The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association has announced its 2019 winners of the Diving Community Champions awards.
The aim of the award is to recognize and reward companies who have taken an active role in giving back to the diving community. The awards aim to bring recognition about these companies to the broader diving community and the general public as a whole.
There are three levels of award: Platinum, Gold, and Silver, and the winners will be honored at the DEMA Membership Meeting on November 14th, 2019. This year’s honorees are:
ScubaRadio — Platinum winner
ScubaRadio is a radio-based talk show that aims to bring divers together throughout the US. The show covers almost every aspect of scuba diving, from technique to dive destinations and dive gear to magnificent marine life encounters.
Save Our Leatherbacks Operation — Gold Winner
Founded in 2002, the Save Our Leatherbacks operation is dedicated to preserving and protecting Leatherback turtles, by working to secure remote nesting beaches in Papua, Indonesia. The origination works in partnership with a local village with the aim of significantly increasing the hatching rate.
Deep Sea Valkyries — Silver Winner
Deep Sea Valkyries aim to help injured veterans by using scuba diving as an alternative form of therapy. The program has been shown to markedly increase the quality of life of wounded retired service personnel who take part in it.
You can find the full list of finalists and nominees here.
You can find out more about ScubaRadio here, Save Our Leatherbacks here, and Deep Sea Valkyries here.
