Scuba Club Party

Last night was the annual Colt Creek Diving Tank Jockeys Christmas Party at Timothy’s Steak House in Newmarket. There was a great turnout of 70 people. To my suprise, when my wife and I arrived there, we were seated upstairs instead of in the basement. It happened to be Karaoke night in the lounge downstairs, so the owner did us a favour by not subjecting us to the amateur crooners.

I volunteered to bring a projector from my office to show pictures from club dives, and although I forgot the power adapter for my laptop, running it with an external monitor was easy on the battery and it lasted the duration. Naturally the most popular images were of people and places familiar to everyone, and I contributed some of my own including some that have appeared in this blog.

As usual, Brad handed out awards to various club members. Marty won divemaster of the year for being available throughout the dive season whenever someone was needed – no mean feat for a guy with teenage daughters and a non-diving spouse. Rich won the Technical Diver of the Year award, having been the most enthusiastic of the newly certified DSAT Tec Deep divers this year (I won last year, and was just as surprised as Rich). Steve won an award for his organization of club events and creative email announcements. Several other awards were handed out for persistence in diving all year round, which in Canada is a mark of real dedication, and gift baskets given to the regulars who help out year after year.

The dinner was almost completely paid for from the club coffers, so only $10 admission was charged. Most of this, plus the extra donations from club members that night goes to a local charity that provides Christmas gifts to the children of underprivileged familes in the area. These gifts are usually things like winter clothes and other necessities of life that the rest of us take for  granted, and our little dive club managed to provide more than $900 to their benefit.