To Our Members, Supporters, Active Volunteers, & Constituents,
 As we usher in a new season of diving, training opportunities, community gatherings, and fundraising events, I want to address the past year and acknowledge the struggles we have felt both personally and as a community. I personally almost lost family members due to COVID-19, stroke, and a heart attack. I know many others have struggled in similar ways or realized a much worse reality.
2020 was an obstacle in terms of our ability to operate as an organization, gather as a community, and accomplish our growth targets. Last year, we were on target to double our budget, triple the number of community events held, and reduce the backlog of prospective members to grow our organization. We submitted the organization's first grant application in March and had been invited to the final round of selection; established exciting new partnership opportunities to provide additional services to our veterans, and were set to host the largest fundraising event to date mid-March – then the COVID-19 shutdown happened…
In many ways, the disruption of the pandemic exposed several areas for improvement within our organization. The pandemic's interruption was the impetus for a much greater realization – the importance of staying connected. We realize, now more than ever, the fundamental necessity of staying connected as a community. Many of us suffered through last year’s pandemic shutdown alone or without the support needed to stay healthy and safe. As a byproduct of isolation and the shutdown's adverse effects, we became disconnected and suffered as a result. Although staying connected through this ordeal may not have prevented strife, remaining connected would have helped shoulder the pandemic's burden and address the harmful effects of isolation on our veterans.
That said, and with a renewed purpose, we have shifted the focus and vision this year to build on and make forward progress as a community. Our pillars for 2021 are as follows:
 Community First – Our success as an organization is accomplished only by our ability to achieve and maintain connectedness. This year, our goal is to focus our outreach and engagement on reestablishing a feeling of belonging amongst our community members. This goal includes efforts to create opportunities for boat and shore dives as a group, social events such as BBQs, and networking opportunities to support our members in gaining access to adjacent veteran services benefiting our community.
- Superior Service – Being accountable to our community members is not only the right thing to do; it is essential to our mission to create opportunities for personal growth and develop our community-based programs. Our commitment to service is to make our volunteers more available and increase the response to processing requests and answering questions (See below for our volunteers' email contact information).
 Personal Growth – The opportunities TRP provides to veteran members profoundly affect their ability to connect with respective peers and the community of diving here in the Northeast. Through community first and our mission to provide Superior Service, we are looking to enhance our veteran members' experience to identify and create opportunities for personal growth. One of the many considerations we have included with our operational goals for 2021 is informational surveys. The surveys will collect meaningful data within our veteran community to increase user experience and develop essential metrics for critical programs' effectiveness.
 Organizational Growth – In light of the struggles we endured last year, the many great ideas, plans, and goals we worked diligently to fulfill the prior year will be a large part of this year’s strategic plan. A cornerstone of the organization's success and the community we support is to increase funding opportunities for the many programs and community outreach opportunities we seek to undertake in 2021. In alignment with this, we are planning to go forward with our annual event, Winging-it For Diving, to include adjacent fundraising opportunities throughout the remaining months of the first and second quarter of 2021.
Keep an eye out for our official schedule of events for 2021. We plan to roll out new certification opportunities for the community to enhance diving skills at the beginning of the second quarter. Quarter 3 will include plans for group travel diving opportunities and other important information in upcoming newsletters. As I mentioned, now more than ever, we are looking to come together and reconnect to revitalize our veteran community and make 2021 a year to remember.
Sincerely,
Key Volunteers:
Michael Lydon – Vice President – info@thetrp.org
Will Tinney – Director of Training & Operations – classes@thetrp.org
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