Stay-Focused conducts eleventh program!

This was our largest group to date, including the dad and twin brother of one of the participants, our first Stay-Focused mentor, a medical doctor, two coaches and an intern. We also certified our first three divers who have cerebral palsy. It was an amazing trip

The Stay-Focused Experience

The seven participants who were certified on this trip are: Colbie Bratlie, Hannah McFadden, Gerry and Gwena Herman, Jill Ratliff, and Andrew and Justin Strafuss.

Leading the Program

Joining the group were: Roger Muller, Founder / President of Stay-Focused, Richard Smart, Program Manager / Diving Instructor, JenFu Cheng, Stay-Focused Medical Advisor, Marty Banks, Diving Instructor, Tony Chisholm, Diving Instructor, Kayla Rhodes, our fifth Stay-Focused intern, Ryan Chalmers, our first Stay-Focused mentor, who did an excellent job, and Ben Strafuss, father of Andrew and Justin.

Also, many thanks to Stay-Focused videographer, Chris Brandson, for his ongoing support in capturing the fun and magic of all our trips.

And what’s a dive trip without a trip to Burger King?

Responsibility Code

As part of each trip, we either create or re-visit our Responsibility Code, which simply outlines the rules of conduct we all agree to abide by during our time together. Here’s what the group agreed to:

• Work together
• Be nice to one another
• Dive safely
• Take care of your own equipment
• Listen to instructors
• Be on time
• Ask for assistance when needed
• Have fun!

To a person, this group did a great job adhering to the code they agreed on. Congratulations!

Roger Muller, Founder/President

DIVER

On each trip we also contemplate the acronym DIVER as it pertains to our experience as a group and assign words to each letter. Here are the words chosen by the group:

As competitive athletes, all the divers were driven to succeed from the beginning and they did so exceptionally well. This group had a lot of fun and was intense in pursuing that agenda. They took me by surprise with the word vivacious but, hey, this was a lively group. I’m delighted the group found the experience empowering, as indeed it is meant to be for each person. And rewarding – in so many ways!

Ambassadors of the Environment

Thanks to generous support provided by Denise Naguib and the Ambassadors of the Environment program at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, the group participated in a workshop on the marine environment hosted by Mike Naugle. Mike also made good use of the abundant sunshine in Cayman by baking solar cookies for the group.



In an e-mail from Colbie Bratlie following the visit, Colbie comments: “I remember Mike and his sun baked cookies!! I learned a lot of things from Mike. I learned about all the different animals that live in the sand, about fish we saw on our dives and about better ways to conserve water.”

Boatswain’s Beach – Cayman Turtle Farm

Many thanks to Ken Hydes and the staff at Boatswain’s Beach for again hosting a Stay-Focused visit.



In addition to spending time with turtles and enjoying the park, our group witnessed the first two dive instructors (Stay-Focused instructors Marty Banks and Tony Chisholm) diving in the Predator tank!