DEMA Educational Seminars: Your Staff Boot Camp by Gil Zeimer

This Issue’s Table of Contents
category: DEMA Show (7 min read)

The Show App is probably one of the most useful tools for DEMA Show planning.

by Gil Zeimer, ScubaStoryteller.com and Zeimer.com, San Rafael, CA. His first book, “Scuba Storyteller: Mostly Humorous Diving Tales by an Addicted AquaNut” is now available on BestPub.com. He’ll also be making two DEMA-sponsored presentations: “25 Ways to ‘Blue’ Your Business – And Make More Green,” and “Harnessing The Gray Tsunami for Your Dive Operation,” plus an Author’s Corner, all on 11/3/26.

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THE 50TH DEMA SHOW is now just two months away. With dozens of DEMA-sponsored educational seminars and hundreds by dive-related companies slated between November 2 to 6 for the 7,000+ attendees, how can dive pros like you best use these seminars to your advantage?

It’s a daunting task. So to help optimize your week, I polled a half-dozen DEMA experts.

Cathryn Castle Garcia, a DEMA-veteran of 30+ shows and owner of Clear Story Coach, provided this strategic advice: “I encourage DEMA attendees to consider DEMA as the ultimate scuba training opportunity. We all know to plan our dives in advance, right? What if you do the same with attending the DEMA show? This includes signing up for the DEMA Educational Package and planning to attend sessions aimed at helping you grow your dive business.

“Start by assessing the current state of your business, focusing on areas that need your attention – like increasing customer retention, refreshing your website, or growing your travel program.

Next, use the DEMA Show mobile app for planning your seminar schedule. Having a goal and a solid plan will help ensure you get the most out of DEMA.

Lastly, make a point to engage with presenters and ask questions. We’re only standing at the front of the room because we’re passionate about the diving industry and genuinely want to help you succeed.”

Three of her DEMA-sponsored seminars on November 5th are: “Success Stories: A Look at What Dive Businesses Have Done Right,” “Going Gonzo: How Unconventional Marketing Can Grow Your Business,” and “Your Website’s Not About You: The Website Edit That Makes You More Money.” A fourth, titled “Instead of Selling Scuba, Start Marketing Magic: Aquatic Experiences as Your Next Profit Center,” takes place November 6th.

Dan Orr, an attendee of every DEMA show but the first, a frequent presenter, former President Emeritus at Divers Alert Network, and founder of Dan Orr Consulting said: “Attending the DEMA Show and its educational programs is the ultimate investment in your diving business, delivering direct access to game-changing product innovations, actionable management strategies, and an unrivaled global network driving long-term industry and professional growth.”

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Cheryl Patterson founded Deep Blue Adventures in 2004. She’s been partnering with dive shops and travel agents at DEMA for each of its 22 years in the UK and the USA.

She said, “I firmly believe that dive stores are the center of our industry and should be supported by all other stakeholders. We need them to create new divers and keep the existing ones diving; otherwise, the rest of us die off. That is Deep Blue’s Foundation

This year, we’ll proudly present over 30 seminars. But even though we are a travel company with seminars to unique destinations, the majority of the presentations we host focus on providing tools and education on every aspect of a dive center business. So while the exhibit hall showcases what’s happening in our industry today to discover new products, alluring destinations, and potential opportunities, continuing education helps determine where our industry goes tomorrow.”

The seminars that she thinks are particularly important for dive center managers are:

“Building a Robust Travel Program” is for new dive center owners/managers or those struggling with trips on Tuesday, 11/3
“Dive Industry Young Professionals” is for those under 40 on Wednesday, 11/4
“Dive Center Connect Networking: Beyond The Dive Shop” is a 90-minute, high-energy networking event on Thursday, 11/5
“From Dive Center to Adventure Center” is perfect for both older and newer stores on Thursday, 11/5

Cheryl concluded, “We also have some fabulous speakers presenting on various sustainability topics that can help grow their businesses while helping our planet, how to get started in adaptive scuba, how to make the hot concept of ‘Mermaiding’ into an entirely new revenue stream, and how to create a practical community through connections.”

Alexandra (Alex) Patterson, Cheryl’s daughter and Deep Blue Adventure’s Marketing Executive, added, “DEMA isn’t just what you can buy, sell, or promote. It’s about what you can learn, and that education can have a lasting impact long after the show ends. After all, what they learn can go back to their dive shop, to their employees, customers, and communities. That creates a ripple effect throughout the industry.”

She continued, “Furthermore, if this is your initial DEMA experience, you should add the ‘First-Time Attendee Orientation’ on Tuesday, November 3rd, from 8:30 – 9:15 am to your calendar. But for a deeper dive, our sponsored ‘Coffee Power Hour’ will help you kickstart your day with a free cup of Joe before the show even begins.”

Tec Clark, Educator, Trainer, and Consultant, and founder of ScubaGuru Academy, said, “First, the organizing committee does a fantastic job of selecting speakers for DEMA-sponsored seminars. That lets both industry royalty and world-class speakers with significant expertise, team up to make presentations, all to help you develop the business side of what we do.

Second, the educational package includes hundreds of free seminars. When combined with the cost of entry to the DEMA Show each year, that’s an incredible value compared to what other industries charge to learn from this caliber of speakers.

Third, the various tracks are perfect for dive shops who bring along multiple personnel to the show. So that they can attend more seminars, they often decide to divide and conquer, then share their notes. For example, store managers can focus on presentations about group dive travel to the world’s most enticing sites, increasing revenue, leveraging AI for their website or social media, building their brand, or unlocking their staff’s talent, while instructors can sit in on seminars focused on new gear, advanced certifications, dive safety, photography, videography, and much more.

Finally, DEMA also asks speakers to share their notes digitally with attendees who can access them via the DEMA Show 2026 App (Apple here, Android here), which is an incredibly smart program offering.”

Tec will be presenting three DEMA-sponsored seminars: “Show Up and Sell: How to Profit at Booth and Tabling Events” on Thursday, 11/5; “Diving Fitness as a Business Model” on Friday, 11/6; and “Lessons From The Deep End: A Dive Industry Entrepreneurship Panel” on Friday, 11/6.

Finally, Jeff Cinciripino, author, scuba diver, and DEMA Board Member, chimed in with this advice: “Each session allows you an opportunity to reflect on your business and how you relate to the material being discussed. Sometimes, it reinforces what you are doing, and many times you’ll walk away with something new to try.” For more information, visit the full schedule here.

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