Rum Runner Dive Shop is staffed by experienced divers in all areas of our operation. We are proud that we can offer the finist training in the area by instructors who are not only SCUBA instructors, but highly educated, multifaceted diving professionals. In fact we see a great value having well rounded individuals with varied diving and life experiences teaching our students and working in our shop.

Pete Wagner, DO, FACC, FACOI, NAUI Master Diver

Shop Owner

Dr. Wagner is a board certified cardiologist and a diver since 1977. His interests are dive medicine and photography. He has extensive experience in pre-hospital emergency care having spent nearly 20 years in the rescue service and has instructed emergency medical technicians, paramedics and physicians. Dr. Wagner is currently working on his NAUI Instructor certification.

Carolyn Wagner, NAUI Advanced Diver

Shop Manager

Carolyn is a Registered Nurse. Her first dive was in 1983 and has been actively diving for the past 7 years. Carolyn's interests are photography and dive travel. She is the mother of four and active in the PTA as well as the Pitt County Guardian Ad Litem program.

Thom Skalko, PhD

NAUI Instructor and Instructor Trainer

Dr. Skalko has been a diver since 1978 and is a NAUI Course Director and Instructor Trainer. Thom is a professional educator and is professor at East Carolina University. He is an avid underwater hunter and photographer and is also an expert in working with persons with disabilities. His certifications include Advanced Diving Rescue, Dive Master, Tri-Mix Diver, Decompression and Extended Range Nitrox Diver as well as First Aid and CPR Instructor. Dr Skalko is also an instructor with the Handicapped Scuba Association. His unique combination of knowledge and experience enhances the instructional process for students with varying abilities. Dr. Skalko also serves as a member of ECU's Diving and Water Safety Control Board.

Kevin Jones, TDI & IANTD Instructor

   Kevin started diving in 1989 in the dark and cold waters of the Great Lakes, exploring the shipwrecks and inland lakes of Michigan. In 1996 be began training necessary to dive deeper and explore farther. This has lead to wreck and cave diving adventures on two continents, the discovery of new shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and a new cave system in Florida. In 1998 he began working in a dive shop part time, while studying at univerisity. Here he gained the skills to service life support equipment and train new divers. From these experiences he is able to offer a wide variety gas, technical and overhead environment diving courses. Outside of diving Kevin is a journeyman electrician and superintendent for a electrical construction firm.

Stephen Sanchagrin , NAUI Instructor

An ECU student in his final semester pursuing a BS is Applied Geography with a concentration in GIS, and a Coastal and Marine Science Minor. Stephen's primary underwater interest lay in Technical and Scientific Diving. He is certified in Decompression Procedures, Advanced Nitrox, Trimix, and is a Scientific Diver in accordance with the American Association of Underwater Scientists. Once graduated he hopes attend ECU for a MA in Maritime History.

John Bright, NAUI Instructor

A senior at ECU with a major in Biology, John is also training in scientific diving in the Coastal Resource Management program in accordance with AAUS standards. Currently a staff instructor for ECU’s Exercise and Sports Science scuba program. In addition, he has work experience in the resort diving environment, with a previous seasonal instructor position at Captain Slate’s Atlantis Dive Center in Key Largo, Florida. His interests in diving include spearfishing, freediving, wreck diving, and he wishes to pursue training in technical and cave diving. John is also the winner of the shop’s manliest beard contest, keep trying Stephen!

Travis Snyder, NAUI Instructor

A former Navy Corpsman, Travis now holds a BA in Philosophy and a MA in Underwater Archaeology, both from East Carolina University.  He has been certified since 1993.  Travis has extensive black-water diving experience, and holds certifications from NAUI and PADI, and is an active scientific diver in accordance with the American Academy of Underwater Sciences.  He has been actively teaching NAUI courses at Rum Runner for the past three years.  He is also a certified Scubapro Service Technician and Ocean Reef instructor. 

Mike Campbell, NAUI Instructor & YMCA Instructor Trainer

Mike holds BA degrees in Education and Criminal Justice as well as a Master in Education. His diving career began in the 1960's and he has had extensive experience in military, commercial, scientific and law enforcement diving. His certifications include YMCA/CMAS Instructor Trainer, NAUI Instructor, USCG Licensed Captain and Tactical Emergency Medical Technician. He is a retired NCSBI Special Agent formerly with the Special Response Team and is a faculty member at East Carolina University.

Calvin Mires, NAUI Instructor

Bio coming soon

Garrett Killian, NAUI Associate Instructor

Garrett is a graduate of ECU and has been diving for over 6 years. His diving adventure began with Rum Runner's open water course and has progressed up the NAUI ranks to assistant instructor. He can often be found in the dive shop where he is the resident "tank man" or helping out with classes. His main interest is underwater photography and has worked as a professional photographer. Garrett is a systems analyst for ECU's IT department.

Dan Murray, NAUI Master Diver

Master Service Technician

Dan has been diving since 2000 and despite being a relative newcomer has been prolific, diving at every opportunity. He is a certified technician for Scubapro, Genesis, Sherwood Atomic and Ocean Reef product lines. In addition he is a full-time 31 year veteran Nationwide Insurance Agent in Washington North Carolina.

Kurt Wagner, NAUI Master Diver

Sales and Equipment Service

Kurt has been a diver since 2001 and has quickly advanced his training. In addition to his Master Diver certification, Kurt is certified in Nitrox and Rescue Diver. He is a student at ECU with a major in Geology.

Andrew Skalko, NAUI Master Diver

Sales and Equipment Service

Bio coming soon