Ford Turner

Prior to getting certified, I knew that diving was going to be a big part of my life, with Steve Arrington being one of my primary motivations to join the dive industry. He showed me how diving allowed him to get his life back after he went through tough times. I started diving at the age of 15, and at that moment, I truly understood everything that Steve had ever told me. His story resonated with me and made me want to help others find this inner peace that diving brings.

After 10 years of diving I decided that I wanted to own my own dive shop. In 2010, I had the opportunity to do just that. After Wayne Mitchell passed, his business partner put the dive shop up for sale and I took that chance to make my dream come true. I loved introducing people to the world of diving. I became an instructor in 2011. Since then, I have been privileged to be in the water teaching almost every day. I have also had the opportunity to train dive teams for the Military, Police Departments, and fire Departments. Then in 2018 I became an Instructor Trainer because I wanted to be able to make a bigger difference.

I have been fortunate enough to be certified through different agencies through my diving career, which has made me a very well rounded diver. I feel like my background through different agencies helps me be the best diver and instructor that I can be. I have seen how several of the agencies work and would like to bring my knowledge and ability with me to Scuba Educators International.

With my experience from both sides of the table, I beleive that we can develop SEI and form a great working relationship between the agency, dive leader, and diveshop ownwers.