Fully Immersed
Tom Leaird of Leairds Underwater Service Knows Scuba Diving
Writer & Photographer / Kylee White
Tom Leaird, owner of Leairds Underwater Service, has had his fair share of experience in the scuba industry. Having started in 1961, Leaird has been diving for more than 60 years.
It goes back to the early TV show Sea Hunt, he says. I was an avid fan.
In 1969 the YMCA scuba program came to Muncie and Leaird decided to join. It had a couple pictures of guys jumping in the water, and I had immediately signed up, thinking that was a really exciting thing to get into, he says.
Leaird has been diving since he was around 22. Since then, he has been involved with scuba in several different ways.
When I was initially a diver, the local instructor in 1969 retired and the aquatic director of the YMCA asked if I would be interested in becoming a director of the institute, Leaird says. Thats what I did.
In 1969 and 1970 Leaird became an instructor for the local scuba program, and was asked to head over to Indianapolis and assist with running the institute for new scuba directors. Later he was asked to serve as the commissioner of the YMCAs scuba program for Midwest states in the 1970s. In the 1980s he was asked to resign from that position in order to serve on the national advisory committee.
In 2008 I had received a call saying that the plans were to sunset the program in support of the scuba program for the YMCA, he says. They had asked if I wanted to do anything about that and I just couldnt see that program going away. I brought the program from Chicago to Muncie and got it going. We created Scuba Educators International and continued the program that way.
Ever since taking over the program, Leaird and the business have grown. Leairds Underwater Service offers training and classes for those wanting to get certified in scuba diving. Leaird is the director of education and standards for Scuba Educators International (SEI). They have been able to station instructors in 32 states and in 29 different countries including Milan, Italy, and Seoul, South Korea.
It was tough initially because we werent well-known in the scuba industry, Leaird says. He ended up purchasing Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC), which is another institution for scuba education. In doing this, Leaird has made it easier for SEIs name to be recognized. I purchased PDIC international, which has helped a lot, he says. Today, when we certify a scuba student, the card they get has both logos – Scuba Educators and PDIC international.
Students who want to start the basic training for scuba diving have to dedicate around 28 to 32 hours of their time to a seven-course class, in which they will do basic scuba exercises and get comfortable with scuba equipment. Along with holding classes at the local store, Leairds Underwater Service works alongside a few different companies.
We have entry-level scuba going with YMCA, but we also teach scuba programs at Ball State University, where its possible to get a scuba minor, Leaird says. That can apply to fisheries and public safety, and aquatics and so forth. Out of those classes, we end up with scuba interns that help out at the store.
Leairds company is starting scuba classes with places such as Yorktown High School, Pendleton Heights High School, the YMCA in New Castle and the Cole Center Family YMCA in Kendallville, as well as hosting a program for nine summer sessions at Camp Crosley.
To learn more about Leairds Underwater Service, you can visit their website at leaird-scuba.com, or call 765-288-8144. Visit their shop at 1623 West Jackson Street in Muncie.
