PADI Americas
30151 Tomas Street, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-2125
800-729-7234, or +1 949 858-7234
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Dear Fellow Diver;

Ok, I'm trying to do a better job of getting these out on schedule.  By the 
way, this month's note will probably reach approximately 250,000 PADI 
Divers.  Wow! and thanks to all of you all for allowing me some of your 
valuable time each month.  We have a lot to cover so let's get at it.

Those of you in the United Kingdom got a chance to see a cool new diving 
product called the Mini-B.  It had the PADI logo on its cover and was seen by 
millions on the BBC show Tomorrow's world.  Mini-B International asked for 
special permission to use our PADI logo for the show, which generated many 
calls to our office in Bristol England. The Mini-B will probably be coming to 
a PADI Dive Center or Resort near you soon, so look for more info about it in 
future newsletters.  (Thank you to Charlotte in Birmingham for sending me 
this piece of news.)

Just about the time you receive this, we will be rolling out our exciting new 
youth program, The PADI Seal Team (http://www.padisealteam.com).  It is 
designed for children 8 and up, so if you've got kids, nieces, nephews, or 
whatever, this is a great program for them.  It gives kids the recognition of 
belonging to an elite group just for youth, plus it has challenges, games, 
and learning opportunities galore. I was in the warehouse yesterday as we 
were assembling the first packages, so it might be a few days before the 
materials arrive at your local PADI Dive Center or Resort, although I know 
several Dive Centers who have waiting lists started! During the beta testing 
of the program, several members told us the hardest part of the program was 
keeping the adults out of the pool!

It's summer in the US and it's time to get in the water, so to complement 
your local diving, I'm going to tell you about some great travel 
opportunities.

Last month, I reminded you about PADI Diving Society's Total Submersion event 
in November(http://www.padi.com/ptn/weeklyspecial/). We had quite a few 
people book their trip, but some of you asked me if there was anything coming 
up sooner.

OK, I've got a good one for you.  How would you like to dive with country 
music stars like Travis Tritt, The Wilkinsons, The Kinleys, Chris Cagle, 
SheDaisy, and others? The event is the Caribbean's only Country Music 
Festival, Cayman Country, this 1st - August 12th, 2001 Grand Cayman, Cayman 
Islands.  August 1-5 will feature 3 concert events and a day of fan 
activities with country music stars. August 8-12 will feature 2 concert 
events and a day of activities with Rascal Flatts Gary Allen, Jamie O'Neal 
and others.  During each of these two event segments, there will be a day of 
official fan club activities, produced by Fan Club house .  This will bring 
fans together with a number of the artists for beach Olympics, volleyball, 
ocean kayak relay races, a Discover Scuba Diving experience, and a chance to 
better understand the environment of The Cayman Islands.  The artists will 
also be participating in a Turtle release from The Cayman Turtle Farm.  So, 
do you want to go? You ca!
n go to a PADI Dive center and book your travel there or call the PADI Travel 
Network (http://www.padi.com/ptn/ ) who is the official Travel Partner of the 
2001 Cayman Country event.

And finally, PADI is working with Scubapro and PADI Resort Member, Club Med, 
to roll out the PADI Seal Team program at a media event June 2 through 9 at 
the Club Med property on Columbus Isle, Bahamas.  Join us at Club Med to see 
the PADI Seal Team program in action.  Check with your local PADI Retailer 
for Club Med vacations or contact PADI Travel Network 
(http://www.padi.com/ptn/).

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

If you've been receiving this newsletter for awhile, then you probably 
already know that I close each one with the phrase, "Now, get a friend and go 
diving!"  Our friends at Sea & Sea and Kodak recently shared some research 
with us that showed that sharing your underwater pictures with your friends 
is one of the best ways to get them into diving. (Seriously, I'm not making 
this up!) If you're not into underwater photography yet or haven't tried 
Kodak's latest SEA print photo processing, they've put together a great offer 
for you. I've seen prints using Kodak's SEA processing taken with an MX-10 
and I've got to tell you they were incredible, so drop by 
http://www.seaandsea.com/PADIpromo.html and print out the coupons located 
there.

I know I'm running long again, but just one more quick item. I was contacted 
by the group that is casting for a new underwater exploration television show 
called Ocean Challenge. Does the name James Cameron sound familiar to you? If 
you're interested in trying out to one of the six new explorers for the show 
drop by http://www.padi.com and check out the article and information on how 
to apply, but hurry because the deadline for preliminary applications is May 
11th.

Well, that's it. A lot has been happening in the dive industry these days, 
but I'll have to wait until next months newsletter to tell you more.

Until then, get a friend and go diving!

Brian Cronin.