Last night at the PADI Social on the eve of DEMA Show 2019, President and CEO Drew Richardson invoked the association’s 53-year legacy of inspiring exploration to call upon the collected crowd of ocean enthusiasts to make a bold commitment to the future.
As frontline observers of the beauty and vulnerability of our waterways, he exhorted divers to be ambassadors for these resources that cannot advocate for themselves.
The newly-dropped tagline “Seek adventure. Save the ocean” wraps up the new ethos in five succinct words. Mobilizing the strength of the 28-plus million divers they’ve certified since their inception, PADI envisions each one as an action-oriented optimist who can use their insight and passion to train others to become dedicated custodians of the waters that sustain us all. The goal is to inspire one in every 10 people all over the world, for a total of a billion “torchbearers.”
With this concerted effort, they hope to orchestrate a constructive tipping of the balance while there’s time to make a difference.
Chief Marketing Executive Kristin Valette-Wirth then took the stage to discuss how PADI would be encouraging and supporting these lofty goals with a multi-pronged program to keep students and customers engaged. She asked the audience to consider the personal journeys that brought them here, from Open Water Diver to the PADI Social at DEMA Show 2019, and to take inspiration from that to provide solutions for and to fulfill the dreams of future divers and to keep them excited between adventures.
Through the joint strengths of PADI Travel, PADI Gear and PADI Club, divers of all levels will have the opportunity to keep learning, exploring, and representing the dive life.
Stay tuned for their upcoming promotional video: “The All-New PADI Experience.”
