I think that whatever the leadership decides is fine. If you guys (meaning the majority) want someone like me to help, just tell me how. If you want me to help those already on the board or any newly appointed guys, then I will do that as well. Whatever happens, the organization needs to grow larger instead of smaller, and preserve the history of diving. If you want me to serve as an officer, than I will do my best to agressively pursue our interests, once we clearly define them.
In the interest of being honest, this is how I feel about growing NAVED:
-Targeting younger people. I'm open for suggestions on this one.
-Emphasizing our experience. People want to learn from us and join us because we are GOOD, not just because we dive vintage gear (although it helps).
-Hosting lots of local events and creating some sort of listing of contacts for local divers that will buddy up with newer divers and mentor them. We can organize this like a guerrilla group, with each local guy serving as a chapter or regional guy.
-Leveraging our buying power (group buys of boat charters and equipment, for example).
-Creating a comprehensive FAQ online. It could debunk the myths. Lots of people on other boards think that if you do not have a BC on that you will plummet into the abyss. Some pictures, articles, and videos will help with this.
-Outlining vintage friendly shops in a sticky, complete with points of contact and phone numbers. Conversely, we should create a blacklist, composed of shops that do not support our style of diving. We could list stuff for fills, VIPs, gear repair, etc.
-Starting a skills campaign. Make people interested in vintage diving as a style, not just as a regulator or a tank pack. You know, that kind of "wind in your hair" crap that motorcycle clubs use all the time
-Targeting the "eclectic" or "minimalist" diver. Those guys do not have a niche, why not let them fall in with us? Even if their gear is not quite vintage, their skills are. ZKY (Eric) is a prime example of this. He has quite a following out west.
-We should have a thread or meeting outlining what we stand for as a group. We could be all democratic about it and vote, all members could have a say. Anyone not in the NAVED on the forum that wants a say can pay their money, get a card, and have their say. That way, when people ask us what the NAVED is, or what we do, we can tell them.
Some of you probably do not like some of the things that I am interested in promoting, but in the interest of fairness you should at least know my agenda if you are going to decide if you want me to serve on any board or not. Either way, just let me know. Also, I am not saying that any of this would make us any better than we already are. It cannot hurt to try though, and my First Sergeant used to tell me that it is better to get reeled into the plane that kicked out of it.
The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed. -JYC