Meet Our Divers

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Jay is currently a self-employed business owner. He has served in the Public Safety and Emergency Response fields for over 3 decades. He is a former Tactical Diver for the Fulton County Sheriff’s Dive Team (1996) and Village of Galway Police Dive Team (1997). He has worked with both commercial and volunteer EMS agencies throughout his career. Jay has served in a multitude of capacities in the volunteer fire service as well as volunteer search and rescue teams and EMS. His diving experience ranges from farm ponds to fresh water lakes and rivers as well as the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Jay has previously served our team as Acting Chief, Captain and  Lieutenant. 

 Bert is semi-retired and has owned and operated a variety of power, paddle and sail boats since 1963. He currently owns four powerboats up to sixty five feet in length. Bert is the current President of the Tri-State Emergency Team. In addition to his existing Coast Guard ratings, he is also pursuing USCG Aux Coxswain and ATON qualifications. He has also been a Killington Mountain Ambassador since 2007.

 Mike is a retired Professional Engineer of 33 years. He is a licensed private pilot with an instrument rating. He is both first aid and CPR certified. His diving experience ranges from warm water reef diving at several islands throughout the Caribbean, Florida and North Carolina to deep, dark wrecks off the Atlantic coast and the frigid lakes and quarries of several states in the northeast. Mike has been a member of the Tri-State Emergency Team since 2014 and is the House Chairman responsible for maintaining the Team’s building and property. In addition to flying and diving, Mike is also an avid skier and golfer. 

 Mary is a retired Department of Labor employee of over 30 years. She is both first aid and CPR certified. Her diving experience includes reef diving at several islands throughout the Caribbean to the cold lakes and quarries of the northeast. Mary enjoys underwater photography and has been a member of the Tri-State Emergency Team since 2014. Mary is the current Treasurer for the organization and is responsible for many of the budgetary and administrative needs of the Team. 

 Rick is an MD board certified in Family Medicine. He has been in practice over 24 years and also served in the U.S. Navy. His diving has included coral reefs, kelp forests, drift dives, shipwrecks and cold water lakes. 

 Chris is a Project Manager in the Pharmaceutical and Semi-conductor industry. He is a Volunteer Firefighter in Averill Park, NY. He spent 9 years as an EMT. His diving experience has mostly been in the North East lakes (NY, VT, MA, PA) and oceans (MA, NJ, NC) but has spent time in clearer/warmer waters as well. He is a life-long resident of Rensselaer County and is very familiar with the bodies of water in this area. 

 John is a retired police officer with 32 years of service. During that time, he was a weapons armorer and firearms instructor for his department and the Zone 5 Regional Police Academy. John is a military veteran having served his country in the United States Marine Corps as a Military Police Officer and a member of the Special Reaction Team (SRT). John currently works as a private investigator and, along with his interest in scuba diving, he is an avid fly fisherman, mountain biker and competitive shooter. He is trained in the use of an AED, CPR, basic and wilderness first aid and tactical combat casualty care.  John's scuba certifications include Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Dry Suit Diver and Enriched Air (Nitrox).   Currently, John is the Chief of the Tri-State Emergency Team. 

 Joe is employed as a scientist with the material characterization group at GE Global Research, currently working second shift. He has been diving the waters of New York and surrounding states for the past six years since getting certified, and has traveled to Indonesia, Honduras, California, Florida, and Hawaii and has dove those waters as well. Diving is a passion of his and just about every weekend from mid-March to November, he has made at least one dive in the local area. He is experienced in very low visibility diving (Sacandaga Reservoir) and is very skilled at using the compass underwater. He is also very enthusiastic about photography of shipwrecks and marine life. Mike McNamara is a frequent dive buddy as are other divers on the Tri-State Team. Joe is new to the Tri-State team, joining in 2022. As part of being a rescue diver, Joe is certified in Adult and Child First Aid and CPR. Joe walks vigorously every day, cross country skies in the winter, and frequently bikes to work in spring, summer and fall. Joe is married to Andrea (Andy) and his two adult daughters no longer live at home, but a husky, three cats and numerous pond fish now take up Joe and Andy’s time.