NACD Annual Seminar

WOW! I just returned from my first NACD seminar, and I was blown away with the Saturday events. I am appreciative to the NACD and to Jeff, Bert, Rick, Jim, Larry, Richard, Debra, Sean, Jason, our emcee whose name escapes me, and anyone else that I left out for staging a fantastic event. It is tough to be as involved with a non-profit organization as you all are and still have time for work and family. Thanks for all that you guys do to help make our sport safe and informative.

I had initially planned to leave at lunch but was so impressed with the morning session that I stayed for the rest of the day. Unfortuneately for me, I was not able to attend the Friday, Saturday evening, or Sunday events but I will next year. Some of yesterdays highlights for me were:

1. Listening to John Chatterton and Ritchie Kohler talk about the Titanic and answer questions about their experiences. These guys were great speakers and just down to earth guys like the rest of us. They took time afterwards to sign books, take picture, and answer more questions.

2. Learning about NASA recovery missions from Larry Collins. His film clips were awesome. After seeing some of his clips, I will stick to the safe environment of a cave.

3. Listening to Evie Dudas talk about her and her late husband's experiences on the Andrea Doria. What a great lady!

4. Being somewhat new to cave diving, it was informative to hear about cave systems and expeditions/exploration in Mexico, Bahamas, Thailand, Japan, and other parts of Florida. It was great listening to the presenters of these topics and being able to put names with faces.

5. Meeting some of you guys - Don from Orlando and your friends from Fort Myers and Virginia. I think I figured out that Baby Duck was sitting in front of me - hope you find a use for the drysuit repairs :)

Thanks also to the the vendors and donors for without you, a lot of what we had yesterday would not be possible. At the risk of leaving someone out (and correct me when I do), thanks to Tampa Adventure Sports, Lloyd Bailey Scuba, Cave Excursions, Cave Adventurers, Ginnie, OMS, Golem, Salvo, Halcyon, NACD, NSS-CDS, TDI, and Splash.

See you guys at the 2007 conference if not before.