president's waves

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.

I hope this newsletter finds everybody doing well and enjoying the summer. If you are here in South Florida, I hope you are enjoying as much diving as you want.

It sounds like our members that went to Cayman had a great trip, I look forward to reading the trip report. The photos I have seen so far looks like everybody saw and captures some great sights.

We didn’t have a membership meeting in July, so we look forward to seeing everybody in the upcoming August meeting. We still need volunteers to help run the club. With Alan traveling more, we need someone to help with the 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 have items you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, any donations would be appreciated.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham

President

Summer is officially here; hope you enjoyed the Summer Solstice on June 21. The water feels great and the club has many options for local diving. The club has local dives scheduled for July 9^th and July 23^rd.

Our meetings at the Marriott have continued to be successful. If you are in the area, we would enjoy your company at the next meeting. We don’t have a July meeting so please consider the August meeting to join your friends and have a good evening.

We planned to restart the Lobster Pot, but with Alan’s wife Dawn has retired, so they are planning to travel more. Please consider joining the Board and helping with our Social Program. Also, if you have items you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, any donations would be appreciated.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham

President

Welcome to June,

Summer is almost officially here and the water temps are reaching over 80, so it is time to get some local dives booked.

Our second meeting back at the Marriott was a success, we had a good turnout at the meeting. Special thank you to all the members that came to the meeting. Based on the attendance, we would like to start up the Lobster Pot again. Please come out and socialize with other members. If you plan to eat at the Bistro, please place your orders early, they were overwhelmed with our members last month.

Because we are now returning to the Courtyard and in-person meetings, I need to ask for help for the Board with our open positions. If you are interested in serving on the board, please contact me.

• AV Coordinator
• Promotions Coordinator
• Mini Trip Coordinator

Also, if you have items you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, they would be appreciated and as soon as we have a Promotions Coordinator we will coordinate to get these items from you.

Happy diving,

President

Welcome to May,

Our Overseas team had another challenge with Soloman not opening up in time for our trip. Nils has been busy this spring overcoming travel challenges. I hope everyone appreciates all the hard work and experience that Nils puts in and shares with us. Special thank you to Nils.

Our first meeting back at the Marriott was a success, we had 16 members at the meeting. This is our largest in person attendance since COVID excluding the holiday party. Special thank you to all the members that came to the meeting. Based on the attendance, we will be starting up the Lobster Pot again. Please come out and socialize with other members. If you plan to eat at the Bistro, please place your orders early, they were overwhelmed with our members last month.

Because we are now returning to the Courtyard and in-person meetings, I need to ask for help for the Board with our open positions. If you are interested in serving on the board, please contact me.

• AV Coordinator
• Promotions Coordinator
• Mini Trip Coordinator

Also, if you have items you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, they would be appreciated and as soon as we have a Promotions Coordinator we will coordinate to get these items from you.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Welcome my friends,

So last month our Overseas Travel team had the challenge from the change from the liveaboard to a land-based resort. I would like to congratulate the team for finding a very good trip for our members. This really highlights the experience and knowledge of our VP of Overseas Diving. Thank you Nils for all you do for the club.

Another change that was undertaken this past month is the change in our meeting location. The Board voted to look at options to the Hampton Inn, while our first choice didn’t work out do to some functional requirements of the facility, Ronnie was able to get us back into the Marriott Courtyard on Cypress Creek. This is a very nice surprise to be able to return to the Courtyard.

Because we are now returning to the Courtyard and in-person meetings, I need to ask for help for the Board with our open positions. If you are interested in serving on the board, please contact me.

• AV Coordinator
• Promotions Coordinator
• Mini Trip Coordinator

Also, if you have items you would like to donate for the Lobster Pot, they would be appreciated and as soon as we have a Promotions Coordinator we will coordinate to get these items from you.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

Welcome my friends,

This month has seen some challenges to our Overseas Travel, but the good leadership by Nils has provided great options to protect and benefit our members. While these events have been challenging, the resolutions show how our club is strong and provides quality services to our members. Our club depends on volunteers, please support those volunteers that are running the club and if you desire to join us, please reach out.

The Board has 3 open positions, so if you are interested in serving on the board, please contact me.

• AV Coordinator
• Promotions Coordinator
• Mini Trip Coordinator

As avid divers, we need to protect our hobby and the marine life that makes our hobby so spectacular. Rule making to open the Goliath Grouper harvest will be voted upon by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission at the FWC meeting scheduled for March 2 and 3, 2022. Please participate if you can.

If you would like to view free Zoom tutorials, you can find them here. Or you can take a free Zoom class from Geeks On Tour here.

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President

The year is off and running. It is hard to believe it is February already. The Board had the first meeting and confirmed the previous appointed board members to serve another year to provide the club the same great service as last year. We have 3 open positions, so if you are interested in serving on the board, please contact me.

• AV Coordinator
• Promotions Coordinator
• Mini Trip Coordinator

Our February speaker will be live at the Hampton Inn. If you are comfortable with attending live, please come out to support our speakers and the great job Rick Dayan has done in finding them.

As avid divers, we need to protect our hobby and the marine life that makes our hobby so spectacular. Rule making to open the Goliath Grouper harvest will be voted upon by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission at the FWC meeting scheduled for March 2 and 3, 2022. Please participate if you can.

If you would like to view free Zoom tutorials, you can find them here. Or you can take a free Zoom class from Geeks On Tour here.

Don't forget to keep checking our Facebook page for the interesting articles Russ is posting. https://www.facebook.com/usadiveclub

Happy diving,

Chris Hardham
President