International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Local Honourees

Dan Tibbetts was the son of the late Linton and Polly Tibbetts. He grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida but he cherished his Caymanian heritage from an early age and when he wasn’t living in the Islands, he visited often. He attended Stetson University where he studied business and then went to work at his father’s lumber company, Cox Lumber. In the early 1990s, he began focusing his efforts on developing a dive resort in Little Cayman. 
 
Mr. Tibbetts completed the Little Cayman Beach Resort in 1993 and launched Reef Divers, a valet dive operation on both Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.  Over the course of his career, he also built the Conch Club Condominiums and The Club Condominiums in Little Cayman, Lakeshore Villas in Grand Cayman and numerous other building projects on all three islands.  He acquired Bob Soto’s Diving in the early 2000s and expanded the operation, but the fleet was devastated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and he decided to refocus his efforts in the Sister Islands.  Dan passed away at the age of 52 in 2006.  He was survived by his children, Michael Tibbetts, Emily Tibbetts, Allenbach and Jessica Tibbetts Buchanan, who have continued their father’s legacy by expanding resort operations across all three Islands. 

Darryl Bud Walton Jr., was born at Faith Hospital, Cayman Brac on 7 December, 1987. He completed his primary education at Spot Bay Primary School and secondary education at Layman E. Scott Snr. High School (formerly known as Cayman Brac High School). During high school, he fell in love with the watersports option available through the school’s vocational programme. He used the opportunity to become certified and went on to gain employment at Divi Tiara Beach Resort, climbing to the qualification of Dive Master.
 
BJ as he is affectionately known, is the only remaining "true" Caymanian; Bracker to be more specific, serving at any rank in the Sister Islands’ dive industry. His greatest asset is his personality. He just loves people and will go out of his way to help them. He has even taken visitors on island tours to show off Cayman Brac. He has excelled in his chosen career and is the epitome of Caymankind.
 
BJ worked at the Divi Tiara Beach Resort from 2003 - 2006 until its closure and was hired by Reef Divers where he is currently employed. He not only dives, he also repairs dive moorings and dive boats, assists with lionfish culls, participates in turtle releases, annual turtle sea swims and various community events. He is certified by PADI and has passed several dive courses offered through his work. He has been honoured twice during the Heroes Day celebrations.