there were seven returnees for a total of thirteen adaptive divers. Dive centers are at the heart of preparing these courageous BUSINESS EDU continued
Brandes Family Scholarship and the Bert and Ann Shearer Family Scholarship. The partnerships Dive Pirates has developed within the dive community allowed three divers to participate in a week focused simply on enjoying diving.
divers for their journey. At Diventures in Omaha, Dave Dietze has trained adaptive divers since 2013 as that lo- cation is one of the original Dive Pirates training dive chapters. Dave had one 2026 recipient participate this year plus there were three other Dive Pirate returnees that Dave had trained joined the trip. Dave is a truly dedicated instructor who enables pos- sibilities. Dive Masters of San Antonio is an- other dive center making this adventure possible. Dr. Dan Murray, owner of Dive Masters, is a retired Air Force colonel specializing in aerospace med- icine. Dr. Dan brings a unique per- spective to the dive industry and in- novative techniques for training lever- aging his medical expertise. He started working with Dive Pirates in 2022 after joining Dive Masters to focus on using scuba in rehabilitation for physical trauma. Dan’s passion and energy rubs off on everyone and he plans to continue to train a new Dive Pirate each year. Four other Dive Pirates chapters and their instructors were instrumental in preparing this year’s recipients for the trip. They included Capital City Scuba in Lansing, Michigan, with in- structor Amber Iszler; Las Vegas Scuba Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada, with instructors Jose Garcia and Jason Layne; Davy Jones Explores in Hous- ton, Texas, with instructor Gillian
Dive industry businesses also step up to support the Dive Pirates trip. Businesses such as Lita’s All Natural provide insect repellent and bite-relief products, while Just Add Water Solu- tions (JAWS) donates QuickPACK drawstring backpacks and Quick Spit antifog spray. These products are added to the pirate booty that everyone re- ceives prior to the adventure. Community members and sponsors also provide support. Individuals like Bob and Nettie Evans sponsor the lanyards that hold the name tags of the pirates. Every individual also gets a logo’d long-sleeve UV rash guard sponsored by a number of businesses including Police Fire Dive in Florida, PlayScapes in Wisconsin, Team BS in Texas, and 9 Little Piggies BBQ in Tennessee. Last but not least, there are the in- dividual scuba divers and other vol- unteers who dedicate their time and energy to act as dive buddies and shore support for the week. It takes a community effort to ensure that the adaptive divers are not only safe and secure in the water but also have fun and experience the same incredible environment that many of us may sometimes take for granted. This is their week to be like all of us – scuba divers. There are many examples in the div-
Tilbury; and Patriot Diving in Occoquan, Virginia, with in- structor Roger Shields. On Bonaire, Dive Pirate instructors, Carl Fago, Hellen Armstrong, and Gregg Wentworth stepped up to work with the newest scuba divers. One way that Dive Pirates keeps adaptive divers diving is through scholarships that bring past recipients on the trip. These included the Suzy Fago Memorial Scholarship, the
ing industry where the entire community pulls together on a common mission. Each year Dive Pirates continues to set the
bar for bringing all elements of our sport together while expanding the underwater world to those who no longer see disabilities and see possibili- ties.
email Jeff
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