The New Horizons Staff

We are a diverse group of diving professionals with a wide variety of experiences and interests. Meet us:

Neil McEachin: Co-owner & Instructor
Neil is a Course Director, the highest level attainable in the PADI organization. He has extensive diving experience all over the world, and he has taught hundreds of people everything from beginnner to instructor level courses.

Justin Byall: Instructor
Justin has been teaching diving for almost ten years. He often helps with the UK scuba course, and he teaches a wide variety of classes locally during the summer.

Greg Snowden: Instructor
Greg is a Paramedic by profession, and when he is not on the watch to save lives, he enjoys being under water or off road. His scuba background is extensive, including full (deep) trimix training in the Florida Keys. He is also a founding member of the Madison County Rescue Squad Dive Team.

Ed Gabe: Instructor & Equipment Technician
Ed is an instructor with both Global Underwater Explorers and PADI. Ed has been diving since 1991. He teaches a wide variety of courses, and he does the majority of the equipment service and repair work for New Horizons’ customers. He also teaches CPR and First Aid. His fun dives are often focused on the caves of Florida and Mexico, and he will be doing a lot of deep trimix diving in south Florida this year. Click here to visit Ed’s website.

Johnny Varner: Instructor
Johnny is a botanist with an environmental consulting company, and he occasionally gets to dive for work! When he is not in the field looking for endangered species, Johnny enjoys teaching others to dive. His experience is broad, from deep trimix dives in Florida caves, to warm Caribbean reefs.

Stephen Young: Instructor
Stephen learned to dive in 1978, and he has traveled the globe extensively in his scuba pursuits. After serving as a Divemaster for several years, he became a PADI Instructor in 2006. Stephen enjoys underwater photography and videography, particularly in places like Bonaire where he has led several trips. He is a member of Global Underwater Explorers (GUE), and plans on continuing his own scuba education with GUE in the near future.

Dan O’Canna: Instructor
In Memory of Dan: click here

Clare McEachin: Shop Staff
Clare was introduced to scuba by her brother Neil, and since then, she has been around the world to visit some of the most exotic dive destinations. She leads an annual summer trip to one of our favorite places: the Little Cayman Beach Resort. And she is often working in the store, helping others to get into this great sport.

Mike Sullivan: Divemaster & Shop Staff
When Mike retired from a successful career in engineering, he immediately drove his energy into helping others enjoy scuba diving! Mike assists with numerous classes, and you can often find him working in the store. He is a PSI Certified Tank Inspector, and he can help you with all the latest scuba gadgets on the market.

Nicole Nelson: Divemaster & Shop Staff
Nicole is not only a member of our scuba team, she is also a trained forest fire fighter, and she is working on her master’s degree in teaching. Hailing from Wyoming, she was originally introduced to scuba in deep, hot springs and cold mountain lakes!

Matthew Skaggs: Divemaster & Shop Staff
Matthew started his scuba training at the University of Kentucky in 2004. His certification dives were done in the Bahamas, and he has been hooked ever since! Matt loves to assist with scuba classes, and he is a great staff member to talk with about equipment choices.

Doug Spaulding: Divemaster
One of our longest-term, most loyal Divemasters, Doug never hesitates to jump in the water. Often on weeknights, you will find him conducting Scuba Review sessions for divers who want a skills refresher. Doug particularly enjoys wreck and reef diving.

Maryanne O’Canna: Divemaster
Maryanne enjoys sharing her love of the underwater world by helping with classes, offering assistance on trips, and by serving as the Secretary of the Bluegrass Dive Club.

Steve & Tamara Williams: Divemasters
Steve and Tamara are our dive travel addicts! Their calendar always has something interesting on the horizon. If you want great information about Caribbean cruise ship trips and all the cool scuba locations, these are the two to talk with!

Jeff (L) and Chris (R) Disponette: Divemasters
This terrible twosome is responsible for helping (challenging) many students during their Advanced Open Water and Rescue classes. No watery environment is too tough for the Disponette brothers. They take pride in operating their side business: Bluegrass Underwater Recovery Professionals. If it is lost underwater, these are the guys to call for help.

Cinch: Store Manager & Greeter Extraordinaire
Come in to New Horizons and within a few seconds you will see that I am in charge. I am customer-service driven, so I will immediately give you the opportunity to rub my belly. In addition to our many quality scuba products, I can also show you some cool canine toys. By the way, are you going to eat all of that hamburger?