Our staff at Charleston Scuba are the best in the business! Everyone who works with us is focused primarily on customer service and satisfaction. We appreciate the loyalty of our clients and realize that they come to us because of our professionalism and dedication to the dive industry.
| "Dear Michelle,
Thank you so much for spending hours digging through old records to find my PADI certification card; a random act of kindness that I will attempt to pass on. Happy New Year and thanks,"
Tomilee Hardy, January 2010
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Tom has been serving
the local dive community as a dive retail manager, Divemaster and licensed captain since 1981 and has been teaching SCUBA since 1987. He is a licensed Ocean Master
Captain, Master Scuba Diver Trainer and runs great trips on our boats,
the TRINITY and MR. JON. Tom is a talented videographer,
creating store videos of offshore Charleston and travel footage. His
footage has been used by various entities including: the South Carolina Aquarium, local
area news channels and our own store DVD, "Charleston's Underwater
World".
A Master Technician for Scubapro and Aqualung, Tom also oversees our repair department.
Tom's favorite dives off the coast are the Anchor Wreck and the Indigo
Ledges.
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Diving since 1986 and managing the business since 1990, Sally
schedules our trips, manages the store and charter service, crews
charters and teaches classes. With her background in Marine Biology,
she keeps the community focused on the underwater environment by
organizing Beach Sweeps, talking with school groups and leading field
trips in environmental awareness.
Sally holds a PADI Staff Instructor
rating, is an EFR Instructor Trainer and has been teaching SCUBA since 1993. Her favorite classes to teach
are Wreck Diver, Rescue Diver and Assistant Instructor. Her favorite dive
destination is right here off the South Carolina coast, preferably on
the ledge sites.
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Susie is a PADI Assistant Instructor and a volunteer diver
at the South Carolina Aquarium. If you've ever been to the aquarium
you may have seen her in the tank giving presentations, feeding the
inhabitants or dressed as Santa. She enjoys leading dive adventures
with her good friend Randy Gross.
Susie and her husband love sharing
with Charleston Scuba customers their favorite exotic island
locations. Susie's other interests include hunting, flying, any water
activity and highly competitive tennis. Susie is the fearless Assistant
Manager of our store.
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Michelle comes to us all the way
from Oregon. Originally a Jersey girl, her love of the Atlantic Ocean
has brought her back to the East Coast. Michelle gained her scuba
certification in 1992 and used it while obtaining a Bachelor of
Science in Marine Biology from ECU. She received her Dive Master
certification in January 2009 while also working in our dive store and is now focused on completing her Instructor rating.
With a passion for
sharks, she is excited to tackle the local dive sites and meet the
friendly wildlife. Michelle’s other interests include belly dancing,
homebrewing, Frisbee-golf, cooking, and gardening. For those Spanish
speaking customers, she can also provide translation.
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| Service Technicians and Repair Department |
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| Gregg Lambton Carr comes to us from South Africa with a substantial number of qualifications - Naui Course Director, PADI Divemaster, DAN Instructor Trainer and as a certified technician for Scubapro, Aqualung, Oceanic and Mares. Gregg also has an excellent background as a charter boat operator and dive retailer. With his talent as a photographer, he has quickly become our underwater photography Guru.
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Gary is currently a student at the College of Charleston
and is pursuing a degree in Communications . His favorite sites are wrecks and
he has dived the famous Speigle Grove and the Duane and BIB in the Florida Keys
and the Y/73, the Researcher, the Steel Deckhouse and the T&A #9
locally. He also enjoys river diving and fossil hunting in the Cooper/
Edisto Rivers.
Gary completed his Divemaster Certification in the
summer of 2008 and is currently going through our Assistant Instructor
program. Gary is our resident Repair Technician
for ScubaPro with a Pro Tec rating, and is a gas blender through the TEC/REC certification.
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David was certified as an open water diver March of 2004 in Okinawa,
Japan while stationed in the Marines. He enjoyed diving so much
that he became an Open Water scuba instructor in 2006. Some of his most
memorable dives were diving the USS Emmons and diving with whale
sharks. David is now stationed in Beaufort, S.C. and works as Staff Instructor for us. David's favorite dives offshore are the big
wrecks.
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When Tim loves something, he thinks everyone will love it! So, he became a scuba instructor to teach everyone to dive! He began his mentor-ship to become a dive professional with Charleston Scuba in April 2007 and achieved Dive Master in May, 2008. His instructor rating was next in May 2009 and Master Scuba Trainer in October 2009.
Tim has always loved to explore the natural world...he loves to hike, bird watch, mountain bike and kayak. He began scuba diving in April 2005 so he could begin exploring the seas. Besides teaching, Tim focuses on underwater photography and studying sea life. He loves dive travel and intends to dive in as many exotic locations as possible. And... he wants to train you all to be a Master Scuba Diver!
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Al Hammons is a Master Scuba Diver Trainer and volunteer diver at the South Carolina Aquarium
who also often doubles as a Divemaster on our offshore charters. He is
a favorite of clients and crew, is extremely competent and handles
every situation with good humor. When not with students, Al works as a
referee for local schools and is a professional real estate appraiser.
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Randi Gross is an experienced Staff Instructor,
Registered Nurse at the Medical University of South Carolina, volunteer
diver at the South Carolina Aquarium and can conduct all levels of dive
training. She has had her PADI Instructor rating since 1993.
Randi has dived exotic locations such as Truk Lagoon, Palau,
The Caymans, Fiji, and our own local waters. Her favorite local
offshore location is the Y-73, one of our wreck specialty completion
sites.
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Jason Bryan, our California import, has been instructing with us since 1993. He
is a Staff Instructor and trains students from Open Water Diver through
Assistant Instructor. Jason has also led our Seal Team Kid's Camp
since its inception and helped create the Shark Awareness Specialty
Program. An avid photographer, Jason loves photographing our local
marine life on the big offshore wrecks.
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Art Moore is a Staff Instructor who has been
working with us for over nine years. He enjoys teaching new students
about the wonders of marine life and has a passion for sharks and
photography. Art is also one of our repair technicians, specializing
in Aqualung products.
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Rick is a former police officer and
one of our PADI Divemasters. He, his wife and daughter are all avid
river divers and fossil hunters who have made their love of the sport a
family affair. Rick is wonderful at assisting with weekend classes and
Seal Team camp.
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Stephen Burns has been working as a captain for the South Carolina
Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) for the past eight years and
has excellent knowledge of the local waters. He joined us for the
first time as a co-captain in 2008 and looks forward to leading local
charters over the next few dive seasons. Stephen loves diving off of
Charleston, however when he is not working for the SCDNR or on the TRINITY, he is catching the waves off of Folly Beach. Stephen is currently working on his Divemaster rating.
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A former shrimp boat operator and a current boat captain for the South
Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), Jeff has years and
years of boating experience. He has worked with us at Charleston
Scuba since 2001 as a captain and he always makes our
diving experiences safe and enjoyable. Jeff's favorite dives sites are
in the Cooper River and he is an accomplished black water diver and
fossil hunter.
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Jeff Loflin has been a PADI Instructor since 1983
and became a Course Director in 1988. Jeff is an Instructor/Trainer in
PADI's new Tec Rec and Blender Programs - Enriched Air and Tri-mix. Jeff
teaches numerous other specialties and has certified approximately 1,400
divers in his extensive diving career. His certifications include,
but are not limited to: Full Tri-mix Diver, NSS.CDS, NACD Full Cave Diver,
IANTD Technical Cave Diver. Jeff was the owner/operator of a PADI 5 Star
I.D.C facility in Tampa, Fl. for 16 years, has a commercial diving background,
served as an adjunct faculty member in the Marine Sciences Department
at the University of Tampa and is currently a bridge inspector with the
Florida Department of Transportation. Jeff especially enjoys teaching
technical diving and instructor programs.
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| Conrad Rucker has a true passion and love for diving. He began his diving career in 1978 after watching the show "Sea Hunt" and now has made a commitment to help other "discover the magic of teaching". Conrad exemplifies the high standards that PADI has set and thrives on seeing others reach their potential as divers and instructors. His dive resume is varied, with a number of Instructor Trainer Specialties under his belt, such as Deep, Enriched Air, Rebreather, Emergency First Responder Instructor Trainer and Divers Alert Network Instructor Trainer. as well as being a Handicapped Scuba Association Instructor.
Outside of diving, Conrad has a BA from Southern University, Baton Rouge in Speech Communications, was a Captian - UCMC Ch-46 Pilot and spent 4 years in the NFL for the Houston Oilers and the Denver Broncos. Currently, Conrad is married with 3 children and works for Delta Airlines. His favorite dive destination is Cozumel.
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