Al Tillman Receives Conrad Limbaugh Award
Al Tillman, the prominent pioneer of scuba diving instruction, received the Conrad Limbaugh Award, which is Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors Association's highest award of achievement in underwater diving instruction. He was honored at the 47th Underwater Instructor Certification Course Graduation and Awards Banquet held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Pictured with him is Zale Parry , lifelong friend of Al and a pioneer woman diver who introduced him. She and Al created the International Underwater Film Festivals in 1957. Al and Zale's achievements go on and on and are best seen in Al Tillman's famous book, I Thought I Saw Atlantis, published by Whalestooth Farm Publications, Olga, WA 98279.
Greg Mackay has been named the DAN/Rolex 2000 Diver of the Year. This distinguished award honors an individual with an excellent record of public service in scuba diving, and who is also a strong advocate of DAN and scuba diving safety. The award includes a plaque and a specially engraved Rolex Submariner Watch.
Walter Fischer, President and CEO of Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc., said he was delighted with the selection of Mackay. "We are pleased to join Divers Alert Network in recognizing Greg Mackay and his achievements," Fischer said. "For more than 20 years, Mackay and his business Pro Dive® have contributed immeasurably to diving, by training divers and dive instructors and thus making the sport safer."
Dr. Peter B. Bennett, DAN's founder, president and CEO, also praised the selection of Mackay. "We at DAN are delighted to recognize Greg Mackay's contribution and his strong advocacy for dive safety and DAN," Bennett said. "Mr. Mackay and Pro Dive® have contributed greatly to dive accident emergency awareness. The fact that he incorporated DAN's training programs, especially the DAN Oxygen First Aid For Scuba Diving Injuries Instructor Course which he made mandatory in Pro Dive training, underscored his commitment to dive safety and to DAN."
In establishing Pro Dive® in 1975, Mackay soon identified the need to link dive safety and education to an instructor's knowledge and training. Pro Dive®, a scuba training facility, a Silver Sponsor of DAN and a DAN Partner in Dive Safety, has trained more DAN Oxygen Instructors than any other facility. It has trained nearly 3,000 dive Instructors since 1986. In September 1999, Pro Dive became a data collection center for Project Dive Exploration, DAN's multiyear research effort to gather dive profiles and analyze them.
Pro Dive®, a tireless promoter of DAN, uses DAN equipment and products, including videotapes for certification classes.
The most significant contribution of Mackay lives on in the instructors he taught. Pro Dive graduates in about any dive port of call are not only recognized good instructors, which they are, they are known for putting diving safety first. This is Mackay's legacy.
The Rolex Submariner timepiece, given each year by Rolex to the Diver of the Year, has been placed in trust for the Mackays' three-year-old son, Connor. Greg Mackay and his wife Loren died in an avalanche near their Park City, Utah home on Jan. 11.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Mackay Family Trust Fund, c/o Wells Fargo Bank, P.O. Box 1658, Park City, Utah 84060.
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium's Education staff and volunteers are on hand every Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to answer questions and involve students of all ages in exploring local marine life in the hands-on Discovery SEA Lab. The marine lab is open with a different theme each week, including using microscopes, examining specimens, creating an art project, delving into books, playing games, exploring the coastal habitats and much more. Live invertebrates, shark teeth, baleen, birds, bones, and shells are among the specimens available for examination.
This afternoon program is free to participants. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is located in San Pedro. Groups are asked to call ahead, (310) 548-7562.
In a worldwide effort to celebrate scuba diving, over 1,937 divers in over 50 locations around globe banned together to break the world's record for the largest group dive at the Second Annual International Dive-In Day.
The 2nd Annual International Dive-In Day 2000 beat last year's record of nearly 1,000 divers thanks to the thousands of divers participating in the more than 50 organized dives across the world. Scuba enthusiasts from around the world, from the chilly waters of Juneau, Alaska to little known diving hot spots such as Fort Wayne, Indiana, took part in this year's event.
Divers throughout the world learned of Dive-In Day through web searches, word-of-mouth, dive organizations and various national and dive trade publications. Also lending a helpful hand took promote Dive-In Day were major "Friends" or sponsors of the Hammerheads, the group that organized the event.
In recognition of National Scuba Month, International Dive-In Day is sponsored by DEMA, Kodak, Sea and Sea Underwater Photography and Marsoops Mask Straps to celebrate scuba diving, an activity enjoyed by 8.5 million Americans.
The Diving Equipment & Marketing Association (DEMA) is a global not-for-profit organization comprised of over one thousand companies and organizations whose mission is to promote sustainable growth in recreational diving and snorkeling through education and training, while protecting the underwater environment.
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation Underwater Instructors Association (UIA) is pleased to announce the launching of their new website located at: www.lascuba.com.
