An update on the Sea Lancers from the Club President
Aloha Sea Lancers!
Even though I know many of you already, there are still several I do not know so let me start by officially introducing myself. My name is Bart Jingst and I am your Sea Lancers Diving Club President. Last summer, a new Board of Directors was elected and along with Ian Buchanan, Dan Rose, Vic Vitkauskas, and Jim Sowa, we are here to ensure Sea Lancers helps you stay active in diving by offering a safe, modern diving experience through our services and a large network of members. Even during these challenging times, we hope you are able to enjoy some great diving. While the local scuba shops have been restricted on chartering due to COVID, shore diving is great right now and a good opportunity to dive with new friends and experience fresh dive sites…and you don’t get seasick!
I would like to say thanks to all the workers who keep the club going every week from the cashiers (John, Heidi, Vic) to the equipment manager (Jim). I also want to thank everyone who has helped on our workdays with pouring concrete, resurfacing the parking lot, painting, etc. Lastly, a big thanks to all board members for providing support and leadership behind the scenes that help keep this club going. They have been so amazing that the improvements you see have been paid for nearly entirely by the Sea Lancers staff, saving the club money to help keep membership prices low. This includes parking lot maintenance, concrete, paint (donated by a member) and various other smaller projects.
You may or may not know that we raised our dues at the beginning of the year because JBPHH nearly doubled our fixed rate electric bill. There is also a possibility of another increase this fall, at which time we may need to raise dues again or adjust our rates for loaning equipment. We will look closely at our financial status and only make increases as necessary to keep the club going.
We are also looking for new members! Since we cannot compete with MWR, we are not able to advertise as their competitor, so we are looking for new ways to promote and grow our membership. Some new members have proposed getting shirts made with our logo and website. We are working out a simple design to keep the cost down and will soon post them on our website and ask for pre-orders. By far, the best way to grow the club is through word of mouth, so keep talking about the club and bring in new members - you get a free month for it.
As restrictions relax on what we can do, we will be scheduling regular club dives. Prior to the pandemic, we were setting up a dive charter out of Waianae, so that will probably be our first event when the restrictions end. If you have any ideas for club dives, or would like to organize one, please let me know so we can help set it up and make sure the word gets out.
Starting in July, each first Friday (not including holiday Fridays), we are going to have a potluck dinner at the club. On July 10, one of our new members, Erick, is going to be making fish and shrimp, so please bring a side dish or dessert, your families, and your latest diving stories! Each month we will have a different main course prepared by a volunteer(s) for us to enjoy. If you would like to volunteer, please let us know...or just come on by as we always have plenty of food!
Our club membership is on the rise and many members are coming in regularly, which is great! We are making new friends, sharing experiences and learning new dive sites, and often sharing some good food. With this growth, we are now asking members to park on the far side of the club and use that door (the side opposite the air-fill stations). This will eliminate the congestion in the equipment room and make the process of checking gear in/out safer and more efficient. In the near future, you will see signs outside and inside the building indicating entry only for club staff, tank check out/in. We have made a lot of progress in clearing out the big room for you to use and enjoy. As far as drinks go, anything in the fridges is free; we just ask that you bring something to stock it up from time to time. In addition, if you have a boat, feel free to rinse it at the dive club, then park it away from the buildings so we can leave those spaces open for vehicles. There is ample space out towards the main road where you can park your boat if you do not have other arrangements made.
I know this is a little long, but we have so many things happening now and more to go such as roof repairs, rearranging the equipment room, and moving a compressor…just to name a few. While we did install a Drop Box for payments, we are also strongly considering adding Venmo/PayPal as a way to pay club dues, eliminating the requirement of having to pay your dues in person or mail them. Please let me know if you would use these forms or suggest another payment method to make it easier for you. You will always be able to pay in person, use the drop box or mail it to us if you prefer! If you are interested in volunteering your expertise or have ideas to make your club better, please reach out by text or email...keep on diving!
Bart Jingst
President, SeaLancers Diving Club
Comments