About

Lake Superior Divers Supply and School

About Our Company

Lake Superior Divers Supply and School was founded in 1956 by Donald Van Nispen, a master diver and instructor with a passion for teaching and a heart for adventure. Don certified thousands of area divers. He was also involved with the Douglas and St Louis County Rescue Teams. He had extensive experience in commercial diving, boat and equipment repair, and underwater construction and demolition.

He'll be missed dearly by his family, friends, co-workers, and customers. The family sends out a special thanks to Nurses That Care and St. Mary’s Hospice for all their wonderful care. Don's smiling face and diving expertise will be forever missed by those who knew and respected him.

MEET OUR TEAM

Joe Cheetham

Joe Cheetham, a master dive instructor, is trained in instructing specialties such as ice diving, nitrox, deep water, search and recovery, navigation, night diving, underwater photography, and wreck diving. He has spent the last 21 years teaching students at various levels of certification, from open water diver to divemaster. Joe loves diving in Lake Superior at any time of the year, but he occasionally dives into the warmer waters as well, including Roatan, Honduras, Mexico, Washington, and Florida.

Nancy Rochon

Nancy has worked for the Lake Superior Divers Supply and School for over ten years. She's a certified advanced diver and repair technician for Scubapro equipment. Most of Nancy's time is spent selling equipment, serving our customers, and keeping things running smoothly. Nancy enjoys diving with sharks in Roatan's warm waters!

Tammy Klejeski

Tammy has been a certified diver since 2007. A Divemaster for three years and recently became a Certified Instructor. Tammy has experience diving in Cozumel, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras, Florida, Lake Superior, and our local inland lakes.

Jeanine VanNispen

Jeanine has been a certified diver since 1984 and is currently an Advanced Diver. Her diving experience includes the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Cozumel in Mexico, and local inland diving in Minnesota.

Paul Makynen

Paul Makynen has been certified since 1998 and has been on the staff of Lake Superior Divers Supply and School as an instructor since 2001. Paul's current certification is as a master scuba diver trainer. Paul trains students in boat, deep, dry suit, night, wreck, drift, underwater navigation, and search and recover diving. He is also involved in conservation, coral reef, peak performance buoyancy, and Project Aware. Paul is a certified regulator repair technician for ScubaPro equipment. When it comes to actual diving experience, he's got a diverse background, diving in Lake Superior, Honduras, Fiji, Florida, Costa Rica, and more.