Elections - Paul Dimeo
My first scuba diving experience was with my dad on a Discover Scuba in Hawaii, and after that I was hooked. I got O/W certified at 16 and by my senior year of high school I was so addicted to diving I pushed college aside and went straight to commercial dive school. A year later I graduated as a certified commercial diver and Advanced Diver Medic, and had an Associates' degree in Marine Technology (still not sure what to do with that.) A week after graduation I was working in the Gulf of Mexico oilfields.
For the next 10 years I worked offshore, first as a tender, then as a diver and finally as a supervisor. My commercial diving experience included everything from 5' mud dives to 300' penetration dives to 800' saturation dives. Sur-D-O2 dive plans were utilized most often; however I had my fair share of deep air and mixed-gas dives as well. During my time out there as a diver and supervisor I gained a wealth of experience and knowledge in dive operations, planning and training.
Unbeknownst to many except close friends and family, my commercial diving career came to an abrupt end on July 22, 2004 with an accident that resulted in severe injuries to myself, and the loss of my Bell partner all at a depth 642'. While recovering I took a job at a commercial dive school as an instructor and taught diving physics and physiology, rigging, chamber operations, and dive operations including NAUI scuba classes.
In 2005 at the DEMA conference I met Derek Smith, and after talking for an hour or so he offered me a two week temporary job at the Aquarium of the Pacific. That was just about six years ago now and they haven't asked me to leave yet. During my time at the aquarium I have become an AAUS scientific Diver and Dive Officer, and I also have learned how to manage a diverse group of volunteer divers, which I think by far, has been the most difficult challenge of being a Dive Officer at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Now in 2011 myself, along with the help of 3 great ADSO's, manage a department that overseas 237 active divers (168 of those are volunteers) making over 17,000 dives annually. We have a scientific diving program with over 60 active AAUS scientific divers, and we have a guest diver program which requires an additional 5 paid staff Dive Masters to manage it.
Outside of the aquarium world I have written two Dive Operation Manuals and two Specific Job manuals, all of which were privately funded and published by companies. I also own a consulting business which caters to mostly insurance companies and HR departments for diving and dive safety. Needless to say, I have spent most of my adult life immersed in diving and dive safety. _____________________________________________________________________________________
A few weeks ago as I was contemplating running for the position of President-Elect, I received a call from a keeper at the Fresno Zoo asking for guidance and advice on diving protocols. They are building a new exhibit that will require diving, and they have no idea where to start. I gave her some advice as well as the contact info for the ADPA Dive Officers who are closest to her geographically. To me that's what the ADPA is all about, information and guidance for those who need it. That phone call helped solidify my decision to run for President-Elect because I truly believe in the ADPA. I believe in what it stands for and what our members and Board of Directors have built over the years.
As the ADPA continues to grow and we start working with other organizations, such as the AZA, I feel we have to be prepared to not only answer, but be able to provide specifics, for the most basic and fundamental questions. For example, "What can the ADPA offer us?" or "What can the ADPA do for me?" The most obvious answer is information and guidance, but what we should also be able to do is provide solutions that are proactive, adaptable, data-driven, and immediately actionable. I believe this is the direction the ADPA should be heading. The ADPA has an amazing cache of knowledge, experience and information; however, it has not been collected or organized in a useful manner thus far. A good example of this is the reoccurring email threads we see on subjects such as "who performs underwater presentations?" or "what compressor is everyone using?"
I believe it's a priority that we begin creating a detailed database with information about every member institution's dive program that would be available to the active membership in a manner that is easy to navigate and search. This database would be updated annually as part of the dues process by member organizations.
I believe the ADPA should also continue to focus on its two major functions. The first function of the ADPA is to continue to help new DSO members establish a safe, practical dive program. I don't believe it's the job of the ADPA to advise an institution that they should follow a specific set of dive standards, but rather allow that institution's management to make that decision. At that point we may advise the institution's Dive Officer on the best practices to implement those standards. To support this, I feel we should continue to develop the new member self audit that Michael Terrell is working on. In addition, I would like to see a mentoring program created to give a new DSO a specific person to communicate with and perhaps even visit with if possible.
The second major function of the ADPA is to continue to offer training, updates, and information to the existing members. I believe it's important we continue to meet annually and provide leadership and safety training to our members. I also believe we should continue to seek out new training partners who can provide our members with updates and classes not only during our annual symposium, but regionally as well. I also would encourage DSO's to get together regionally from time to time if for nothing else to go diving and discuss how everything is going within their respective programs.
Thank you for your consideration for President-Elect. Should I be elected, I would do my best to represent the ADPA and its members and continue to steer our organization in the best direction possible. I will give it the time and effort it deserves.