Adventure Dive and Travel

Diving since 1980, Jeff Fafoglia has dived in 24 of the 41 countries he's visited. Jeff is the owner of Adventure Dive &Travel and holds the rank of Master Instructor and Staff IDC Instructor (training new instructors) for 17 specialty courses, as well as being an Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer and an EMT. Jeff also served on the PADI Advisory Board. Among his most memorable dives he includes certifying his brother in Grand Cayman, his first whale shark sighting in the Galapagos, the kelp forest of California, the German U-Boat U352 off North Carolina, the SS Yongala on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and Ras Mohammed in the Egyptian Red Sea. Jeff is one of the tour guides for AD&T's sister company, Lost in Italy, a private pilot, an avid climber and hiker, and also enjoys snowboarding and kitesurfing.

Steve Fafoglia has achieved the rank of Medic First Aid Instructor, Master Scuba Diver Trainer and an instructor for 7 specialty courses since he began diving in 1995. Dive trips have taken him to many warm water locations, including Puerto Rico, Belize, Bonaire, Cozumel, Turks and Caicos, Roatan, Palau, Truk Lagoon and Grand Cayman. Steve loves to recount the night dive in Bonaire when in a matter of seconds he saw a dog snapper inhale a trumpetfish. Several minutes passed before the snapper was able to take that last gulp and swallow the fish's tail. In addition to owning a hardware store, he is a partner in Adventure Dive & Travel and Lost in Italy. His hobbies include karate, aerobics, learning Italian and riding his Harley.

Amber Fafoglia became certified in 2000 on the tropical Dutch island of Curacao. Since then she has earned many specialties, including underwater naturalist and drysuit, which are her favorites. In 2003 Amber earned her Divemaster certification and in 2005 became a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor. She is also the primary swim Instructor for Adventure Swim Club, teaching everything from new swimmers to Red Cross Lifeguards. A few memorable warm water destinations she has dived include the Florida Keys, Panama City Beach, Grand Cayman, Mayan Riviera, Yap, Truk Lagoon, Cozumel, and Palau. Between tropical trips you'll find Amber at one of the many local dive sites. But, she will always be happy to tell you about her favorite dive at Blue Corner in Palau (Micronesia) as she was hooked into the reef watching sharks zing by in the current . Amber works full time at Adventure Dive & Travel and is also an assistant guide for Lost In Italy. When she's not blowing bubbles, Amber enjoys hiking, rock climbing, working out & snow skiing.

Phil Kinsinger...better known as PJ to most of the dive community, has been teaching diving at ADT since 2009. He is considered the "expert" on Cozumel diving, and can often be found in the pool on the weekends leading a pack of Scuba Birthday kids around. In his spare time he's an accomplished musician, with the guitar being his instrument of choice.

Mark Dugger has diving since 1987 and has been to 12 different Caribbean locations, including Roatan, Bonaire, Curacao and Grand Cayman. He has earned 6 specialty ratings and his Master Scuba Diver rating. Mark considers his best dive to be one in Belize, where there were more wild dolphins than he could count and they stayed with the divers for the entire dive. Mark has a degree in Agribusiness Economics from SIU-C and works as the Macoupin County Farm Bureau Manager. In his non-diving time, he enjoys boating and both water and snow skiing.

The New Zealand accent makes John Gee easy to identify among the dive staff. Since he started diving in 1997, John has earned divemaster and four specialty ratings. John has dived in New Zealand, Cozumel and the Bahamas, with the Ginger Bread Grounds on the Grand Bahama Bank his favorite site. He works as a Physical Therapist and has just completed a Master's degree. John is also trained as an Occupational Health Practitioner, Acupuncturist, EMT, Level II ski patroller and Level I avalanche controller. He has also climbed Mt. Changtse (north peak of Mt. Everest) and spent one summer in Antarctica. His many New Zealand climbs include Mt. Cook. In his free time John enjoys competitive rollerblading, triathalons and mountain biking.

John Jordan got his open water and advanced certifications in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1993. Since then he has sought more tropical diving locations like Bimini, Panama, Palau, Costa Rica, Galapagos, Truk Lagoon and Florida. John has since continued his diving education through AD&T, where he has gotten certifications in wreck diving, enriched air and underwater naturalist, to name a few. When John isn't underwater, he is known as Master Sergeant Jordan, a mission systems chief in the Illinois Air National Guard. Although he appreciates the local diving opportunities, John would prefer to dive at his favorite destination, Grand Cayman.

Terry Downing...(also known as T-Rex) was certified in 2004 and hasn't looked back. He has earned certifications in 15 different specialties, and is always looking for new challenges in his diving career. T-Rex is the anchor of the youth diving program, with an enormous amount of expertise in Seal Team, Master Seal Team, and Scuba Birthday Parties. This isn't surprising, considering he has been a grade-school teacher for his entire adult life! Along with teaching diving, T-Rex has racked up an impressive list of dive destinations in his log book...Palau, Cozumel, Galapagos, South Africa, Jamaica, Truk Lagoon, Cancun, Florida, and even Canada! When he's not in the water, Terry is fond of running marathons and watching his son compete at swim meets.

Kirk Laudeman has been certified since 2005, and since then has remained very active in the diving community. Soon after achieving his Divemaster rating in 2009, he joined the ADT training staff and has since become a fixture at our Haigh Quarry training weekends. In his "other life" Kirk is an attorney, which may explain why he enjoys the peace and quiet of the underwater world. Kirk has both his daughter and his son as his dive buddies, and looks forward to many exciting adventures with them underwater in the future.

Mark Miller got the diving bug after listening to his father Nick rave about his dives. Mark was certified in 2001 and soon began spending much of his free time underwater. Achieving his Divemaster rating in 2003, Mark soon joined the staff at AD&T and is now a fixture at local dive sites like Bull Shoals and at many tropical destinations. Mark has been seen on dive boats all over the world, from Palau, Truk Lagoon, and Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America.

Although Kathy O’Hara first explored scuba diving growing up in upstate New York, it wasn’t until she met her future husband, and long-time divemaster, Sean O’Hara that she became hooked. Starting with her Open Water certification in 2005, Kathy dove right in and earned four specialties, and eventually her Divemaster ranking in 2008. You won’t be able to miss Kathy’s enthusiastic laugh and energetic spirit at the Dive Center or at the various local dive sites, including Haigh Quarry where she watched her daughter, Lexi, receive her Open Water certification in 2007. While her favorite Caribbean locales are Curacao and Bonaire, she’s excited about traveling to the Galapagos Islands in 2012. When she’s not underwater, Kathy is the chief financial officer for the Supreme Courts of Illinois.

Steve Longtha has been active in diving since he was certified in 2006. His entire family has followed in his footsteps, and now he can enjoy the company of his wife and all four sons underwater! Steve has been seen on dive boats in both Bonaire and Cozumel. To earn money to keep his family in dive gear, Steve is a lobbyist and can usually be found at the State Capitol, working for his favorite cause.

A stint in the 101st Airborne prepared Terry Farris well for working with dive students during ADT's training weekends, but he's also often seen at dive destinations all over the world. He's explored the reefs off Yap, spent many hours in the famed underwater world of Palau, and has logged Cozumel, Thailand, Honduras and the Philippines in his diving career. Terry is currently planning his ADT trip to the Maldives and India. When not wearing a dive mask, Terry is a IT specialist based in Chicago.

Mike Hoyle was certified in 2006 and has since dived in an amazing number of locations including Cozumel, Bonaire, the Philippines, Grand Cayman, and the Florida Keys. What's even more fun is that he's often diving with one or more of his four sons, who are all certified. When Mike isn't planning another family dive getaway he can be found in the woods hunting or behind his desk in the owner's office at Kwik Wall manufacturing.

Since Scott Oyler was certified in 2008, he's spent more time underwater than a seal and has earned an impressive list of dive certifications, culminating with his Divemaster rating in 2011. Although he loves local diving, he has logged dives in exotic locales like Roatan, Cozumel, and Bonaire.

The summer of 2000 is when Bob Stidham became hooked on diving. Bob has accumulated 9 specialty certifications, earning his Master Diver and Divemaster in 2003. When he's not out diving at a local site, Bob works for Hanson Professional Services as a computer guru and troubleshooter. Bob loves local diving and the Great Lakes shipwrecks, but has enjoyed salt water trips to Panama City Beach, Cozumel, South Carolina, Bimini and the Florida Keys. If Bob isn't diving he loves hitting the open road on his new Harley. Bob's wife Amy is also a diver and they can't wait for their daughter Lauren to be old enough to dive with them.