So I suppose we should open up this post with a big thank
you to all of you. Each and every one of
you contributed in one manner or another to make this particular blog post
possible. Since 2009, when we opened,
your continued support of us and our community focused diving program has
allowed us to continue to grow and change into the dive shop we want to
be. This winter that support will allow
us to expand once more into a space that is not only on the water here in
Occoquan but also is three times the size of our current store. This will allow us to not only expand our
retail options but our services as well.
This, of course, means we will have the ability to give more back in the
form of expanding our HSA and Wounded Warrior programs as well as increasing
our support of Project Aware and marine conservation across the globe. This is all because of you, Patriot
Diver. Thank you.
Now for the million dollar question: what is going on with
the new shop? So we have started
construction at our new site and it has been moving along really well. Merial’s own brother, Bill P., has been in
charge of the design and the overall planning as well as devoting his weekends
to the construction. Meanwhile, Patriot
Diver Gib O. has donated an astonishing 40 hours per week to the project! We couldn’t pull this off without these
guys. They have been and continue to be
an essential force behind this project.
Thanks, guys!
And they have done a ton of work already! They have torn out walls and renovated the
bathrooms. They have installed new doors
and worked on the plumbing. Gib has even
reworked the electrical throughout the building, taking a jumbled mess of
wiring and turning it into a streamlined functional system. The whole building has been noticeably improved
and they aren’t done yet. It is looking
like we will be in the new space completely by the end of January. So thank you all once again and we can’t wait
to show you the new space!
Oh and if you want to take a look at it feel free to stop by
the shop and ask a staff member to take you over. The change really has been dramatic!
