On July 16, 2022 Mermet Springs lost one of the pillars of our facility, Jack Harris.  Jack began diving in June of 2000.  Jack's passion for the sport of diving led him to become a Dive Professional and a Mermet Spring's staff member in the spring of 2004. 

 

Jack was instrumental in all safety aspects of Mermet Springs.  His attention to detail and dedication led him to become a full Open Water Instructor in 2019.  Jack demanded excellence in himself and inspired excellence in others as they pursued the dive professional path.  Jack led by example and kept an unmatched record of diving every single month for more than 20 years straight!

​

Jack was an integral part of Mermet Springs.  His passion for teaching scuba and his vigilant efforts to keep our facility and divers safe was unsurpassed.  He was at home with fill station operations, gas blending, various under and above water maintenance and safety checks, conducted search and recovery operations for lost equipment, acted as safety monitor and performed all associated instructor duties as assigned.   He was the "Jack" of all scuba trades and the master of each.  

​

Jack also had a very prestigious dive career.  He had more than 2500 dives with over 2100 of them at Mermet Springs with the remaining being at various worldwide dive destinations including his two most memorable dive trips to Truk Lagoon.

​

Jack Harris' Dive Career Timeline:

• Open Water Certification - June 25, 2000

• Advanced Open Water - July 30, 2000

• Rescue Diver - April 29, 2001

• Master Scuba Diver - June 30, 2001

• Enriched Air Nitrox Gas Blender - March 28, 2004

• Technical Cave Diver - June 27, 2004

• PSI Cylinder Inspector & Fill Station Operator - March 4, 2006

• SSI Dive Control Specialist - April 17, 2009

• PADI Dive Master - June 5, 2009

• SSI Training Specialist - August 3, 2009

• SSI Assistant Instructor - May 1, 2018

• SSI Open Water Instructor - June 15, 2019

• SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor - June 26, 2019

• Jack also earned the very prestigious SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Award in 2021

 

Jack loved nothing more than to share his knowledge and skills with divers and, even more, new dive professionals.  In fact the only thing Jack loved more than diving was his beloved family, his wife Peggy and his two sons Jeff and Jon.  Jack's family has asked us to establish this Memorial fund in honor of Jack to help those with the same passion to be able to pursue and achieve a career as a Dive Professional