16. February 2012 by KVaughn.

        Another Excellent Opportunity For Exposure!

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16. February 2012 by KVaughn.

Congratulations To All Past S.T.A.R.S. Volunteers That

Participated To Achieve This Prestigious Award!

This is a tribute to the dedicated work by ALL,

and no one person among us!

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14. February 2012 by KVaughn.

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

— Winston Churchill

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16. December 2011 by KVaughn.

Kevin pictured with Laurie Trudel at 2011 CASA Christmas Party on December 16th

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14. November 2011 by KVaughn.

DEMA 2011 in Orlando, Florida was the site of an aggressive 2.5 day strategy by Kevin to refresh his skills, gain product/service updates, and touch base with many S.T.A.R.S. supporters in the dive industry.  Kevin felt very fortunate to meet with Margo & Tom Peyton of Kids Sea Camp, Sage Dalton from Teens4Oceans, PADI, Brian Been from Turks & Caicos Tourism, Rogest, Bill Mitchell at Oceanic, Scuba Max, and Christian Ambrosi and Sandra Ullrich from Ocean Encounters in Curacao in addition to attending many exciting destination seminars.  Many seeds were planted that should blossom in the coming year for S.T.A.R.S.

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12. August 2011 by MSchirmacher.

The annual S.T.A.R.S. International Night Dive is fast approaching. The dives are scheduled for August 19th & 20th. All staff members or previous S.T.A.R.S. graduates who have the Night Diver specialty are welcome to join. Please see the Event Status page for details.

***Please note that it is highly recommended that you bring your own lights. There are only a few spare alternate lights available and these will be available on a first come, first served basis only.

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3. August 2011 by MSchirmacher.

The July newsletter has been posted to the Newsletter Archives page. You can view this issue by clicking here or visiting the archives page.

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23. July 2011 by KVaughn.

None of the “Magic” is possible without the heart and soul of the many dedicated volunteers who founded and run S.T.A.R.S. International.  Every volunteer unselfishly gives up extensive personal time and comfort to put themselves out there to improve the futures of our youth.  Even with the potential risks to their personal safety ever present, this family of volunteers grows deeps bonds with each youth, sometimes equaling parents/guardians.  I want to personally thank all of the 2011 Kenosha S.T.A.R.S. volunteers and all founding members who have molded the program into what it is today and tomorrow.  A “Special Thanks” to Mark (a master instructor and juggler) for his faithful promotion, mentoring, and perseverance with our participants during our scuba training in his second year serving the program. I can only hope that the water finally drains from my ears before our next weekend of training!

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21. July 2011 by KVaughn.

The kids gave it their all to achieve their second advanced certification yesterday (PADI Underwater Navigation Specialty) and eagerly dove in today to begin their PADI Search & Recovery Specialty.

Both individual and team perseverance is blatantly obvious as the group is completing 5 hours of diving daily this week in the near 100 degree heat.  This does not include the 3 hours of commuting and several hours of reading preparation for the next day of diving.  At the lake the verbal feedback from the kids has spoken reams about the personal transition that each participant is undergoing this week.  Each youth is growing outside of their comfort zone and personal energy limitations.

Special thanks to all of the S.T.A.R.S. staff who have given their valuable personal time to ensure the success of this week’s event.  Friday we search again for the light at the end of the tunnel and reach a week of not less than 20 dives.  The photos on the website (posted daily) tell only a small piece of the story of S.T.A.R.S. creating tomorrow’s “Guardians of the Sea”.

Thanks for reading…. we miss all who could not attend!

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19. July 2011 by KVaughn.

Another sun-filled scorching day greeted the S.T.A.R.S. International divers at Pearl Lake!  Students flawlessly completed their final Open Water dive and the associated skills under the watchful eyes Divemaster Ana and Instructors Mark & Kev.  Divers reviewed the academics for both their Wreck diving and Peak Performance adventure dives before immersing into the refreshing lake.

The highlight of the day was preparation for the Navigation Specialty certification dives planned for Wednesday.  As a collateral achievement participants completed the second of three required dives for a new S.T.A.R.S. distinctive specialty dubbed “Puke Penetration”.  This unique certification is designed to provide divers with buoyancy and navigation confidence as they circumvent low visibility puke clouds left from fellow divers.  Good luck in advance to Puke Diver #3.

Could things get better… we are encouraged by the return and early success of four former graduates (Jessie, Claudet, Jorge, and Rango (aka Sebastian) who have returned with new personal goals for S.T.A.R.S.  We are missing many of our established S.T.A.R.S. staff who have typically brought a “Smile” to this annual week of operations.  Stay tuned for ANY THING to come!!!

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