Membership Renewal 2018

Dear Valued Member,

On behalf of everyone at SDI, TDI, and ERDI, we would like to say thank you for an excellent 2017. Over the past two decades, our members have helped guide us through the innovations that have reshaped the scuba industry. With your support, we have led several changes necessary to keep our industry current with other competing sports and hobbies.

Over the course of 2017, we set numerous goals and tasks to help support your business. Here are just a few of them:

• Mission Tech is the future of the diver experience interlaced with dive centers and manufacturers. The ultimate demo day event gave divers the opportunity to experience the latest and greatest in dive equipment. A great part of the success was due to the support of our membership. Expect to see more dates and new destinations for 2018.
• Our new Business Resource Library is your “Go-To” place online for EVERYTHING dive business related. The content was created with one thing in mind – how to increase business in a modern market! Learn how to do so through new selling and marketing techniques, creating better diving consumers, understanding the power of social media, communicating with today’s new wave of customers, and much, much more.
• In 2016, we opened more lines of communication. While it may be hard to get answers with other companies, much less a live person on the phone, we added a live chat feature to give you one more direct line of communication with us. Don’t worry; we are still answering phones, but we wanted to make sure you have one more avenue to our industry professionals when you need answers NOW. In 2017, we added more instructors and instructor trainers to our Training & Membership Services Department so we can ensure you are heard and your issues are solved quickly.
• We made the decision to grant our instructors the ability to work independently. This enables our members to move around with greater ease, especially at destination/resort locations. Much like our TDI and ERDI members, SDI members can now operate without having the burden of mandatory facility affiliation in order to teach an SDI program or accept a referral.
• Social Media has been exploding with SDI, TDI, and ERDI. We have been able to accomplish this by adding additional staff to our Marketing Department. Our goal is not only to grow our brand, but to grow yours as well. Sharing your stories and your pictures through our social media platforms is just one of the several ways we help you get exposure to new potential customers.
• Our Product Development Department has been busy working nonstop to produce more video content than ever before – 53 new videos this year alone! Keep an eye out for the new additions to our eLearning courses and be sure to check out all the great videos made available on our YouTube channel. All these videos are available for you to use wherever you please, whether it be on your dive center’s showroom floor, in the classroom, or all over your social media platforms.
• Due to the increasing demand for our materials worldwide, we have put extensive focus on the development of print as well as eLearning courses in numerous languages – six online courses in four languages and four complete sets of printed materials in five languages – and expect to double that number for 2018.
• Medical Requirement for 2018. The International Training Code of Ethics and Conduct, found in Part 1 of SDI, TDI and ERDI standards, states:
  “The SDI (TDI Technical/ERDI) Professional always maintains their personal, physical, and mental fitness as they relate to diving.”As this is part of the membership requirements each professional agrees to abide by each year when they submit the signed renewal agreement (including online renewals), effective immediately, International Training is not requiring a physician-signed medical form to be submitted annually by members to stay in active status. New leadership applications for all professional levels, along with all crossovers, will still need to submit a physician-signed medical with their application.International Training requires its professional members to refrain from diving or teaching diving without a medical clearance if a member experiences a change in their personal, physical, or mental fitness as they relate to diving. Submitted medicals will be documented in the database, but are no longer required.

Most importantly, we have strived to continue working hard to provide you with the best experience and service that the industry has to offer. You deserve to work with a partner that looks after your best interests, acknowledges that you are a customer that brings value to the organization, and remembers that we work for you. We treat every interaction as an opportunity to earn your business and remind you what it means to be part of the ITI family.

Our pledge to you for the upcoming year is to continue our commitment to excel in customer service while providing you with products and services that are both current and ground-breaking. We look forward to working with you in 2018. It will be an exciting year and we encourage you to continue to let us know what we can do to assist you with your business and educational needs.

Please take this time to renew your membership and continue enjoying all the benefits of being an active member with the most trusted and personable dive training agency in the business. If you have already renewed, no further action is needed and we appreciate your business.

Sincerely,

Brian Carney