Chuck always wanted to dive since he was a kid. He loved to swim and boat and kept putting off taking scuba classes. Finally he said he just had to do it. So he enrolled in a class and began his journey into the blue. He took his open water class Over a summer and by the end of the next summer had completed Advanced, Rescue, First Aid and began his Divemaster class. He went to Florida the next summer and completed his Instructor and has been moving forward ever since. He loves to see his student’s faces under water for the first time breathing on a regulator. His favorite Buddy is his wife, Valerie. Chuck loves to train new divers and further their knowledge with advanced training.
With something called Meniere’s disease, Val never even considered diving as an option until she met her husband Chuck, an avid diver and instructor. Chuck slowly and with great patience took Val through her DSD class, OW, and AOW classes, and the rest is history. Today Val is a Divemaster; her single most defining moment was when she could navigate Bainbridge Quarry with a group of students and not get lost! Val really enjoys assisting the instructors in working with new divers, her favorite class though, is the AOW, but watch out Val always plays Tic Tac Toe to win!
John was SCUBA certified off the coast of MA in early May of 1998. After moving back to Harrisburg, John started diving regularly at Bainbridge Scuba Center in the summer of 2001.
Since then John has had the opportunity to dive in many different regions including several local quarries and rivers, Bonaire, Curacao, Cozumel, Exuma Cays, St. Lawrence Seaway and North Carolina.
In 2009, John became a PADI Instructor to share his passion of diving with others and to help them achieve their own personal dive goals.
Chuck is what is known as a “late bloomer” when it comes to diving. He got his first certification as an open water diver in 2000 at the age of 45. But that didn’t stop him from jumping in with both feet. He followed that with a list of PADI certifications that include Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Search and Recovery, Enriched Air, Equipment Specialist, Dry Suit, Deep, Underwater Navigation, Night, Ice and Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver Specialties. Chuck earned his first PADI professional certification in 2003 when he became a Divemaster. Not quite finished, he went on the complete his Master Diver certification in 2005. Chuck became a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor in 2008 and enjoys opening the underwater world to other people.
Certifications
• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor • PADI Advanced Open Water Instructor
• PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty Instructor • PADI Rescue Diver Specialty Instructor
• PADI Wreck Diver Specialty Instructor • PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty Instructor
• PADI Peak Performance Boyancy Diver Specialty Instructor • PADI Oxygen Administration Specialty Instructor • PADI Equipment Specialty Instructor • PADI REC Tec Gas Blender Specialty Instructor
• PADI Project AWARE Specialty Instructor • PADI AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Instructor
• Emergency First Response (EFR) Instructor • Emergency First Response/Care for Children Instructor
• Beautiful Oceans - Coral Reef Architecture and Organisms Instructor
• Beautiful Oceans - Coral reef Organisms and Food Web Instructor
Liz Cheeseman, Shop Associate
Liz is married to John Cheeseman and the mother of Clarice Cheeseman. She started SCUBA diving in June 2002 in PA. Even though SCUBA diving didn't come easy to Liz It is something she enjoys doing very much. Liz dives locally May through October in the local quarries. She has been to Cozumel, Bonaire, Curacao, and the Exuma Cays Bahamas. Liz loves traveling and exploring other diving destinations. Liz has had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people both locally and while traveling abroad and she would love to meet you!
You will normally see Liz at the DDS dive shop or out at the local dive locations with John and Clarice, their future diver!!
Certifications
• PADI Advanced Open Water • PADI Rescue Diver
Ron Hivner, Shop Associate Proudly serving our country in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army
Thank you for your service, Ron!
Ron took a Discover Scuba class in St. Lucia and tried Snuba in Barbados. He loved being under the water and decided that he wanted to get certified. Ron completed his Open Water Certification in July 2009.
By the end of the summer of 2010, Ron had completed his Enriched Air Nitrox and Advanced Open Water Certifications. Since becoming certified, Ron has been diving every chance he gets at one of the two local quarries, Bainbridge and Dutch Springs. Ron has also had the opportunity to do some vacation diving on The Great Barrier Reef, Australia and Cozumel, Mexico. Ron recently purchased a drysuit, so I’m sure we are going to be seeing more of Ron out at the quarries!
Certifications
• PADI Advanced Open Water • PADI Enriched Air Nitrox
Kris Jacobs, Divemaster, Shop Associate
Kris completed his Open Water certification with Divers Descent in April of 2006. He has been around the dive shop since it has opened back in 2003. You can find him around the dive shop or out enjoying dives on Saturday and Sundays at Bainbridge. Currently he is working on his Divemaster Certification.
Certifications
• PADI Divemaster• PADI Advanced Open Water • PADI Enriched Air Nitrox • PADI Rescue Diver • PADI Emergency First Responder
Lee Millard, Divemaster & Shop Associate
Lee completed his OW certification at a small quarry in central Ohio in 1988 as preparation for a field study program in San Salvador in the Bahamas. His love of the water and travel has provided many unique diving opportunities in places like Lake Superior, Florida Keys, Caymans, USVI, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos and Wisconsin quarries in addition to the local quarries here in PA.
Lee continues to develop his diving skills and enjoys helping others do the same.
Certified at the age of 12, Kristen has always been in love with any activity involving water. During her college years Kristen did not have the opportunity to dive as much as she'd like to.
With her college degree in hand, she settled into the "real world," Kristen jumped back in full force and is currently a 2010-2011 Dive Master Candidate. She has great plans to expand her diving credentials.
Certifications
• PADI Divmaster • PADI Advanced Open Water • PADI Rescue Diver
Rob Sullivan, Divemaster, Shop Associate & Service Technician
With Rob always spent time in and around water from working as a life guard to sailing his small boat he always had an interest in diving but never did anything about it. On a vacation to Hawaii with his family they went snorkeling and it renewed his interest. A friend tried Discover SCUBA and liked it and talked him into taking classes. He started his confined training in the winter of 2004 and has spent as much time underwater as he could since then.
Certifications
• PADI Divemaster • PADI Master Diver • PADI Equipment Specialty • PADI Under Water Digital Photography Specialty • PADI Peak Performance Boyancy Specialty • PADI Enriched Nitrox Specialty • Emergency First Responder and CPR
Todd Swain, Divemaster, Shop Associate & Service Technician
In 1994, Todd and his wife Michele planned a trip to Key West. While there, they went snorkeling on a reef 7 miles off Key West. Todd loved snorkeling; he wanted to be at the bottom swimming with the fish he saw from above. So when they got home, he checked into Scuba Diving. He signed up for the class and was OW certified in 1996, at Bainbridge Quarry. In 1998, a friend invited him go to FL for some Cavern Diving. So he went and took the NSS-CD Cavern Course at Ginnie Springs and fell in love with it. In 2007, he was certified in Enriched Air Nitrox. He took AOW and Rescue Diver in 2008, and completed his Divemaster and Intro to Cave in 2010. He is also interested in becoming trained in Deep, Wreck, Full Cave and Tec Diving.
John Weaver, Divemaster, Shop Associate & Service Technician
John got started in scuba diving in 2005 when his youngest daughter decided she wanted to learn to dive. At that time John, his wife Anne, and two of their three daughters got certified. It wasn’t long before he was hooked, getting his advanced certification later that summer. A trip on a Live-aboard in the Bahamas and he knew he wanted to spend more time diving. John really enjoys sharing what he has learned about the sport with others, whether it is discussing features of diving equipment while working in the store, or helping with a class at the pool or quarry.
Certifications
• PADI Divemaster • PADI Master Diver • PADI Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty • PADI Drysuit Specialty • PADI Equipment Specialty • PADI Underwater Digital Photography Specialty • PADI Reef Fish Identification Specialty • Factory Trained Service Technician for Aeris, DiveRite, and Zeagle
With something called Meniere’s disease, Val never even considered diving as an option until she met her husband Chuck, an avid diver and instructor. Chuck slowly and with great patience took Val through her DSD class, OW, and AOW classes, and the rest is history. Today Val is a Divemaster; her single most defining moment was when she could navigate Bainbridge Quarry with a group of students and not get lost! Val really enjoys assisting the instructors in working with new divers, her favorite class though, is the AOW, but watch out Val always plays Tic Tac Toe to win!
John was SCUBA certified off the coast of MA in early May of 1998. After moving back to Harrisburg, John started diving regularly at Bainbridge Scuba Center in the summer of 2001.
Chuck is what is known as a “late bloomer” when it comes to diving. He got his first certification as an open water diver in 2000 at the age of 45. But that didn’t stop him from jumping in with both feet. He followed that with a list of PADI certifications that include Advanced Open Water, Rescue, Search and Recovery, Enriched Air, Equipment Specialist, Dry Suit, Deep, Underwater Navigation, Night, Ice and Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver Specialties. Chuck earned his first PADI professional certification in 2003 when he became a Divemaster. Not quite finished, he went on the complete his Master Diver certification in 2005. Chuck became a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor in 2008 and enjoys opening the underwater world to other people.
Ron Hivner, Shop Associate
Ron took a Discover Scuba class in St. Lucia and tried Snuba in Barbados. He loved being under the water and decided that he wanted to get certified. Ron completed his Open Water Certification in July 2009.
Kris completed his Open Water certification with Divers Descent in April of 2006. He has been around the dive shop since it has opened back in 2003. You can find him around the dive shop or out enjoying dives on Saturday and Sundays at Bainbridge. Currently he is working on his Divemaster Certification.
Lee completed his OW certification at a small quarry in central Ohio in 1988 as preparation for a field study program in San Salvador in the Bahamas. His love of the water and travel has provided many unique diving opportunities in places like Lake Superior, Florida Keys, Caymans, USVI, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos and Wisconsin quarries in addition to the local quarries here in PA.
Certified at the age of 12, Kristen has always been in love with any activity involving water. During her college years Kristen did not have the opportunity to dive as much as she'd like to.
With Rob always spent time in and around water from working as a life guard to sailing his small boat he always had an interest in diving but never did anything about it. On a vacation to Hawaii with his family they went snorkeling and it renewed his interest. A friend tried Discover SCUBA and liked it and talked him into taking classes. He started his confined training in the winter of 2004 and has spent as much time underwater as he could since then.
In 1994, Todd and his wife Michele planned a trip to Key West. While there, they went snorkeling on a reef 7 miles off Key West. Todd loved snorkeling; he wanted to be at the bottom swimming with the fish he saw from above. So when they got home, he checked into Scuba Diving. He signed up for the class and was OW certified in 1996, at Bainbridge Quarry. In 1998, a friend invited him go to FL for some Cavern Diving. So he went and took the NSS-CD Cavern Course at Ginnie Springs and fell in love with it. In 2007, he was certified in Enriched Air Nitrox. He took AOW and Rescue Diver in 2008, and completed his Divemaster and Intro to Cave in 2010. He is also interested in becoming trained in Deep, Wreck, Full Cave and Tec Diving.
John got started in scuba diving in 2005 when his youngest daughter decided she wanted to learn to dive. At that time John, his wife Anne, and two of their three daughters got certified. It wasn’t long before he was hooked, getting his advanced certification later that summer. A trip on a Live-aboard in the Bahamas and he knew he wanted to spend more time diving. John really enjoys sharing what he has learned about the sport with others, whether it is discussing features of diving equipment while working in the store, or helping with a class at the pool or quarry.