State Of The Oceans Summit

[oceanrealm]

Greetings Friends of the Ocean!

Two years ago we produced the first summit. Considering the lack of
support we had from DEMA - no announcements to the attendees, no
distribution of materials in the press room - we still managed to have
a productive day. Although we fell short of our goals - such as
publishing the BLUE PAPER (a compilation of reports from participating
organizations) we felt then, and still do today, the idea of getting
everyone together to discuss issues and net work amongst ourselves, a
worthy effort.

We have discussed the idea of organizing the summit this coming
November during DEMA but since DEMA denied our request for a booth (to
distribute materials) or a meeting room last year, we highly doubt
they will give us the time of day this year.

So we pose the following question to all of you that care about the
future of the oceans and its inhabitants as to when and where we might
hold the next summit?

I always felt DEMA was the perfect place considering the participants
make a living from a healthy ocean, and you would think that they, of
all people, would want to support the great work that all of you do in
your respective fields! After all, your efforts help them to reap the
benefits of a healthy environment.

But sadly, I do not believe we will ever get DEMA or the show
participants sincere attention.

Another thought is to work with the SURF EXPO people. Gene Muchanski
(Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association) and I will be
working the DIA booth this coming SURF EXPO, August 20/22 in Orlando,
and will have an opportunity to discuss this idea.

However, next year, November 2010, Ocean Realm will be sponsoring
EcoWeek Florida Keys - A Celebration of the Environment. As the co-
producer of this keys-wide event I am thinking this could be a great
venue for the annual Summit. In all we will be spending $175,000 in
advertising and the Summit could be included as one of the events that
will occur during a two week period.

There is a small convention center in Key Largo that would make a
great waterfront venue for the summit. Key Largo is only an hour from
the Miami airport so it will be easy travel. November is the low
season and we can get great resort rooms for half price. All in all it
could be a great event and a lot of fun - a sort of mini vacation that
can be considered a business expense. There will be tons of press
coverage - print, radio and television. This could be a great venue
and I can assure you the Monroe County Tourism Development Council, as
well as the entire dive and ocean activities industries - will
resoundingly support the summit.

So, if you will please take a moment out of your busy day to ponder
the above options, I will be grateful to hear from you.

Regards, have a great day. Richard Stewart, Ocean Realm Society.

[Marie Levine]

Hi Richard,

Surf Expo is for the surf industry, not the surfing community, and they are the people we need to reach - but with no consumer shows (like BTS) Surf Expo may be next best..

The Summit could be held at Surf Expo in January. SRI  exibited there in Jan 2009 and was very well-received -- much more so than at DEMA. Although Surf Expo didn't charge us for the booth (a terrific corner booth), the Orange County Convention Center charged max rates for everything - that of shipping the booth, brochures, and bringing staff/their hotels/meals made it too expensive for us to do itagain in August 2009 ...but the surf industry was warm and welcoming  except for the biggest manufacturers who, like the dive manufacturers, ignored everybody except shop owners.

The other option sounds fine too - but $175,000 would go a very  long way in conservation and better spent on conservation/education programs where it would do max good,  than advertising where returns are questionable.

Warmly,
Marie

[oceanrealm]

Thanks for your input Marie!

If you want SRI to participate in future SURF EXPOS you could always
ship everything to me in New Smyrna Beach - the shark bite capitol of
the world!

Yes, SURF EXPO is a trade show for all people in the ocean sports
business, Too bad the diving community is not embracing them. I think
it would be good to have a State of the Oceans booth whereas we could
distribute summit participants information to the trade - as we tried
to do to the DEMA trade members.

But as for the actual summit, I think it is a long way to travel - for
our international friends - for a one day event. If we held it in Key
Largo we could expand the program and people could visit for 3 to 5
days or more, thus justifying the time and expense?

As for the $175k, this is TDC (Tourism Development Council) money that
is already earmarked for tourism advertising. These funds are
generated from the "head & bed" taxes and can ONLY be spent to lure
tourist to the Keys. I agree it would go a long way to fund
environmental programs but I guess the next best thing we can be happy
for is - it is being used to promote a very cool eco-event. You can
see what we are putting together at www.FloridaKeysEcoWeek.com or
follow us in Facebook.

Thanks for your years of support and encouragment!

Richard

On Jul 28, 1:31 pm, Marie Levine <srilev...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Richard,
>
> Surf Expo is for the surf industry, not the surfing community, and they are
> the people we need to reach - but with no consumer shows (like BTS) Surf
> Expo may be next best..
>
> The Summit could be held at Surf Expo in January. SRI  exibited there in Jan
> 2009 and was very well-received -- much more so than at DEMA. Although Surf
> Expo didn't charge us for the booth (a terrific corner booth), the Orange
> County Convention Center charged max rates for everything - that of shipping
> the booth, brochures, and bringing staff/their hotels/meals made it too
> expensive for us to do itagain in August 2009 ...but the surf industry was
> warm and welcoming  except for the biggest manufacturers who, like the dive
> manufacturers, ignored everybody except shop owners.
>
> The other option sounds fine too - but $175,000 would go a very  long way in
> conservation and better spent on conservation/education programs where it
> would do max good,  than advertising where returns are questionable.
>
> Warmly,
> Marie
>

[Marie Levine]

Hi RIchard,

Although Orlando offers a lot, Key Largo would definitely be more attractive to ocean-oriented people. Since the $175K is available and earmarked for ads, then Largo seems a better choice.

Warmly,
Marie

[richard stewart]

We are leaning in that direction and, the various organizers of the specific events - sailing regattas, kayak races, reef clean ups, etc are all excited about making the keys - specifically Key Largo - the venue for an annual State of the Oceans. I can assure everyone that attends - it will be a great program and a great time for all. RIchard

--
Richard H. Stewart
Editor-in-Chief
352-817-5893

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