Tampa Innovation Center

HistoryNeal Hess, Chuck Blakeslee, Jim Auxier, and Al Tillman (NAUI #1) met in August 1960 to discuss and organize NAUI's first Instructor Certification Course (ICC). It was held at the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, Texas on August 22-26. During the six-day course, 72 candidates attended from the U.S. and Canada, but only 53 graduated. The 53 graduates and their staff instructors became the first instructor members of the National Association of Underwater Instructors. The NAUI ICC became the first course to make diver certifications available worldwide and internationally. A year later, the second NAUI ICC was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, under the direction of Ben Davis, NAUI #101. In October 1961, NAUI was incorporated in the State of California as a non-profit educational organization, with Al Tillman as the President and Neal Hess as the Executive Secretary.SpecialtiesNAUI is the largest non-profit membership based training agency and the oldest of the major scuba diving training agencies. NAUI develops training materials for all levels of scuba diving, including recreational diving, technical diving, freediving, and public safety diving.

The Cypress Initiative, operating as The Spark Initiative, offers a range of mentoring programs and resources designed to support schools and organizations in fostering academic success, emotional competency, and social-emotional skills among students. Their evidence-based curricula address risk factors such as high school dropout rates, drug use, bullying, and mental health issues while promoting resilience and healthy relationships. With a focus on age-appropriate content and activities, The Spark Initiative provides in-depth facilitator training, personalized online platforms, and support for both in-person and online training programs. Their team is dedicated to helping students develop the self-sufficiency and resiliency needed to thrive as successful young adults. Generated from the website