This article identifies popular recreational diving sites around the world and describes the features of a dive site.
Bodies of water for diving
Most bodies of water can be used as dive sites:
* Seas and Oceans - these consist of salt water and a huge variety of flora and fauna.
* Lakes - small lakes are often used for diver training. Large lakes have many features of seas including wrecks and a variety of marine life. Man-made lakes, such as clay pits and gravel pits, often have lower visibility.
* Caves - these are more adventurous and dangerous than normal diving. See cave diving.
* Rivers - are often shallow, murky and have strong currents.
* Quarries - abandoned rock quarries are popular in inland areas for diver training as well as recreational diving. Rock quarries also have reasonable underwater visibility - there is often little mud or sand to create mid-water particles that cause low visibility. As they are not "wild" and usually privately owned, quarries often contain objects intentionally placed for divers to explore, such as sunken boats, automobiles, aircraft, and even structures like grain silos and gravel chutes.
Dive site features
Many types of underwater feature make an interesting dive site, for example:
*Wildlife at the site. Popular examples are coral, sponges, fish, sting rays, molluscs, cetaceans, seals, sharks and crustaceans.
* The Topography of the site. Coral reefs, drop offs (underwater cliffs), rock reefs, gullies and caves can be spectacular. Deep dive sites mean divers must reduce the time they spend because more gas is breathed at depth and decompression sickness risks increase. Shallow regions can be investigated by snorkeling.
* Historical or cultural items at the site. Ship wrecks and sunken aircraft, apart from their historical value, form artificial habitats for marine fauna making them attractive dive sites.
* Underwater visibility varies widely. Poor visibility is caused by particles in the water, such as mud, sand and sewage. Dive sites that are close to sources of these particles, such as human settlements and river estuaries, are more prone to poor visibility. Currents can stir up the particles. Diving close to the sediments on the seabed can result in the particles being kicked up by the divers fins.
* Temperature. Warm water diving is comfortable and convenient. Although cold water is uncomfortable and can cause hypothermia it can be interesting because different species of underwater life thrive in cold conditions. Cold water means divers tend to prefer Dry suits with inner thermal clothing which offer greater thermal protection although require training and experience to use properly.
* Currents. Tidal currents can transport nutrients to underwater wildlife increasing the variety and density of that life at the site. Currents can also be dangerous to divers as they can result in the diver being swept away from his or her surface support. Tidal currents that meet solid underwater vertical surfaces can cause strong up or down currents that are dangerous because they may cause the diver to lose buoyancy control risking barotrauma.
Popular diving locations
The following list of popular or interesting dive sites is shown by region, country and place.
Africa
* Egypt
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life
* Kenya - coral fringe reefs
* Mozambique - coral fringe reefs
* South Africa
** Sodwana Bay - sharks and other tropical marine life
* Sudan
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life
* Tanzania - coral fringe reefs
Americas - North, Central and South
* Aruba
* Bahamas
* Belize
** Belize Barrier Reef
* Brazil
**Arraial do Cabo - large diving city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, attracts lots of divers during the summer months. Includes shipwrecks and corals a large assortment of underwater life.
**Buzios
**Cabo Frio
** The Cays - remote coral islands
* Bonaire
* Canada
** Coast of British Columbia
** Great Lakes / Saint Lawrence Seaway - fresh water ship wrecks
** Bell Island in Newfoundland - World War II Shipwreaks
* Cayman Islands
* Cuba
* Costa Rica - Cocos Island
* Dominican Republic - Ship wrecks and cave diving
* Ecuador - Galapagos Islands
* Guadeloupe
* Honduras - The bay Islands, Utila and Roatan
* Jamaica - Rick's Cafe; Negril, and Chukka Bay; Ocho Rios
* Martinique
* Mexico
** Cozumel 20.5° N 86.9° W
** Playa del Carmen
*** Cenote
* Tobago
* United States
** Pennsylvania- Dutch Springs http://www.dutchsprings.com One of the largest inland SCUBA amusement parks in the US. 50-acre lake with attractions for all levels; maximum depth of 100ft.
** Florida Keys
** Great Lakes - Ship wrecks
** Pacific Northwest - The Puget Sound area has a huge amount of underwater life; it was reportedly one of the best places to dive by Jacques-Yves Cousteau
* Venezuela
** Isla Margarita
** Los Roques Archipelago
** Mochima National Park
** Morrocoy National Park
Australia
* Australia
** Byron Bay - Great mix of tropical and temperate marine life.
** Coral Sea
** Great Barrier Reef
** Ningaloo Reef - Whale shark early in the year
** Port Phillip
Asia
* Burma(Myanmar)
* Fiji
* Hong Kong - coral dive sites include: East Ping Chau, Port Island and Breaker Reef in around Mir's Bay; Hoi Ha Wan, Gruff Head, and Ocean Point in Sai Kung
* India
** Andaman Islands - many large fish due to isolated islands with little commercial fishing
** Lakshadweep - small islands Untouched reefs and great marine life
** Netrani - small island and variety of marine life
* Indonesia - coral reefs and wide variety of marine fauna
**
** Ambon
** Bali
** Bunaken
** Flores
** Gili Trawangan
** Sangalakki
** Wakatobi
* Israel
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life near Eilat
* Japan
** Okinawa
* Jordan
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life
* Malaysia
** Layang-Layang - Hammer head sharks
** Sipadan Island - remote drop off, pelagics and nice coral reef fish
** Perhentian Besar & Kecil - reef diving
** Redang - clear waters, reef
** Tioman Island - average reef diving
* Maldives - many small islands with tidal currents and great marine life
* Papua New Guinea - Untouched reefs, everything from muck to pelagics.
* Philippines
** Palawan
*** Busuanga Island or Coron - site of WWII Japanese wrecks from operation to retake Philippines
** Anilao
** Bohol
** Boracay
** Cebu
** Dumaguete
** Malapascua
** Puerto Galera
* Solomon Islands
** Guadalcanal - site of American and Japanese wrecks
* Thailand
** Koh Tao
** Pattaya
** Phuket - Similan islands, Richelieu rock, good reef diving.
Pacific
* Niue Island- Excellent water visibility, Spectacular diving, Sea Kraits, diverse marine life.
* Cocos Island - Spectacular diving, pelagics, hammer head sharks.
* French Polynesia
* Galapagos Islands - Spectacular diving, pelagics, hammer head sharks.
* Fiji Islands - Spectacular softcoral, very diverse reefsystems.
* Hawaii
* Micronesia
** Palau - Blue corner, famous for Gray reef sharks
** Truk Lagoon - site WWII Japanese wrecks of Operation Hailstone
** Yap - Famous for Manta rays
** Marshall Islands
*** Bikini Atoll
* New Zealand
** Bay of Islands
** Cavalli Islands
** Great Barrier Island
** Poor Knights Islands - great sub-tropical marine life
Europe
* Britain
** English Channel - extremely busy international water way with hundreds of wrecks.Brighton and Weymouth are busy dive harbours.
** Farne Islands - treacherous rocks with many wrecks and the site of a seal colony
** The Lizard - many wrecks, spectacular marine geography and fauna
** Pembrokeshire - Marine Nature reserve around the isles of Skomer and Skokholm, exceptional marine fauna and flora
** Scapa Flow - site the scuttling of the German Kaiserliche Marine High Seas Fleet of World War I
** Sound of Mull - from Oban, Lochaline and Tobermory, large sea lochs with many wrecks and good marine life.
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* France
** D-Day beaches - site of British and American WWII wrecks
* Greece
** Aegean Sea
* Iceland
* Ireland
** Skellig Islands - clear water and great variety of marine fauna
* Italy
* Malta
* Norway
* Portugal
** Madeira
* Spain
** Canary Islands
* Turkey
** Aegean Sea
Other diving regions
* Arctic ocean
* Antarctica
** Little dived for recreational reasons. Mainly dived by scientific research organisations such as the British Antarctic Survey.
Bodies of water for diving
Most bodies of water can be used as dive sites:
* Seas and Oceans - these consist of salt water and a huge variety of flora and fauna.
* Lakes - small lakes are often used for diver training. Large lakes have many features of seas including wrecks and a variety of marine life. Man-made lakes, such as clay pits and gravel pits, often have lower visibility.
* Caves - these are more adventurous and dangerous than normal diving. See cave diving.
* Rivers - are often shallow, murky and have strong currents.
* Quarries - abandoned rock quarries are popular in inland areas for diver training as well as recreational diving. Rock quarries also have reasonable underwater visibility - there is often little mud or sand to create mid-water particles that cause low visibility. As they are not "wild" and usually privately owned, quarries often contain objects intentionally placed for divers to explore, such as sunken boats, automobiles, aircraft, and even structures like grain silos and gravel chutes.
Dive site features
Many types of underwater feature make an interesting dive site, for example:
*Wildlife at the site. Popular examples are coral, sponges, fish, sting rays, molluscs, cetaceans, seals, sharks and crustaceans.
* The Topography of the site. Coral reefs, drop offs (underwater cliffs), rock reefs, gullies and caves can be spectacular. Deep dive sites mean divers must reduce the time they spend because more gas is breathed at depth and decompression sickness risks increase. Shallow regions can be investigated by snorkeling.
* Historical or cultural items at the site. Ship wrecks and sunken aircraft, apart from their historical value, form artificial habitats for marine fauna making them attractive dive sites.
* Underwater visibility varies widely. Poor visibility is caused by particles in the water, such as mud, sand and sewage. Dive sites that are close to sources of these particles, such as human settlements and river estuaries, are more prone to poor visibility. Currents can stir up the particles. Diving close to the sediments on the seabed can result in the particles being kicked up by the divers fins.
* Temperature. Warm water diving is comfortable and convenient. Although cold water is uncomfortable and can cause hypothermia it can be interesting because different species of underwater life thrive in cold conditions. Cold water means divers tend to prefer Dry suits with inner thermal clothing which offer greater thermal protection although require training and experience to use properly.
* Currents. Tidal currents can transport nutrients to underwater wildlife increasing the variety and density of that life at the site. Currents can also be dangerous to divers as they can result in the diver being swept away from his or her surface support. Tidal currents that meet solid underwater vertical surfaces can cause strong up or down currents that are dangerous because they may cause the diver to lose buoyancy control risking barotrauma.
Popular diving locations
The following list of popular or interesting dive sites is shown by region, country and place.
Africa
* Egypt
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life
* Kenya - coral fringe reefs
* Mozambique - coral fringe reefs
* South Africa
** Sodwana Bay - sharks and other tropical marine life
* Sudan
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life
* Tanzania - coral fringe reefs
Americas - North, Central and South
* Aruba
* Bahamas
* Belize
** Belize Barrier Reef
* Brazil
**Arraial do Cabo - large diving city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, attracts lots of divers during the summer months. Includes shipwrecks and corals a large assortment of underwater life.
**Buzios
**Cabo Frio
** The Cays - remote coral islands
* Bonaire
* Canada
** Coast of British Columbia
** Great Lakes / Saint Lawrence Seaway - fresh water ship wrecks
** Bell Island in Newfoundland - World War II Shipwreaks
* Cayman Islands
* Cuba
* Costa Rica - Cocos Island
* Dominican Republic - Ship wrecks and cave diving
* Ecuador - Galapagos Islands
* Guadeloupe
* Honduras - The bay Islands, Utila and Roatan
* Jamaica - Rick's Cafe; Negril, and Chukka Bay; Ocho Rios
* Martinique
* Mexico
** Cozumel 20.5° N 86.9° W
** Playa del Carmen
*** Cenote
* Tobago
* United States
** Pennsylvania- Dutch Springs http://www.dutchsprings.com One of the largest inland SCUBA amusement parks in the US. 50-acre lake with attractions for all levels; maximum depth of 100ft.
** Florida Keys
** Great Lakes - Ship wrecks
** Pacific Northwest - The Puget Sound area has a huge amount of underwater life; it was reportedly one of the best places to dive by Jacques-Yves Cousteau
* Venezuela
** Isla Margarita
** Los Roques Archipelago
** Mochima National Park
** Morrocoy National Park
Australia
* Australia
** Byron Bay - Great mix of tropical and temperate marine life.
** Coral Sea
** Great Barrier Reef
** Ningaloo Reef - Whale shark early in the year
** Port Phillip
Asia
* Burma(Myanmar)
* Fiji
* Hong Kong - coral dive sites include: East Ping Chau, Port Island and Breaker Reef in around Mir's Bay; Hoi Ha Wan, Gruff Head, and Ocean Point in Sai Kung
* India
** Andaman Islands - many large fish due to isolated islands with little commercial fishing
** Lakshadweep - small islands Untouched reefs and great marine life
** Netrani - small island and variety of marine life
* Indonesia - coral reefs and wide variety of marine fauna
**
** Ambon
** Bali
** Bunaken
** Flores
** Gili Trawangan
** Sangalakki
** Wakatobi
* Israel
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life near Eilat
* Japan
** Okinawa
* Jordan
** Red Sea - fantastic tropical marine life
* Malaysia
** Layang-Layang - Hammer head sharks
** Sipadan Island - remote drop off, pelagics and nice coral reef fish
** Perhentian Besar & Kecil - reef diving
** Redang - clear waters, reef
** Tioman Island - average reef diving
* Maldives - many small islands with tidal currents and great marine life
* Papua New Guinea - Untouched reefs, everything from muck to pelagics.
* Philippines
** Palawan
*** Busuanga Island or Coron - site of WWII Japanese wrecks from operation to retake Philippines
** Anilao
** Bohol
** Boracay
** Cebu
** Dumaguete
** Malapascua
** Puerto Galera
* Solomon Islands
** Guadalcanal - site of American and Japanese wrecks
* Thailand
** Koh Tao
** Pattaya
** Phuket - Similan islands, Richelieu rock, good reef diving.
Pacific
* Niue Island- Excellent water visibility, Spectacular diving, Sea Kraits, diverse marine life.
* Cocos Island - Spectacular diving, pelagics, hammer head sharks.
* French Polynesia
* Galapagos Islands - Spectacular diving, pelagics, hammer head sharks.
* Fiji Islands - Spectacular softcoral, very diverse reefsystems.
* Hawaii
* Micronesia
** Palau - Blue corner, famous for Gray reef sharks
** Truk Lagoon - site WWII Japanese wrecks of Operation Hailstone
** Yap - Famous for Manta rays
** Marshall Islands
*** Bikini Atoll
* New Zealand
** Bay of Islands
** Cavalli Islands
** Great Barrier Island
** Poor Knights Islands - great sub-tropical marine life
Europe
* Britain
** English Channel - extremely busy international water way with hundreds of wrecks.Brighton and Weymouth are busy dive harbours.
** Farne Islands - treacherous rocks with many wrecks and the site of a seal colony
** The Lizard - many wrecks, spectacular marine geography and fauna
** Pembrokeshire - Marine Nature reserve around the isles of Skomer and Skokholm, exceptional marine fauna and flora
** Scapa Flow - site the scuttling of the German Kaiserliche Marine High Seas Fleet of World War I
** Sound of Mull - from Oban, Lochaline and Tobermory, large sea lochs with many wrecks and good marine life.
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* France
** D-Day beaches - site of British and American WWII wrecks
* Greece
** Aegean Sea
* Iceland
* Ireland
** Skellig Islands - clear water and great variety of marine fauna
* Italy
* Malta
* Norway
* Portugal
** Madeira
* Spain
** Canary Islands
* Turkey
** Aegean Sea
Other diving regions
* Arctic ocean
* Antarctica
** Little dived for recreational reasons. Mainly dived by scientific research organisations such as the British Antarctic Survey.
The Rochester Institute of Technology Model Railroad Club, known as RITMRC, was founded at Rochester Institute of Technology in 1996 to promote the hobby and preserve the rich railroad history of Rochester, New York. In the past eleven years, the club has built the HO scale layout of the Rochester & Irondequoit Terminal Railroad, or R⁢ put on increasingly successful train shows; built free-mo modules and put time in on the real stuff at the Rochester & Genesee Valley RR Museum.
Founding
The history of the club is as much a history of our model railroad, known as the R&IT. Noting that many other technical institutions hosted model railroad clubs, the environment seemed right for one at RIT. The club was started in 1996 by students Otto Vondrak and Tom Rohatsch, whom made contact with Jim Scudder, a professor at RIT. Jim Scudder had had many years of model railroading experience having worked with the National Model Railroad Association, other clubs and his own personal layout. Through his connections with other department leaders, space was secured for the club by February 1997. During the week of spring break, the initial bench work was constructed of what would become the R&IT. On April 1, 1997, a Golden Spike ceremony was held celebrating the first operating layout of the club. While it was just a simple double track race-way, it was the humble beginnings of the club.
Once the club had proved that it could in fact build a layout, it had become time to plan what would become the R&IT. Based on the concepts that had been pioneered by the likes of Tony Koester with his well-known Allegheny Midland, the R&IT was developed as a unique proto-freelanced concept. Since the club is located in Rochester, NY, that was the obvious choice to model. The R&IT was developed based on existing railroads and events that had shaped railroading in Rochester and Western New York. A back story was developed to guide the creation of the layout and help build a believable world.
The Evolution
The club grew by leaps and bounds in the first ten years. When the R&IT was started, there was little money available for construction. Bottles and cans paid for the first pieces of club-owned HO scale equipment. Due to space limitations and an odd-shaped room, the layout was designed upwards instead of linearly. From the flat level loop that started the layout, benchwork was built upwards coaxing the mainline up and over itself three times creating a longer mainline run. The representation of Goodman Street Yard was built along the front of the layout, originally with a fairly small engine terminal. Having these important facilities near the front of the viewable layout put more of the action closer to our club's visitors.
As time went on, the club grew in membership and funding. An expanded engine terminal was built to display and operate a larger quantity of club- and member-owned engines. In 2001, the club added staging yards representing Syracuse and Buffalo, which enabled the R&IT to simulate the flow of railroad traffic to and from its rails as it interchanged with other railroads. At about the same time, the club retired the dual-power pack DC-block operations and replaced it with DCC.
Many college model railroad clubs existed merely as a diversion and source of cameraderie amongst students with a common interest. Most follow no particular prototype or era of history. Of note, MIT's TMRC pioneered the use of discarded telephone relay systems to develop an automatic block control system to run their extensive model railroad. Currently, they are on their third system which now employs solid state circuitry and customized control cards. RPI's Model Engineer Society focused on recreating exact scenes along the Rutland Railroad and D&H circa 1950. At RIT, the club realized early on that there were many resources available that could be employed in an efficient manner. Rather than develop custom software or control systems, the club utilized off-the-shelf components and technology to advance the progress of their model railroad. Examples include custom-built wayside signals, desktop dispatching and control software, robust DCC systems, and highly detailed railroad models. As a result of classroom training, RITMRC members innovate through effective management of resources.
Today
The R&IT is mostly complete - scenery and maintenance keep the club busy when not running trains. The use of Digitrax DCC components and TrainController software allow the layout to be dispatched simulating real-world railroading; including a working signaling system based on signals from . While in years past, automatic block signals required miles of complicated wiring, today the entire system of logic is controlled by software code (in cooperation with the DCC system).
Operations on the R&IT can vary from just running a train to using car-cards to simulate the flow of traffic. During particularly heavy operating sessions, a dispatcher will be stationed in the tower, lining up routes using the desktop software and controlling movements via radio instructions to the crews. Regular FRS style radios are used for communication between dispatcher and crews. During the course of an operating session, scheduled trains travel from Buffalo and Syracuse to Rochester and drop off cars destined for local delivery. Rochester yard crews make up local trains that are sent out to switch customers in the area and return. At the end of the session, trains return from Buffalo and Syracuse to again exchange cars destined "off-line." While all this is going on, various Amtrak and through trains ply the rails. When scheduled operations are not taking place, members are free to come down and operate any train or group of equipment they please.
The club's activities also have grown over the years. For the past seven years, the club has been hosting train shows on the RIT campus. Originally starting out with two 1-day shows in October and March, the club has started doing two day train hows attracting larger vendors, layouts and public. As a way to expand involvement in the hobby, the club has been involved in constructing modules and participating in Free-mo setups with others from New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and Canada. Club members are also active in community events. Every March, Strong - National Museum of Play hosts a railroad-related exhibition that RITMRC partakes in. RITMRC has also hosted many Scout groups giving a tour of the club and teaching them more about the railroad industry and the hobby of model trains. Members also volunteer at the , where they can work on and operate real trains. As a result of heavy community involvement, many of the club members are also board members of local supporting groups, including Lakeshores Division of the NMRA, and the Rochester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
This past year, the club celebrated it's tenth anniversary. As part of it, RITMRC was featured in the October 2006 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. The cover story detailed the club's history, the development of our model railroad, and our group's driving philosophies.
Founding
The history of the club is as much a history of our model railroad, known as the R&IT. Noting that many other technical institutions hosted model railroad clubs, the environment seemed right for one at RIT. The club was started in 1996 by students Otto Vondrak and Tom Rohatsch, whom made contact with Jim Scudder, a professor at RIT. Jim Scudder had had many years of model railroading experience having worked with the National Model Railroad Association, other clubs and his own personal layout. Through his connections with other department leaders, space was secured for the club by February 1997. During the week of spring break, the initial bench work was constructed of what would become the R&IT. On April 1, 1997, a Golden Spike ceremony was held celebrating the first operating layout of the club. While it was just a simple double track race-way, it was the humble beginnings of the club.
Once the club had proved that it could in fact build a layout, it had become time to plan what would become the R&IT. Based on the concepts that had been pioneered by the likes of Tony Koester with his well-known Allegheny Midland, the R&IT was developed as a unique proto-freelanced concept. Since the club is located in Rochester, NY, that was the obvious choice to model. The R&IT was developed based on existing railroads and events that had shaped railroading in Rochester and Western New York. A back story was developed to guide the creation of the layout and help build a believable world.
The Evolution
The club grew by leaps and bounds in the first ten years. When the R&IT was started, there was little money available for construction. Bottles and cans paid for the first pieces of club-owned HO scale equipment. Due to space limitations and an odd-shaped room, the layout was designed upwards instead of linearly. From the flat level loop that started the layout, benchwork was built upwards coaxing the mainline up and over itself three times creating a longer mainline run. The representation of Goodman Street Yard was built along the front of the layout, originally with a fairly small engine terminal. Having these important facilities near the front of the viewable layout put more of the action closer to our club's visitors.
As time went on, the club grew in membership and funding. An expanded engine terminal was built to display and operate a larger quantity of club- and member-owned engines. In 2001, the club added staging yards representing Syracuse and Buffalo, which enabled the R&IT to simulate the flow of railroad traffic to and from its rails as it interchanged with other railroads. At about the same time, the club retired the dual-power pack DC-block operations and replaced it with DCC.
Many college model railroad clubs existed merely as a diversion and source of cameraderie amongst students with a common interest. Most follow no particular prototype or era of history. Of note, MIT's TMRC pioneered the use of discarded telephone relay systems to develop an automatic block control system to run their extensive model railroad. Currently, they are on their third system which now employs solid state circuitry and customized control cards. RPI's Model Engineer Society focused on recreating exact scenes along the Rutland Railroad and D&H circa 1950. At RIT, the club realized early on that there were many resources available that could be employed in an efficient manner. Rather than develop custom software or control systems, the club utilized off-the-shelf components and technology to advance the progress of their model railroad. Examples include custom-built wayside signals, desktop dispatching and control software, robust DCC systems, and highly detailed railroad models. As a result of classroom training, RITMRC members innovate through effective management of resources.
Today
The R&IT is mostly complete - scenery and maintenance keep the club busy when not running trains. The use of Digitrax DCC components and TrainController software allow the layout to be dispatched simulating real-world railroading; including a working signaling system based on signals from . While in years past, automatic block signals required miles of complicated wiring, today the entire system of logic is controlled by software code (in cooperation with the DCC system).
Operations on the R&IT can vary from just running a train to using car-cards to simulate the flow of traffic. During particularly heavy operating sessions, a dispatcher will be stationed in the tower, lining up routes using the desktop software and controlling movements via radio instructions to the crews. Regular FRS style radios are used for communication between dispatcher and crews. During the course of an operating session, scheduled trains travel from Buffalo and Syracuse to Rochester and drop off cars destined for local delivery. Rochester yard crews make up local trains that are sent out to switch customers in the area and return. At the end of the session, trains return from Buffalo and Syracuse to again exchange cars destined "off-line." While all this is going on, various Amtrak and through trains ply the rails. When scheduled operations are not taking place, members are free to come down and operate any train or group of equipment they please.
The club's activities also have grown over the years. For the past seven years, the club has been hosting train shows on the RIT campus. Originally starting out with two 1-day shows in October and March, the club has started doing two day train hows attracting larger vendors, layouts and public. As a way to expand involvement in the hobby, the club has been involved in constructing modules and participating in Free-mo setups with others from New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and Canada. Club members are also active in community events. Every March, Strong - National Museum of Play hosts a railroad-related exhibition that RITMRC partakes in. RITMRC has also hosted many Scout groups giving a tour of the club and teaching them more about the railroad industry and the hobby of model trains. Members also volunteer at the , where they can work on and operate real trains. As a result of heavy community involvement, many of the club members are also board members of local supporting groups, including Lakeshores Division of the NMRA, and the Rochester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
This past year, the club celebrated it's tenth anniversary. As part of it, RITMRC was featured in the October 2006 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. The cover story detailed the club's history, the development of our model railroad, and our group's driving philosophies.
Dr. Dan Herman (Born July 24th, 1957 in , Romania) is an expert on identifying growth opportunities and creating competitive advantages for companies and brands. His career has been focused on the fields of strategic management, marketing, innovation, and branding. He is credited with being the first marketing thinker to propose that marketing strategy, created with differentiation based on Off-Core Values (non-industry agreed standards for success) will lead to long term strategic advantage (citation needed). Dr. Herman was also the first to suggest that creation and launching of successions of Short-Term Brands is essential to marketing success in our the Post-Customer-Loyalty era and he created a comprehensive methodology for this purpose.
Another contribution of his to the field of marketing strategy and branding was to assimilate the study of drama, hypnosis and trance into it and provide a new understanding of the ways consumers relate to brands.
Career
Dan Herman is the co-owner and CEO of Competitive Advantages, an international firm specializing in strategy consulting and the development and marketing of knowledge based products. Competitive Advantages integrates competitive strategies with business models and psychological branding. Dr. Herman also leads training seminars and workshops, lectures and is the author of 4 books to date, published in several languages.
Through his research, Dr. Herman identified methods for not just discovering unsatisfied needs, but methodically anticipating needs as yet unknown by the consumer. He is a proponent of short-term branding hits (brands that are built and designed for very limited preiods of time or locations). His clients range from local mid-sized companies to Fortune Global 500 corporations like Coca Cola, IBM, Motorola, Europcar, Roche Pharmaceuticals, The International Olympic Committee and others.
Dr. Herman is a member of the board of directors of several consulting firms throughout Europe as well as of Elyakim-Herman advertising. He is also an active board member of Formula U, a Russian company developing luxury shopping centers as well as controlling a chain of automobile dealerships and a retail chain marketing car-related products.
Dr. Herman’s executive and business experience includes positions such as: VP Marketing of Migdal Group (Israel’s largest group of Insurance and financial services and subsidiary of the European Generali), Senior VP of Dahaf Group (advertising, home shopping TV channel, marketing services and consumer research) and Deputy Director General for Strategy and Research at Bauman-Ber Advertising (Saatchi & Saatchi). He has taught at Bar Ilan University and other institutions of higher education in Israel.
Dan Herman is often invited as a keynote speaker at international conferences; he facilitates seminars and workshops, and is frequently interviewed by the media in different countries where he is active.
Dan Herman has published tens of academic and professional articles and e-booklets, and written chapters about his research and innovations for academic publications.
Dan Herman has also written three books to date. His books as well as collections of articles have been translated to different languages and published in several countries.
Competitive Advantages
Competitive Advantages helps companies maintain their competitiveness and perpetual growth in a dynamic and changing business world. Since increasing competition requires companies to renew and reinvent themselves constantly, they must be able to repeatedly identify or invent The Next Thing (TNT). Competitive Advantages makes finding The Next Thing (TNT) its exclusive focus. It helps companies identify or invent new opportunities for success and growth, for both the long and short terms. It then assists companies in strategizing for competitive advantage and to build the managerial and organizational capacity to realize a competitive advantage.
Another contribution of his to the field of marketing strategy and branding was to assimilate the study of drama, hypnosis and trance into it and provide a new understanding of the ways consumers relate to brands.
Career
Dan Herman is the co-owner and CEO of Competitive Advantages, an international firm specializing in strategy consulting and the development and marketing of knowledge based products. Competitive Advantages integrates competitive strategies with business models and psychological branding. Dr. Herman also leads training seminars and workshops, lectures and is the author of 4 books to date, published in several languages.
Through his research, Dr. Herman identified methods for not just discovering unsatisfied needs, but methodically anticipating needs as yet unknown by the consumer. He is a proponent of short-term branding hits (brands that are built and designed for very limited preiods of time or locations). His clients range from local mid-sized companies to Fortune Global 500 corporations like Coca Cola, IBM, Motorola, Europcar, Roche Pharmaceuticals, The International Olympic Committee and others.
Dr. Herman is a member of the board of directors of several consulting firms throughout Europe as well as of Elyakim-Herman advertising. He is also an active board member of Formula U, a Russian company developing luxury shopping centers as well as controlling a chain of automobile dealerships and a retail chain marketing car-related products.
Dr. Herman’s executive and business experience includes positions such as: VP Marketing of Migdal Group (Israel’s largest group of Insurance and financial services and subsidiary of the European Generali), Senior VP of Dahaf Group (advertising, home shopping TV channel, marketing services and consumer research) and Deputy Director General for Strategy and Research at Bauman-Ber Advertising (Saatchi & Saatchi). He has taught at Bar Ilan University and other institutions of higher education in Israel.
Dan Herman is often invited as a keynote speaker at international conferences; he facilitates seminars and workshops, and is frequently interviewed by the media in different countries where he is active.
Dan Herman has published tens of academic and professional articles and e-booklets, and written chapters about his research and innovations for academic publications.
Dan Herman has also written three books to date. His books as well as collections of articles have been translated to different languages and published in several countries.
Competitive Advantages
Competitive Advantages helps companies maintain their competitiveness and perpetual growth in a dynamic and changing business world. Since increasing competition requires companies to renew and reinvent themselves constantly, they must be able to repeatedly identify or invent The Next Thing (TNT). Competitive Advantages makes finding The Next Thing (TNT) its exclusive focus. It helps companies identify or invent new opportunities for success and growth, for both the long and short terms. It then assists companies in strategizing for competitive advantage and to build the managerial and organizational capacity to realize a competitive advantage.
Dempsey Essick is a North Carolina artist based in the small community of Welcome, North Carolina in northern Davidson County.
Career
Dempsey Essick's career as local North Carolina artist began when wife Shelley begged Essick to paint a watercolor of a local landmark to hang in her office. Essick obliged and she received the painting as a Christmas gift in 1988.
When the couple went to pick up their painting after having it framed, the shopkeeper told the Essicks he had taken orders for 50 prints. Surprised, they took the painting to another framing store and received the same overwhelming response. Essick had only painted as a hobby, but soon things would change.
Essick borrowed money to have 500 prints made. The prints sold out within two weeks. Essick decided to make a career out of art. He quit his job and devoted his days to painting. The public responded very well to Essick's historic and straightforward style. Essick has said, "I never meant to walk this path. I have never had any formal art training and believe me, I never foresaw a future as an artist."
Essick's gallery is located in Downtown Welcome on Old US Highway 52. It offers a comfortable living room atmosphere which invites browsing and reminiscing.
Personal Life
Essick is married to Shelley Essick, a former postmaster, Mrs. Essick now acts as the Dempsey Essick Gallery manager. The couple have two children: a son John, Jr. and daughter Elizabeth.
Trivia
*Dempsey lives on a small farm in Welcome, in the same house where he was born.
*Self taught, self expressed realist watercolor artist. Believes his talent is a gift from God.
*Graduate of Forsyth Technical Community College with a degree in mechanical drawing; no formal training in art.
*Signature member of the elite National Watercolor Society
*Named an official B.A.S.S. Artist
*Exhibits include The National Academy of Design in NYC, The National Watercolor Exhibition in Former president of the NC Bluebird Society California, the Rocky Mountain Watermedia Exhibition in Colorado.
*Former president of the NC Bluebird Society
*Desires to release a line of sculptures
*Enjoys movies with friends, teaching Bible Study, and Carolina basketball.
*Hobbies include hiking, camping, and especially fishing
*Daily routine includes 8am and 5 pm feeding of live mealworms to his favorite bluebirds.
Career
Dempsey Essick's career as local North Carolina artist began when wife Shelley begged Essick to paint a watercolor of a local landmark to hang in her office. Essick obliged and she received the painting as a Christmas gift in 1988.
When the couple went to pick up their painting after having it framed, the shopkeeper told the Essicks he had taken orders for 50 prints. Surprised, they took the painting to another framing store and received the same overwhelming response. Essick had only painted as a hobby, but soon things would change.
Essick borrowed money to have 500 prints made. The prints sold out within two weeks. Essick decided to make a career out of art. He quit his job and devoted his days to painting. The public responded very well to Essick's historic and straightforward style. Essick has said, "I never meant to walk this path. I have never had any formal art training and believe me, I never foresaw a future as an artist."
Essick's gallery is located in Downtown Welcome on Old US Highway 52. It offers a comfortable living room atmosphere which invites browsing and reminiscing.
Personal Life
Essick is married to Shelley Essick, a former postmaster, Mrs. Essick now acts as the Dempsey Essick Gallery manager. The couple have two children: a son John, Jr. and daughter Elizabeth.
Trivia
*Dempsey lives on a small farm in Welcome, in the same house where he was born.
*Self taught, self expressed realist watercolor artist. Believes his talent is a gift from God.
*Graduate of Forsyth Technical Community College with a degree in mechanical drawing; no formal training in art.
*Signature member of the elite National Watercolor Society
*Named an official B.A.S.S. Artist
*Exhibits include The National Academy of Design in NYC, The National Watercolor Exhibition in Former president of the NC Bluebird Society California, the Rocky Mountain Watermedia Exhibition in Colorado.
*Former president of the NC Bluebird Society
*Desires to release a line of sculptures
*Enjoys movies with friends, teaching Bible Study, and Carolina basketball.
*Hobbies include hiking, camping, and especially fishing
*Daily routine includes 8am and 5 pm feeding of live mealworms to his favorite bluebirds.