ISR Michiana
Bev Buysse b.buysse@infantswim.com
Certified ISR Instructor 727-773-5675
Our Mission:
Not one more child drowns!
A little about your instructor.
I started swimming competitively at the age of 5 and did so until I was out of college, so I've never known what it is like not to be able to swim. I started teaching swimming at the age of 15 and did this throughout high school and college and on & off throughout my entire life. After college, I joined the U.S. Coast Guard so I could do something different on the water and guess what my first job in the Coast Guard was... teaching swimming. That lasted one year, before I went on to become a coxswain (small boat driver) and doing Search and Rescue for the next 10 years. During that time I had the unfortunate experience of responding to numerous drownings. The first one, I can remember thinking, this is so tragic, why couldn't this child swim? He was 10. It had never really occurred to me that there were children who could not swim. Mainly, because while I was growing up, all of my friends could swim!
I went on to retire from the Coast Guard. I then worked for 10 years as the Assistant Harbormaster in Clearwater, FL where I also over saw the Beach Safety Program. After leaving that job I became the Executive Director of the Clearwater Community Sailing Center overseeing numerous youth and adult sailing programs. As well as my full time job, I formed my own company that organized and hosted open water swims and triathlons.
In my spare time, I trained for and competed in triathlons of all distances, from sprint to full Ironman distance triathlons, with my final tri being the World Championship Triathlon in Hawaii in 2008 (my personal pinnacle). I competed in national championships at every distance and in over 200 triathlons all over the country.
I have also been the swim course and water safety coordinator for some of the most prestigious triathlons in the country such as the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, FL. and St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, FL. I also coordinated the on-water safety for the Superboat Championships in Clearwater, FL.
Do you see the theme? I have been promoting water safety in one form or another my entire life. I love the water, and I want everyone to enjoy and be safe in, on and around the water! Learning water safety as soon as possible and early in life is important and it may save your life or your little one's life.
"If you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life." I can't say I've never worked a day in my life, but I can say I haven't worked many. I have always been fortunate to be doing something interesting that I liked and in an environment I enjoyed. Now, I have a true passion for teaching Infant Swim Resource's Self-Rescue TM swim lessons. I saved the best job for my last!!