Posted by CHAMBER DAY 2000 COMMITTEE on February 29, 2000 at 12:29:31:
I thought I'd spell-checked thi sbefore I hit "send." My apologies. Here's the "clean" version.
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Some disturbing and unwarranted accusations have been posted about the Sand Dollar and their commitment to Chamber Day and I feel it's necessary to set the record straight.
When he was on the Bold Contender, Ken Peters was a regular and enthusiastic supporter of Chamber Day. Now that he owns the Sand Dollar, he is still a supporter. The problem lies within a scheduling conflict.
Ken and Sand Dollar have been invited to participate in Chamber Day each year. This year, as well as last (and perhaps 98 but I won't swear to it), he has had a 3-day charter that comes in from out-of-state and dives, usually non-Catalina sites, on the dates encompassing Chamber Day. We certainly don't expect him to give up this trip.
Each time this conflict has presented itself, Ken has generously offered to run a "second" Chamber Day trip on an alternate date. We, Chamber Day, have declined this offer due to the complications of promoting two different dates for the event and other logistical problems. But the salient point is that Ken has ALWAYS made an offer to participate. It just hasn't always been on the date designated for the event.
But let's all be very clear that there's no rancor, animosity, or problems between Ken Peters & Sand Dollar and the Chamber Day Committee. We understand his position and sometimes things just don't work out. He's not the only boat/captain who hasn't participated over the years due to either a previous commitment or other conflicts.
As far as whether or not we should or should not accept nitrox classes, or do this or that, our position is that a public forum is simply NOT the place to debate policy. If you have questions or suggestions, as has always been the case, you may e-mail us privately and we will be happy to discuss them with you. But we will NOT respond to these issues in this type of a forum.
What is most distressing is that the intent of Chamber Day is for it to be something that can actually unite the SoCal dive community, even just for one day, in a common goal. We ask everyone who makes this thing happen - boats, shops, clubs, mfgs, publications, individuals, groups, etc. - to put aside the petty bickering that frequently pervades and divides our industry, and at least as far as May 3 is concerned, behave towards each other in somewhat more utopian and idealistic way. As last year's event results indicate (over $67,000 raised - roughly 3 times the average in years past), when we make nice with each other, good things can happen.
It's a great event. It's worthwhile. It deserves your financial support. Let's not use it as a wedge to divide our diving community.
Ken Kurtis
Chamber Day 2000 Chairman