Yes, it’s true! But before you dash desperately for the O2 bottle to treat the inevitable cases of shock that will have broken out in reaction to such a revelation, I guess I should reassure you. I am not about to extol the underwater navigational virtues of the committee members, as that would surely come back to bite me on the very next dive.
What I would like to share with you here is the result of a process that the committee has been going through over the last couple of months to develop a set of broad goals to guide our focus and actions over the next couple of years.
Back in March, the committee began carrying out a series of short interviews with various members of the club. The aim of this was to find out about the best features of the club - people’s fondest memories, and what they value most about being an SCDC member. Many times we are asked about things that aren’t working well – the problems – so that they can be fixed. In this case, we were trying to find out about the things that are working – the successes – so that we can do more of them and build from our strengths. We asked about people’s ‘peak experiences’ - moments when they felt happiest as a member of the club. We asked about the main things that motivated people to belong to the club and participate in its activities. We asked about successful features of other organisations that members had been involved with to learn from other people’s successes. Finally we asked people to dream big, and tell us their aspirations for the club a few years down the track. A huge thanks to all those who kindly gave their time to chat to the committee during this process. It has enabled us to identify and acknowledge the tremendous ‘Positive Core’ that makes SCDC the successful organisation that it is…
But we are not content to smile smugly and rest on our laurels (whatever that means!). Our next step, during a planning afternoon very kindly hosted by Cath and Candy, and fuelled during and afterwards by very modest quantities of wine and beer, was to do our own dreaming. Looking at many different aspects of the club, from HK and overseas diving to the way we communicate, from social activities to training, from recruitment and new members to environmental awareness, we dared to dream big; to imagine how SCDC might develop if resources were unlimited and success was guaranteed. These ideas have gradually been refined, prioritised and generalised, and I am happy to share that the committee has now confirmed that our guiding goals, organised under 3 broad themes, are as follows:
Our next steps - Not all at once and not just us!
The committee is now beginning the process of looking at each of these goals in turn and identifying the steps we might take to make them into reality. There is of course a huge amount to do, and we acknowledge that this is going to be the work of the next couple of years. We are very keen to engage as many people as possible in shaping the future of the club. What happens next is not going to be exclusively determined by the 11 committee members. We invite you to think about the goals above and consider if and how you might be able to get involved, regardless of how long you have been in the club. Maybe you would like to take on a role in organising an aspect of our skills development such as pool nights or informal demonstrations at ABC on a Thursday. Maybe you would like to volunteer to become a mentor or ambassador to support new members. Maybe you have IT or communications skills that could enhance our communications systems. Or maybe, when you are next on DM duty, you can think really carefully about planning in elements to the diving day that will add variety and a sense of adventure to our club dives.
Whatever it is, we would like to hear from you and your thoughts on these goals. Please talk to a member of the committee, message us, chat over a beer at ABC or between dives on a boat sometime.
Over the coming weeks, I also aim to write in more detail about aspects of our goals, and I will also keep you updated on the continuing efforts of the committee to put steps in place to help us reach them.
All the best and happy diving!
Andy