FEBRUARY PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

I can’t say that the weather has been conducive to diving lately. It’s been windy and lately it’s been cold. It’s not a good sign when the mid winter water temperature is significantly warmer than the air temperature. As always, better days are coming. Before we know it we will be back into spring weather.

Our January wacky gift exchange was lots of fun as it always is. I think most people were happy with the gifts they received. I know that I was. Thanks to John and Donna for officiating.

Even though we haven’t been doing too much diving, there are lots of fun activities on the calendar. It’s normal for the diving to decrease at this time of year so your Eboard has come up with some great events, some old favorites and some new stuff. Check out the calendar.

Please, if you haven’t already paid your dues please do so either at the meeting or through the mail or email and PayPal. We need proof of dive insurance and the renewal forms filled out also. Unlike everything else, our dues have not gone up in price. This club membership is still a bargain.

Hoping to see many of you at the meeting or at some of the other club events.
Live long and lobster,
Jeff

Jeff

JANUARY PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Happy New Year to everyone! I would like to thank everyone who came to the Holiday Party. The party was outstanding and special thanks to those of you who worked to make it the success that it was. We are already planning next year’s party and it will be on December 7, 2024 and we will be back to the IT Parker facility. Mark your calendars.

As you know, the elections were held at the December meeting and I’m happy to report that we have some new blood on the Eboard. I think with the new people we will get some fresh ideas that will benefit all of us.

I am looking forward to the January meeting and our annual wacky gift exchange. Please bring a wrapped gift. The gift should be comical (wacky) or something nice. Please remember that wacky doesn’t mean junk. Try to bring something that you yourself would be happy to receive. Wear your holiday finery such as ugly Christmas sweaters and or Santa hats etc. This should make for some great Kodak moments.

We have a lot of fun activities on the calendar so check them out and join us. We always seem to have a lot of fun together. Keep in mind that you must be a member to take part in these activities so if you haven’t already paid your dues for 2024 please do so. Our dues are quite the bargain. Even though everything else has gone up in price, our dues have remained the same for at least the past twelve years.

Once again I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Jeff Raffa

President SFDI

DECEMBER PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Wow! 2023 is nearly gone. Every year goes by more quickly than the previous one.

As usual we held the nominations for the E-Board at the November meeting. The nominations are still open! We will take nominations at the December meeting. All positions are open! If you feel someone should be nominated please nominate them. If you feel that you should be nominated then by all means nominate yourself or ask someone to nominate you. I encourage everyone to consider joining the E-Board. No experience is necessary however we do ask that E-Board members make an effort to attend meetings and actively participate and coordinate an event or two.

Our annual Holiday Party will be held on Saturday, December 2 at the VFW Yes, our usual venue is unavailable for us this year. We will hopefully be back there next year. This is our biggest event of the year and I hope to see many of you there. Please feel free to invite guests such as family and friends. They don’t have to be divers. They are pretty much guaranteed to have a fun evening. Great food, great live music, and great people are waiting for them. The more the merrier.

Our Holiday Party Christmas Tree will be sunk on Saturday, December 9th. We and the tree will board the Sea Experience at 8:30 am. We will place the tree on the deck of a ship wreck yet to be determined and proceed to decorate it with things that fish like to eat. When we are finished we will back off and watch the feeding frenzy. It makes a terrific photo and video opportunity. If you plan to join us, please bring something that fish will eat. What seems to work best is chunks of fish or squid rings. It should be something that you might put on a hook to catch a fish. Please use biodegradable string to attach it to the tree. Plain cotton string works fine. This is always a fun event.

Our Holiday Lights Cruise will be held on Sunday, December 17. Once again we will hold this event on the Sea Experience, docked at Bahia Mar. Please bring your beverage of choice and some finger food to share. Once again, feel free to bring guests. The boat will leave the dock promptly at 6 pm. The cost for this fun evening is $37 which includes tax and gratuity. We plan to be back on the dock before 9 pm.

As the year is coming to a close, please remember to renew your membership. Don’t forget that you must fill out a renewal form and sign the waivers and provide proof of insurance that will cover a dive injury. Please remember to update your information if you have moved, changed phone numbers or email addresses. You can download the renewal form from the club website.

I would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and a happy and healthy new year.

Live long and lobster.

NOVEMBER PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

We have some important business to take care of at our next two meetings. November will be the nominations of our executive board and December will be our elections. All positions are open and I encourage everyone to consider running for an office. You can nominate yourself or ask someone to nominate you. New blood is always welcome.

Our biggest social event of the year will be here before we know it. December is right around the corner and I am looking forward to having a great time at the Holiday Party which will be held on December second this year. Please feel free to bring as many guests as you like. The more the merrier! This year we were forced to change the venue to the VFW. Our usual venue is unavailable to us this year due to renovations. At the VFW we are unable to have open bar so it will be a cash bar. Please do not bring your own alcohol to the VFW.

The water will be cooling down a bit soon but it is still quite nice. Think about joining us for some diving. For a great time plan on joining us for the sinking of the Christmas tree on December 9. It’s always a lot of fun and of course the more the merrier. What we do is sink the Christmas tree from the holiday party on one of our wrecks. Once it is settled on the wreck, we descend in our holiday garb, and decorate the tree with things that fish like to eat, typically other fish. Once the decorating is done we back off and the feeding frenzy begins. It is always a great photo opportunity.

We had such a good time last year on the holiday lights cruise that we will be doing it again. We pretty much get the Sea Experience to ourselves and cruise the Intracoastal Waterway and admire the water front homes decorated for the holidays. We bring our own beverages and snacks and appetizers to share. This year it will be on December 17. Please consider joining us. It’s always a fun time.

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