American Divers International
| The Return of the 3 Tank Wrek-Trek!!! TRUK LAGOON, PALAU AND YAP DiveQuest at Epcot® READY TO DIVE?! The 2006 Class Schedule is here!! click here New “Jeff’s Dive Talk” click here New from DJ’s Desk! go here Looking for a sale or rebate? click here Trips, Trips, Trips!! Go to our Travel Page Every Month you can go diving with us. go here For a listing of our classes. go here We now have Nitrox Tanks for Rent | The People of American Divers International DJ Morin – Owner PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Handicapped Scuba Association Scuba Instructor Along with his wife, Edith, DJ has been a co-owner of American Divers International for more than twenty years. His responsibilities at ADI are primarily sales but, as an owner he oversees all aspects of the business. He was born in Vermont about 27 miles from the Canadian border and lived in both Vermont and Connecticut until he joined the Air Force at the age of 17. During the first twelve years of his career in the Air Force he served as a jet engine mechanic. After that he retrained and became a film processor for U2, SR71, and satellite imagery. During his last few years in the USAF he once again retrained, this time into AFTAC, an Air Force organization that is responsible for monitoring nuclear activity worldwide. He retired as a Senior Master Sergeant (E-8) after spending most of his career as an operations supervisor. After 22 years in the service he and Edith purchased ADI and have been developing the business ever since. DJ has a bachelor’s degree in business and an associate degree in optics (photo). DJ learned to scuba dive in 1957. His neighbor was a diver and, in his own words, “I pestered him as only a 14 year old boy could to teach me to dive.” Eventually he found himself at the bottom of a quarry for his first dive. He made several more dives but was not certified until 1971 on Johnston Island in the Pacific. He is now a PADI Master Instructor and a Handicapped Scuba Instructor. (Indeed he is one of the original Handicapped Scuba Instructors.) He is also a NAUI advanced diver and took diving courses from the University of Hawaii. In December of 2006, DJ spent a week in the Galapagos Island to celebrate his 50th year of Scuba Diving!! When asked about what interesting types of diving he’s done he’ll say, “I’ve tried just about everything in the past 45 years. Ice Diving (burr!), fresh water lakes (most yuck), cave and cavern (ok but!), some professional work (takes the fun out), UW photo and UW video interests me a lot. But, teaching new people diving is the most fun and if the person is in a wheel chair, blind, or otherwise disabled it’s a thrill.” If you go on to ask him what has been his favorite dive he’ll say, “This is the hardest question to explain. Diving or a dive is what you make it! There is always something interesting/exciting to see or experience. Sometimes it’s the people you’re diving with. The eight dives in Yap with ten to twenty foot wide manta rays flying around me like butterflies ranks as one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced.” Never being the type of person that limits himself in addition to diving DJ is active in river rafting, hiking, running, flying airplanes (he’s a private pilot), motorized para wing flying (he’s a new student), paddling his canoe, and sailing his sunfish. His greatest passion, however, is reading fiction, science journals, and just about anything else he can get his hands on. Edith Morin – Owner Originally born in Alabama she grew up in Columbus, Mississippi and has two years of College from the University of Maryland. During the years when DJ was in the Air Force she managed to raise four children while living in the Far East, Europe, and all over the United States. She has a GS-4 classification and has served as an Administration Clerk for the USAF and Secretary for various companies as they traveled with the Air Force. Soon after they purchased ADI, DJ taught Edith to scuba dive. She felt that, since they we’re selling scuba, she should know how to do it. Her certification dives were done in Key Largo and she has loved the sport ever since. She’s a very capable diver and when asked why she has never advanced her certification level above Open Water Diver she’ll say, “Oh, I just never bothered with the paperwork.” Like so many of us she likes Caribbean reefs and walls, wreck diving, and West Palm Beach drift diving. She also enjoys diving with the manatees in Florida springs. Her favorite dives have been Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman and Mary’s Place in Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras. Beyond working at ADI and diving Edith enjoys managing and singing in a southern gospel trio, flower arranging, ceramics, playing the clarinet, reading and travel. She’s not one to keep herself idle. Alan Richardson – Assistant Manager/Lead Instructor Alan serves as both Assistant Manager and as Head Instructor. Born in Charleston, West Virginia, where he claims, “it is MUCH to dark and cold to dive”, Alan found his way into the U.S. Navy and served for 6 years as a Bos’n mate. Alan learned to Scuba dive in San Diego while in the military. After achieving the rank of E-5, he left the Navy and went to work for himself as a truck driver. After deciding to be more active as a diver, Alan came to ADI as a repair technician. Since joining us, he has completed his Divemaster certification and in January 2005, joined our instructor staff! Since then he has taken over the role of Lead Instructor as well as Assistant Manager at ADI. Alan’s favorite dive is the Rodeo, off of Hillsboro because, “It’s a large fish tank! Sitting at 120′, this wreck has barracuda the size of Volkswagens!” When he is not diving, Alan spends his time sailing his 25′ Catalina sailboat. He also plays billiards on a local league team. Annette Hiller – Administrative Assistant/Sales Representative Annette serves as Administrative Assistant to Edith as well as a Sales Representative. Annette recently completed the Open Water certification course here at ADI and she is rather excited about it. She looks forward to experiencing more of the beauty of the underwater world. Dean Reilly – Service Department Head
Dean has 20 years of experience performing maintenance and inspection on all manner of SCUBA equipment. Dean was originally Scuba certified in 1983 and worked up to instructor in 1986. Dean taught scuba for many years but is no longer actively teaching. In his spare time, Dean works on his house and is restoring his 1969 GTO. Danielle Lowery – Sales Representative/Instructor Danielle serves as a part-time Sales Representative and serves as an Instructor for Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue and Divemaster courses as well as a host of PADI specialties. Danielle was born and raised in Dade City, Florida. Her husband serves in the U.S. Navy and while stationed at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba, they both decided to get their scuba certifications. Danielle loved it so much that she continued on to receive her Instructorship. Upon moving to Merritt Island in 2007, Danielle joined American Divers as an Instructor and Sales Rep. When asked about her most memorable dive, Danielle replies, “Diving off the contentental shelf in Cuba, watching a 4′ Barracuda ambush it’s prey from the abyss has got to be the most exciting thing I’ve ever witnessed!!! Seeing nature at work, watching how Barracuda hunt left me in awe!!! It was just so unexpected!!” When she is not diving, Danielle enjoys outdoor sports; horseback riding, camping, kayaking, etc. She also enjoys a good book, especially those regarding diving! Mike Deffenbaugh – Service Technician/Instructor Mike serves as a part-time Service Technician and serves as an Instructor for Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue and Divemaster courses as well as a host of PADI specialties. Mike became our newest PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor in November 2006. When asked about ADI, Mike says, “When I was here TDY and again when I moved to the area, I checked out every dive shop in Brevard County. After considering all things (location, pool, variety of equipment, people, overall look, etc), I decided that ADI was the best shop around.” Mike doesn’t have a particular favorite dive (so far). “I can say that I really enjoy diving anywhere off the South East Florida coast and the Spiegel Grove in Key Largo is an awesome dive!” When he’s not diving, Mike enjoys riding his Motorcycle and working with Computers. Mike Hill – Instructor Mike serves as an Instructor for Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue and Divemaster courses as well as a host of PADI specialties. Mike graduated a PADI Instructor Development Course in March 2005. Mike’s favorite dive is the Duane & Bibb wrecks in Key Largo, Florida. “If you catch it just right, to me, it’s the perfect wreck to dive. Standing in the wheelhouse with the current against your face, it feels like your sailing a ghost ship!” In his spare time, Mike enjoys off-shore fishing, but his main hobby is diving! Wally Masny – Instructor Wally serves as an Instructor for Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Divemaster courses as well as a host of PADI specialties. Born and raised in New York City, Wally moved to Florida in 1983 because it was simply “too cold up there”. He began working as an instructor for ADI way back in 1988 and has taught for us off and on ever since. When asked about his favorite dive, Wally mentions the wreck of the San Francisco Maru in Truk Lagoon. “It was so deep and had 3 big Japanese tanks on it. That wreck is world renown and it’s nice to know I’ve been there.” George Rice – Instructor George says his favorite dive is the HMS Rhone, off of Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands because, “It’s a REAL wreck. Sunk by a hurricane, personal artifacts of the passengers are still there. It’s quite surreal.” Aside from Instructing and diving, his off time is spent woodworking and enjoying the night life in the Florida Keys. |