reefs and how you can help. 

WHAT:          2023 Florida's Coral Reef Webinar Series
WHEN:          April 4 - 27, 2023
HOW:           View the schedule and register at our Earth Month Webinar Series webpage

 Just a reminder that we have a new location for our monthly meetings. We will now be holding our meetings at the Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach. Please come join us and check out our new location.

Please consider joining the Board of Directors and filling the following open positions. Joining the BoD helps to get to better know our membership even better. Several of our board members have filled these positions in the past and would be glad to help with the positions.

• VP of Social Events – Open
• Audio Visual – Open
• Promotions Coordinator – Open

Reminder: The BoD has voted to rescind the requirement to have a valid COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend a USA function. We hope this allows some members to come and join us at our meetings. The only exception is overseas travel, trips will comply with the local requirements.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham
President

Here comes Spring,

March has a large number of our members traveling to Indonesia between the two trips and a few lucky enough to participate in both trips. It is almost time to get back in the water for the rest of the membership. Our local dives will be become more regular occurrences as the water warms. We hope to see you out there.

Just a reminder that we have a new location for our monthly meetings. We will now be holding our meetings at the Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach. Please come join us and check out our new location.

Please consider joining the board and filling the following open positions. Joining the BoD helps to get to better know our membership even better. Several of our board members have filled these positions in the past and would be glad to help with the positions.

• VP of Social Events – Open
• Audio Visual – Open
• Promotions Coordinator – Open

Reminder: The BoD has voted to rescind the requirement to have a valid COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend a USA function. We hope this allows some members to come and join us at our meetings. The only exception is overseas travel, trips will comply with the local requirements.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham
President

Happy New Year,

I hope everybody enjoyed their holiday season. The Board is very proud to announce that we have secured a new location for our general membership meetings after the Marriott increased our rent again. We will now be holding our meetings at the Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach. Please come join us and check out our new location.

The following is our complete Board of Directors.

• President – Chris Hardham
• VP of Programs – Rick Dayan
• VP Overseas – Nils Jacobsen
• VP of Social Events – Open
• VP of Local Diving – Ryan Goheen
• Secretary – Amy Welman
• Treasurer – Ronnie Farr
• Hospitality – Claire Anthon
• Membership – Julie Manhold
• Photo Gallery Coordinator – Julie Manhold
• Photographer – Laura Moran
• Newsletter – Roger Cooper
• Education Coordinator – Howard Wratch
• Social Media – Open
• Historian – Robert Shearer
• Audio Visual – Open
• Promotions Coordinator – Open

Please consider joining the board and get to better know our membership. Several of our board members have filled these positions in the past and would be glad to help with the positions.

The BoD has voted to rescind our previous requirement to attend a USA function, members must have a valid COVID-19 vaccination as defined by the CDC. We hope this allows some members to come and join us at our meetings. The only exception is overseas travel, trips will comply with the local requirements.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham
President

Happy New Year,

I hope everybody is enjoying their holiday season, even if it is a bit chilly for local diving. The Board is very proud to announce that we have secured a new location for our general membership meetings after the Marriott increased our rent again. We will now be holding our meetings at the Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach. Please come join us for another great speaker that Rick Dayan has lined up for us and check out our new location.

The following are the officers elected to serve on the Board of Directors by our membership. The appointed members will be appointed at the first Board meeting on January 12.

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

Please consider joining the board as the VP of Social Events. Several of the existing board members have filled this position in the past, the BoD has many great ideas to share and would be glad to help with the position.

We also need someone to volunteer for the Promotions position to run the Lobster pot at our meetings. Please consider joining the Board. Also, if you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, any donations would be appreciated.

To attend a USA function, members must have a valid COVID-19 vaccination as defined by the CDC.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham

Happy Holidays,

I hope everybody enjoyed their Thanksgiving with family and friends. For a second month in a row, our general membership meeting had a substantial attendance in person. Please come out to the meetings and socialize with our friends. Plus, Rick has been doing a great job of finding very interesting speakers. Please come out to our next meeting.

It is that time of year for our annual election. The Board of Directors is proposing the following list of officers for 2023.

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

The election will be held in December in accordance with our bylaws. If you don’t want to vote online, you are always welcome to attend the Christmas Party and we will help you vote. The one week of voting will commence with the meeting and close a week later in compliance with the bylaws.

Please consider joining the board for the VP of Social Events. Several of the existing board members have filled this position in the past, the BoD has many great ideas to share and would be glad to help with the position.

We also need someone to volunteer for the Promotions position to run the Lobster pot at our meetings. Please consider joining the Board. Also, if you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, any donations would be appreciated.

To attend a USA function, members must have a valid COVID-19 vaccination as defined by the CDC.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham

President

Welcome to November,

Our membership meeting last month set a record for the most attendees live since Covid. With a combination of our speaker Dr Gary Rose and members in town for the Saba trip, we had a total of 25 people in the room. We hope that this is a sign that members are willing to come out and enjoy our friends and some great speakers that Rick has been lining up. Please come out to our next meeting.

It is that time of year for our annual election. The Board of Directors is proposing the following list of officers for 2023.

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

The election will be held in December in accordance with our bylaws. If you don’t want to vote online, you are always welcome to attend the Christmas Party and we will help you vote. The one week of voting will commence with the meeting and close a week later in compliance with the bylaws.

To attend a USA function, members must have a valid COVID-19 vaccination as defined by the CDC.

We still need volunteers to help run the club. We need a VP of Social to fulfill duties like monthly outings. We also need someone to volunteer for the Promotions position to run the Lobster pot at our meetings. Please consider joining the Board. Also, if you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, any donations would be appreciated.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham

President

Happy October,

I hope everybody enjoyed their Labor Day and September.

It is that time of year for our annual election. The Board of Directors is proposing the following list of officers for 2023.

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

The election will be held in December in accordance with our bylaws. If you don’t want to vote online, you are always welcome to attend the Christmas Party and we will help you vote. The one week of voting will commence with the meeting and close a week later in compliance with the bylaws.

The Board just finished our meeting and resolutions have been passed regarding masks and vaccinations. While encouraged, masks are no longer required for USA sponsored events, unless required by local law(think travel).

To attend a USA function, members must have a valid COVID-19 vaccination as defined by the CDC.

We still need volunteers to help run the club. We need a VP of Social to fulfill duties like monthly outings. We also need someone to volunteer for the Promotions position to run the Lobster pot at our meetings. Please consider joining the Board. Also, if you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, any donations would be appreciated.

Happy diving,
Chris Hardham

President

Happy Labor Day to everybody. I hope everybody enjoys the long weekend. Please remember that the Club does not have a meeting in September due to the holiday weekend. 

It is election time of year again, the Board has a meeting on September 7th to review the proposed slate of officers to present to the membership for your consideration in the upcoming election. 

We still need volunteers to help run the club. With Alan traveling more, we need someone to help with social duties like monthly outings and the Lobster pot at our meetings, please consider joining the Board and helping with our Social Program. Also, if you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, any donations would be appreciated.