Hold on, guys, we're about to get real weepy.
All eras must come to an end to make way for the next, and that time has finally come for Team RD as well. We have been very fortunate to be able to just add to the team but have no major turnover the last three years (a feat in the diving industry!), but the time has now come for a few of our longtime staff members to move on to other opportunities.
Mitch, Lauren and Stef will all be leaving in a few weeks to seek new adventures. It has been a privilege to watch all of them grow as professionals and as people, and to have them play an integral role in the development of Roatan Divers. As a group of people that all live overseas, we have to create our own families, and there will be a certain magic missing from the RD family when they're gone.
Mitch completed his PADI Divemaster with us in July 2015 before joining the team as an instructor that December. He, Alex and Natalia made up our Dream Team - our intrepid instructor team that worked as just the three of them for a long time. They have worked together for so long that they can work like a machine without even talking, and we have always been in awe of their ability to work together so fluidly. Mitch is always dependable, whether it's for work, for a laugh or for a shoulder to cry on.
Lauren started working with us in January 2016 and joined our office staff that October. She has played an enormous role in our online growth, and her enthusiasm, work ethic and Southern charm will be sorely missed. Not only was she a fantastic addition to the instructor team, she also served as Saaya's sanity for a year and a half (Karl thanks you for that, Lauren), and her absence from the office and the water will leave a big space that will be difficult to fill.
Finally, we have been working with Stef on and off for the last few months, but asked her to join us full time for her last month here. Though our time with her was the shortest, she seamlessly rounded out the team with her hard work and good humor, and we will miss our Panda Bear and her laughs.
Team RD (clockwise from left) - Victor, Mitch, Mike, Russ, Kevin, Alex, Cristian, Natalia, Lauren, Stef, Suzanne and Rosie
As these three move on, we still have Natalia, Alex, Suzanne, Russ, Victor, Kevin and Cristian as the familiar RD faces that you know and love.
We have also added some new structure to the company to allow us to serve you even better. We are proud to announce Russ as our operations manager, while Alex and Natalia will be ascending as our senior instructors. We'd also like to welcome our newest instructors to the team, Mike and Rosie. We trained Mike and Rosie in their Divemaster programs, so they're already well versed in the Roatan Divers system and we have no doubt they will carry on the proud RD name.
So to our a little family that's going away - we love you. Thank you for everything that you've done and for loving Roatan Divers the way we do. We hope you have an amazing time making your mark on the world, but that you never forget your people back home.
With love,
Saaya & Karl
