news-record.com

Grant Dawson , president of Greensboro Scuba School, has been diving since age 13.

It all started while he was living in California and created a little business cleaning boats to make some spending money. One day a guy came around the marina with a scuba tank and mentioned to Dawson that scuba equipment would make it easier for him to clean under the boats.

A scuba diver was born.

“I’ve always enjoyed being on and in the water,” Dawson said. “Under water, for me, is just a natural place to be.”

He got certified a bit later and did some rescue diving. He attended Western Carolina and Baldwin-Wallace College, where he studied marine biology, until he had the opportunity to do marine research in Maine.

He moved to the Caribbean for a few years to do research before working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Undersea Lab for a few years in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He also was a research diver for the Smithsonian Institution.

He eventually made his way to North Carolina, where his father was a doctor. Dawson worked for Konica Manufacturing for 10 years before eventually going into medical practice administration.

Though his career took a turn away from water, he was never far from it, diving whenever he could during his free time.

In 2001, he and his wife Judy , whom he met while on a diving trip in the Caribbean, started Greensboro Scuba School. A diver since the 1970s, Judy Dawson worked as a CPA and was a YMCA assistant scuba instructor .

They started the business, which offers diving instruction, equipment, travel, a charter business and air fills and rental, in the old Browns Summit Post Office in downtown Browns Summit. They began to outgrow the tiny space after about five years and started seeking a new home for their business. They eventually bought a house and two acres of land on Browns Summit Road, which they successfully petitioned to be rezoned for business.

Grant is a Professional Association of Dive Instructors master scuba diver trainer and U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain. Judy is a PADI divemaster. They offer classroom instruction at their offices, and the pool training is done at the Bryan YMCA in Greensboro. The couple hope to eventually build an indoor pool at their Browns Summit location.

Courses, offered year-round, range from discovery and beginner classes to professional offerings. For information on Greensboro Scuba School, call 656-7856 or go to www.greensboroscuba.com.

Contact Jennifer Atkins Brown at 574-5582 or jennifer.brown@news-record.com.