Blue Meridian Dive Center owner Susie Oliver celebrates 25 years of helping others discover the underwater world
Photos by Jamie Plain
Looking at pictures of coral reefs, tropical fish, and shipwrecks pale in comparison to being close enough to a seahorse to watch it blink. For 25 years, Owensboro’s Susie Oliver has dedicated her life to helping others experience such once-in-a-lifetime moments through Blue Meridian Dive Center.
If you ask Oliver how she ended up owning a scuba diving business in the middle of rural Daviess County, she’ll tell you she never saw it coming. What began as a favor to her father eventually became not just a career, but a calling that may have been exactly where she was supposed to be all along.
“Funny how God pushes you where you’re supposed to be,” she said. “You don’t see it, and you don’t always understand His plan, but I believe He has one for all of us.”
A FAMILY OF DIVERS
Scuba diving has been part of Oliver’s family history for generations. Her father and grandfather both worked as divers for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, performing lock repairs along the Ohio and Green rivers. In Blue Meridian’s classroom sits an old Mark V diving helmet that both men used during their careers — a tangible reminder of the family legacy that eventually shaped Oliver’s future.
When her father became scuba certified, he wanted his children to learn as well.
“My mom wasn’t going to do it,” Oliver laughed. “So he wanted me, my brother, and my sister all to get certified so he’d have dive buddies.”
At the time, Oliver was attending Kentucky Wesleyan College and had plenty of other interests competing for her attention. She agreed largely because her father asked her to. Then something unexpected happened.
“I fell in love with it,” she said.
After graduating from Apollo High School and Kentucky Wesleyan, Oliver built a successful career in information technology and programming. She worked for Citizens State Bank, the City of Owensboro, Daramic, and eventually Swedish Match. Along the way, she also taught scuba part-time at Dolphin Dive Center, the local dive shop where she first gained instructional experience.
Then life changed quickly.
The devastating tornadoes of 2000 damaged her parents’ home. Her father became seriously ill and spent significant time in Louisville receiving medical treatment. Faced with a choice between work responsibilities and family obligations, Oliver chose family.
“I picked my dad,” she said simply.
At the time, losing her job felt devastating.
“I thought that was the end of the world for me,” she said. “But it wasn’t really what I was supposed to be doing. I just didn’t know it yet.”
OPENING HER OWN BUSINESS
With Dolphin Dive Center preparing to close, an opportunity emerged. Oliver began laying the groundwork for her own business, eventually opening Blue Meridian Dive Center in a building that once housed her mother’s ceramics studio. Today, that same building remains home to Blue Meridian, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
For Oliver, scuba diving has always been about freedom.
“I just love the freedom of it, how it feels to be underwater,” she said. “To be able to see all those beautiful things down there that most people will never see.”
She recalls encounters with seahorses, colorful reefs, and marine life across the globe — experiences that photographs simply cannot replicate.
“To actually see a seahorse up close and personal and see it blink its eyes, a picture doesn’t capture that,” she said.
Students begin with classroom instruction and pool training before completing open-water certification dives at Mermet Springs, a flooded quarry near Paducah. The process typically takes two weekends, after which divers earn certification recognized around the world.
While some newcomers worry about breathing underwater or encountering sharks, Oliver spends much of her time helping people overcome those fears.
“A lot of people worry about the unknown,” she said.
To help ease apprehension, Blue Meridian offers free Discover Scuba experiences that allow people to try diving in a controlled environment before committing to certification.
Most fears disappear quickly.
“We put them in the pool with one of our dive staff, and usually any apprehension is gone,” Oliver said.
Sharks, she noted, are one of the most common concerns.
“For us, seeing a shark is actually a thrill because it’s so rare,” she said. “They’re not down there with a bib and a knife and fork waiting on you.”
That approachable attitude has helped make scuba diving accessible to people who may never have considered it. Blue Meridian now certifies divers ranging from age 10 to well into retirement.
“I don’t believe you’re ever too old to do it,” Oliver said.
CREATING LASTING MEMORIES
One of the most rewarding aspects of the business has been watching generations of families discover diving together. Many families choose to earn certification together, creating opportunities for shared adventures and lifelong memories.
“I am certifying grandchildren of people I certified when I was in my 20s,” she said. “I certified their kids, and now we’re certifying their grandkids.”
While the business serves customers from throughout Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and beyond, much of its growth has come through simple word-of-mouth recommendations.
The dive center also keeps divers engaged through group travel opportunities around the world. Over the years, Blue Meridian groups have explored destinations including the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and Fiji.
“Every place has something unique about it,” Oliver said.
One recent surprise came when Blue Meridian organized its first trip to Fiji. Oliver worried the destination might be too ambitious or expensive. Instead, 52 people signed up.
“I never thought I could sell a trip like Fiji,” she said. “I underestimated what the store was capable of doing.”
Beyond diving instruction and travel, community service has become a central part of Blue Meridian’s identity.
IMPACT OUT OF THE WATER
After her father’s death, Oliver established the Carl H. Oliver Scuba for Charity Foundation in his honor.
The foundation raises money through creative underwater events. Underwater Monopoly, or Diveopoly, includes a weighted board and game pieces so the game can be played at the bottom of the pool. Oliver said one game lasted 48 hours as participants took turns diving.
The annual underwater treasure hunt attracts roughly 150 participants each year. Divers search for numbered golf balls hidden underwater, with each number corresponding to a prize. Blue Meridian also hosts an underwater pumpkin carving contest every fall, giving divers one final opportunity to gather before the season winds down.
The proceeds support numerous local and national charities, including Dream Riders of Kentucky, Two Rivers Buddy Ball, Hospice of Western Kentucky, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Shriners Hospitals, Wounded Warrior Project, and Tunnel to Towers.
“Nobody who works for me takes any money or salary from the charity,” Oliver said. “All the money goes back out to different organizations.”
TREASURING A HIDDEN GEM
As Blue Meridian marks its silver anniversary, Oliver remains most energized by introducing new people to the underwater world. Many instructors prefer advanced courses and experienced divers. Oliver feels differently.
“I love the open-water students,” she said.
She especially enjoys the moment when a beginner realizes everything is going to be okay.
“If I put you in the water and you’re breathing off your regulator and you realize it’s all good, the expression on your face underwater — I love that,” she said. “It’s excitement. It’s exhilaration.”
After 25 years, countless certifications, dozens of group trips, and thousands of hours underwater, that feeling still hasn’t gotten old. Neither has the sense of family she feels with her staff, some of whom have been with her since the beginning.
“I couldn’t do it without them,” Oliver said. “And to be quite honest, I wouldn’t want to do it without them.”
In a community far removed from tropical coastlines and coral reefs, Blue Meridian has spent a quarter-century proving that adventure doesn’t have to begin at the ocean.
Sometimes it starts in a quiet building outside Owensboro, in the middle of a cornfield, where one woman followed a path she never expected and discovered exactly where she belonged. OL
