INDUSTRY NEWS continued
who wants to share a cup of coffee or a beer after the Show, you get to connect.”
ticipation in diving. “The more divers we have, the happier shop owners are, the more trips people take and the more equipment they buy,” she said. “We all win when that happens.”
Fabsik-Swarts remembers hearing dive shop owners talk about DEMA when she was a new diver, long before she understood what the organization or Show represented. “DEMA has been a staple in the diving community,” she said. “It is not only education and deals. It is an opportunity to meet your colleagues, meet leaders in the industry and talk with them one-on- one.” Those relationships matter. Diving remains an industry in which much of the business is built through trust, personal contact and years of working together. Technology makes commu- nication easier, but it does not fully replace a conversation across a booth, during breakfast or after the Show floor closes. Creating the Next Strategic Plan : Fabsik-Swarts will help lead DEMA into a new strategic planning process.
A Personal Connection to Diving: Near the end of our conversation, I asked Fabsik-Swarts about her favorite dive memory. She said they had been to many destinations, but one experi- ence stood out. She recalled a dive at Richelieu Rock in Thailand when a large male cuttlefish reached toward her husband as though trying to un- derstand who or what he was. “There was a little communication with the natural world, and that was cool,” she said. “You cannot get that any other way.”
She also described diving as the closest she expects to come to being an astronaut. Divers must remain aware of their safety and equipment while entering a place few people experience directly. “You get to see new things, and you make some of the best friends you will have for life,” she said. “It is a wonderful community, and I feel blessed to be part of it.” That combination of professional association experience and a personal love of diving gives Fabsik-Swarts an opportunity to see DEMA from more than one perspective. She understands associations, but she also understands why people become divers and why so many choose to build their careers around the water.
That work will require the association to decide which issues deserve the greatest investment. “We are going to envision where we are, determine the most important things we should be doing, and decide where we put our time, energy and money,” she said. Members should have a voice in those decisions. DEMA provides opportunities to serve on committees, vote in board elections, participate in research and communicate directly with association leadership. If you are already a member, get involved. Attend the member breakfast, volunteer for a committee and take advantage of the research and ed- ucational resources available to you. If you are not a member, visit DEMA.org and examine what the association offers. Fabsik-Swarts believes DEMA’s ultimate role is to help create conditions in which more dive businesses and professionals can succeed. “If you are interested in moving the needle in your organization and trying to grow and expand, we want to help you,” she said. “We want to help you learn how to market and reach the community where your shop or business is located.” Her vision connects business growth with expanding par-
Her first task is to listen. What comes next will depend in part on what DEMA’s members tell her and how willing they are to participate in shaping the association’s future.
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