In Reply to: Gregg M. has the best response to the Chamber posted by Berry on March 30, 2006 at 22:09:10:

In many respects, I'm loath to respond to sockpuppets. I'm second to none in my denounciation of hidden names, usually accompanied by hidden agenda's. By the same token, I'm second to none at holding Ken/Chamber accountable for their actions.

That said, in no small part, I somewhat accept this particular sockpuppets premise, since I've raised the same point for several years. Whetther Ken Peters/Sand Dollar has a legitmate conflict respecting a annual booking or whether Ken Peters/Sand Dollar hooses simply to lack the desire to contribute is largley besides the point. Part-in-parcel of my rationale for challenging fellow instructors to get more involved vis-a-vis the instructor challenge is due to the fact that I do agree that the boats bear a disproportionalety heavy burden. The divers pay for a day of diving, the boats donate the day and the chamber gets the money. Certainly, we are all grateful that certain boat owners willingly contribute their in-kind donation, and frankly it's not a bad arrangement. We are all looking for ancilliary ways to raise money, and we would all like to see ALL boat owners contribute, but the fact of the matter is that it's an all too easy way to scapegoat one or two boat owners. The entire dive industry needs to reconsider their donative efforts. A simple quid pro quo of a day of diving wherein the fees go to the chamber rather then the boat owners is a shortsighted, feel good approach. Shops, clubs, instructors, et. al. need to approach this subject with a year round mindset, rather then myopically fixatting on a single day event. All too many view the Chamber fund raising as a single day, all is taken care as a result mindset. The boats bear much too much of the disproportional share of the burden.

Divers, shops, clubs and instructors need to re-evaluate the approach and mindset.

I avoid posting to this list for a wide variety of reasons, but when I choose to post, I do so under my own name and suffer all the responsibilities associated therewith. I don't condone sockpuppets, I think our words, deeds and actions means so much more when we stand behind our thoughts, but in the instant case I can't help but to identify myself with these comments.

Ken Peters/Sand Dollar are an insignificant misdiagnosis of the problem. I could care less whether Ken Peters/Sand Dollar choose to participate. I hope that they will choose to help the community from which they earn a living, but we should let the marketplace figure that issue out. What we should really focus on is figuring out ways to get the ENTIRE dive community involved in different ways that are currently being implemented. Ken Peters/Sand Dollar are a pimple on the boat of the problem(s).

Later