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Ronald Crawford Surfaces!

10. March 2012 by KVaughn.

From what many divers would perceive as the “ultimate deep dive”, Ronald Crawford (now 21 years old in January) has surfaced after 4 years to reflect upon the value of his S.T.A.R.S. training. Ronald, a very noteworthy 2008 S.T.A.R.S. graduate, was recently adopted by a loving family from Elgin, IL and is now both attending Waubonsee Community College and employed with Automated Professional Marketing, Inc. as a successful Telemarketer. During an interview he requested with me to develop a college presentation on March 10^th, Ronald elaborated on how much the S.T.A.R.S program changed and matured him into the man he is today. He rattled off list of S.T.A.R.S. staff members that he still holds dear to his heart who mentored him through his darkest days. He has turned into the man that we all dreamed he would become, using his premier “Ronald smile”, his love for talking on the phone, and his gift of gab to make a living. Ronald expressed his serious desire to become a PADI Divemaster in 2012, and his wish to return to the program as a staff member, potentially focused on past graduate retention and activities. I hope for his sake that we can fulfill that dream and keep S.T.A.R.S. alive to see his future contributions! Ronald is yet another true success story for the program. Good luck my friend, we love ya man!

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Surfs Up Ana!

6. March 2012 by KVaughn.

Surfing was an experience that really got my heart racing! To try-out surfing for the first time was more exciting than scary. In comparison to scuba diving, the wetsuit feels the same, but just a little bit less restrictive. The water temperature in the Pacific Ocean was a chilly 70 degrees or less. However, due to all of the excitement it didn’t really detract from the experience. The first 10 waves took me totally by surprise and soon I was exhausted from letting the waves get the better of me. Soon I decided to observe other surfers a little bit more to see how they were mounting their boards in the challenging waves. After watching for a few more minutes I decided to try again, and this time I got up right away. The trick I found was to be able to get on my knees for a few seconds then stand up on the board which took me 3-4 attempts. During the minutes of each run standing on the surf board made me feel like I could really walk on water. Although it was a really difficult it was neat experience and something I would totally do again if I ever lived close to an ocean with suitable waves.

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S.T.A.R.S. International Leadership Meeting

5. March 2012 by KVaughn.

March 4, 2012. S.T.A.R.S. President and Chairman Ismael Torres met with Mitch Brandt and Kevin Vaughn in Schiller Park, IL to review the fragile status of the corporation. The dialog of the meeting can only be summarized as non-confrontational, forthcoming, and encouraging. “Expectations are high” and only time will tell if the 8.5 year old S.T.A.R.S. International can be set into motion again in the next few weeks/months if “Action” and “Support” can accompany “Desire”. As Founder, reigniting S.T.A.R.S. International to serve youth now and in the future is but only 1 of 3 things left on my personal bucket list, and I will make every effort to support Ismael’s current plan. Despite the problems of the recent past, I stand by my strong personal belief that like anything this badly broken, it can be much stronger and more resilient once it is fixed. In conclusion, it takes an extreme level of perseverance to make a mistake, accept your oversight and the vulnerability, and turn around with more determination than ever before to make something successful again! Stay tuned, the current is shifting…

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Insightful Quotes – Week of February 26th

27. February 2012 by KVaughn.

“Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.”

-– Oprah Winfrey

“The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.”
— Arnold Palmer

“Don’t miss the magic of the moment by focusing on what’s to come.”
— Life’s Little Instruction Book

“People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”

-– Leonardo Da Vinci

“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”

— Winston Churchill

“Trust is the glue in relationships, organizations, and dive buddies.”

— Stephen Covey (with a little help from Kevin)

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Early 2012 Equipment & Cash Donations

27. February 2012 by KVaughn.

Greetings! The first quarter of 2012 has been very fruitful for S.T.A.R.S. International despite the recent organizational struggles. Beginning this year I will recognize all known donors for their very generous contributions as they occur.

Michael W. White (Charlotte, NC)      $5,760 - Cash

Mark A. Aiello (Joliet, IL)                        $1,440 - Cash

Amy Powers (Indianapolis, IN)             $1,440 - Cash

Jaime J. Vallejo (Dallas, TX)                   $55 - Cash

George Ferguson (Evanston, IL)           $35 - Equipment

Matthew Ploscik (Oakland, CA)           $95 - Equipment

Special Thanks To All Of These Individuals And Our Past Donors For Keeping The Dream Alive!

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Ana Medina Attends CAA’s 100th Annual Conference

24. February 2012 by KVaughn.

There are few of us which still hold near and dear to our heart the countless hours spent to propel one struggling Elgin Middle School student in 2006 to the ranks of a driven college student in 2012. Following her high school graduation, exceptional grades earned Ana Lilia Medina a college scholarship from Illinois College where she is currently striving to graduate early with a double major in Business and Art. A double major while; holding down a part-time job (required by her scholarship), participating in track & field, and sustaining a grueling 19 credit hour course load. Thus far Ana’s grades have been OUTSTANDING and she continues to amaze me weekly despite her various challenges. I am extremely pleased to announce that this week Ana is participating in the 100th “College Art Association” conference being held in Los Angeles, CA. The trip encompassed Ana’s second time traveling by airline, and it has involved Art, Excitement, and MUCH lively debate as she explained via phone last night. The annual conference brings together over 5,000 artists, art historians, students, educators, critics, curators, collectors, librarians, gallerists, and other professionals in the visual arts field. This is truly a precedent setting event for Ana, and as she explained last night it reminds her of “The Our World Underwater” of Art. [Note: This is the annual Midwest scuba diving convention]

Personal thanks is broadcast to all those who helped Ann participate in this incredible trip and whom have continued to be in her corner!!! I and her parents are proud to say “That’s my girl!” I urge you to take a moment to commend her on her continued success by dropping her an e-mail at; medina.ana@mail.ic.edu. Thanks for taking the time to read up on Ana and enjoy your day.

And Ann wonders why she is exhausted!