“When I was 16 yrs old, snorkeling in Key Largo, Florida at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, experiencing all the wonderful underwater marine world when below me, I saw a group of scuba divers cruising along the reef and thought “WOW” how cool is that?!? I was so focused on them breathing underwater and getting to swim along side all those beautiful creatures that I knew this is what I had to pursue. I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had just experienced and couldn’t wait to get back home and sign up for a scuba class, which I did, completing my certification in 1982. I dove as much as possible. Oceans, lakes, quarries, rivers, springs, etc., learning as much as I could from the more experienced divers. I continued my education until I became an instructor in 2001, doing so shared my love of diving to anyone who had the inspiration I had – helping new divers with the knowledge to become comfortable and confident with the sport. Seeing them overcome the task to become a diver is very rewarding to me personally.”
“Aside from teaching, I was involved with the Tennessee River Rescue in Chattanooga TN for 10+ years putting together the underwater clean up event. I was also a volunteer diver at the Tennessee Aquarium for 20 years interacting with the public in the exhibit was very rewarding, plus swimming with all the sharks, stingrays, turtles, etc., was fun too.”
“My favorite activities include Megaladon shark tooth & artifact hunting, salvage work, wreck diving and traveling around the world diving in different environments. One of my all time favorite quotes from Jacques Cousteau, “From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface to be free”
Leadership Certifications:
- SSI Snorkel Diver Instructor
- SSI Dive Guide
- SSI Dive Master
- SSI Assistant Instructor
- SSI Open Water Instructor (# 7474)
- SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor (# 7474)
- NAUI Open Water Instructor (# 64650)
- SSI Dry Suit Diving
- SSI Navigation
- SSI Perfect Buoyancy
- SSI River Diving
- SSI Deep Diving
- SSI Enriched Air Nitrox
- SSI Night Diving & Limited Visibility
- SSI Stress & Rescue
Specialty Certifications:
- Deep Diving
- Enriched Air Nitrox level 1 (32%)
- Navigation
- Perfect Buoyancy
- River Diving
- Dive Guide
- Scuba Diver
- Open Water Diver
- Advanced Adventurer
- Dry Suit Diving
- Enriched Air Nitrox Level 2 (40%)
- Night Diving & Limited Visibility
- Stress & Rescue