Tennessee Aquatic Project

08/05/2026

07/19/2026

By TAP Alumni Terrance Adams,Terrance Adams and Marcus Johnson were the first youth to attend Diving With A Purpose and Development Group Inc. In 2006.

TAP still paying dividends

At 11 years old I remember attending a friends pool party. At this particular party I just so happened to be the only copper colored kid in the pool and the only kid in the pool who couldn’t swim. I watched kids swim, dive and dunk each other without a care in the world. Through my eyes they may as well have been doing triple gainers while I wadded in the water in the kiddie section; every so often a friend checking on me in the shallow end… the embarrassment, the anguish, the discomfort. Around this time I was presented with the opportunity to join T.A.P, and there was no way I was turning it down. This was personal. No way would I continue to be the only copper colored and non swimming kid around. Now, let’s fast forward. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve graduated through the ranks of the Tennessee Aquatic Project, and to this day it is still paying dividends. At 36 years old my first line of work, after working for my father, began with lifeguarding and water safety Instructor, just the same as many T.A.P. cadets. After college I worked in sales and manufacturing before landing my current career as a Nashville firemen. As a fireman we truly are an “all hazards” response team and therefore we have to be ready to act in any number of life threatening situations, thus I recently took part in a swiftwater rescue class. I find it essential to build my knowledge and skills for assisting in life threatening situations, in this case being specific to swift water, including assisting with rescues during flooding. While in this class we were tested in bravery, knowledge retention, technique replication and our own personally acquired base skillsets. Being able to successfully swim at a 45 degree angle through currents to find the calmer water known as “eddys, being able to assist in creating incident action plans and putting ourselves in the most useful position to execute our rescue scenarios for me each have their root in foundational skills learned in T.A.P. Being a T.A.P alumni I have sufficiently learned how to act in the role of an attentive learner as well as a thoughtful leader and teacher. Whether learning how to swim or how to building a fire or learning to teach others to swim or build a fire T.A.P has provided a base of experience to pull from that is still useful to this day. During swiftwater training I executed positions of student and teacher holding true to our motto “first we learn, then we teach”. To truly capture the essence of what T.A.P. has fostered in my life I want to share a moment that stood out to me during this training experience . I remember one particular moment where we had to jump from one boulder into a current without being swept away before finding refuge in an eddy only to jump from another large boulder, this time allowing the current to carry us downstream in a large rushing “s” shaped current, picking up speed along the way all before rolling over to aggressively swim and barrel roll into the final eddy. As I barrel roll into the eddy I recall hearing the excitement of several guys and an instructor all in astonishment of how effortless and powerful that barrel roll into the final eddy was. The barrel roll was a skill that many in the class had never done before and some had issues executing initially, but for me the barrel roll was nothing more than transitioning from a freestyle to a backstroke in one motion which something I had done numerous times throughout my years as a lifeguard, water safety instructor and master scuba diver. The skills learned in T.A.P. are not only about swimming, but building bravery, knowledge retention, technique replication, all of which I am still doing today. Also, T.A.P. Is about being an effective student and teacher while building credentials along the way! Even at 36 the skills learned in T.A.P. are my foundational base of knowledge and skillset. That final barrel roll through the rushing current of the Hiwassee River into the calm eddy is a long way away from that 11 year copper colored kid attending his friend’s pool party.

07/18/2026

07/15/2026

https://partlowchapel.com/obituaries/byron-bohrman?utm_source=search&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=standard&cta=fh-website&fbclid=IwZnRzaATEpkVwZG9mAWZkaWQWUKmuHWzEQxF1JzuZ08PPUNaxHW3fB2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6gcZbQLdO5kpgdI8PeYcRIEsIgh1ZcNEOX51kPd8f-gk3E4x3JCCyef5ax3w_aem_VWQ7PKv8vjePK7GxmVp98A
Greetings:The TAP Board sends their sincere condolences to the Bohrman
Family for the passing of Byron Bohrman . He was a tremendous supporter of TAP through the years. He will be missed.
Kenneth Stewart

Byron was born on May 20th, 1959 and passed away on July 11th, 2026 at the age of 67

07/10/2026

https://www.facebook.com/100064706587565/posts/1478407870992752/?mibextid=wwXIfr

With a measuring tape and waterproof notepad in hand, genealogist Shellie Baxter swims around a shipwreck embedded into the ocean’s floor in the Florida Keys. The water is warmer than the San Diego shores she’s used to, but this is still her most challenging dive yet – she is learning how to d...

07/02/2026

Greetings Dawson Davis has been in TAP since he was 11 years old , he is TAP's Langston Hughes and Poet Laureate. This is his final blog before he heads off to college this month. It is long but well worth the read
Kenneth Stewart

GBO Week: The Final TAP Trip

Growing up is a mandatory experience—a universal one that everyone goes through. Sometimes you may feel ready and sometimes you won’t. Life can also feel like it’s moving too fast in the process and that can be stressful if you let it. For some, change can be a big adjustment, especially if you’re leaving behind family, friends and everything familiar. It’s scary when you think about it, but change is essential for growth. Feeling like you’re not ready, wondering if you’ll come out on the other side, wondering if you’ll lose the friends that you grew up with, the bonds that you grew recently and hoping that adulthood doesn’t ruin your relationships. Like a good friend told “Change is hard, especially when you’re leaving people who feel more like family than friends”. These were the mix of emotions that I felt on my TAP trip for GBO weekend.

When my group and I arrived at my campsite, I was overjoyed with the astonishing and breathtaking view of the trees, the gravel filled sandy beaches, and the soothing chirps of the red robin birds in their nests. Boredom was not an option, their was fun everywhere and you just had to look for it. We spent most of our time canoeing and taking pictures by the beach, while simultaneously enjoying the present and taking all of the scenery in. I hung out with mostly my friends—we played cards in the tent, took long walks, and had long conversations. The real fun wasn’t playing the cards; but simply spending time with them and being around them. We eventually had a sleepover and simply enjoyed each other’s company. It served as a good way for me to distract myself from worrying about this being my last TAP trip.

My favorite part about this trip was GBO day. While my friends were busy lifeguarding, I spent my time in the creek looking under coarse and rough rocks, discovering small and miniscule macro invertebrates, collecting them and placing them into capsules. During my search, me and charles found 2 crawfish, it felt thrilling to explore and find beauty in something so unconventional and unique. After my side quest, I went back to my group and we hung out by the Toccoa River, splashing each other in the cold and frigid water, swimming with the current and enjoying the moment, not knowing this would be our last. Another favorite was the white water rafting. I was nervous at first, because I was afraid that I would get hurt or worse—it was my first time going white water rafting and I was paralyzed with anxiety. My friend Charmez noticed I was scared and reminded me of the strength that I possessed. He reminded me that real strength isn’t about being certain in your abilities or being confident; it’s about willing to look fear dead in its eyes and do it anyway, even if you think you can’t do it. This realization helped me overcome my fear and eventually I had the time of my life. Even though we were all scared, we still smiled, even out of fear. We crashed into waves, got swept up in swirling waves, hit rocky mounds, and almost fell out of our rafts but we survived and lived to tell our story. Once our journey ended, I was hit with the realization that this would be the last TAP trip I ever had with my friends before we went the distance for college, military and beyond. What started off as an adrenaline rush of a ride from white water quickly transitioned into a poignant reminder of the change was yet was come. My foolish attempt to try and distract myself quickly backfired, letting me know that it’s impossible to run from your feelings forever.

GBO weekend was a reminder that growing up doesn’t have to be scary. You’re not always going to be ready for it and sometimes that’s the beauty about growth and change. It’s unexpected. It’s spontaneous. And you’re never really prepared, but change is important. Even though we will be going our separate ways and life will be throwing all of us in different directions, this trip served as closure for me. This was not just a prelude into college but a reminder that this was my last trip as a member of TAP. An organization that I had been apart since I was 11, a place where I met friends that became family and found myself in ways that were unimaginable. A place where I discovered my love for water, scuba diving, writing and community service. TAP is part of who I am and an important chapter of my life that I don’t want to stop writing about or stop reading. If I have the opportunity to still be affiliated with TAP as a college student, I will definitely take the opportunity. I am forever in TAP’s debt for what it has done for me. The stories that I carry with me, the friendships that I acquired, and the memories that I gained are things I cherish for life. The wilderness survival adventures, the early morning community service days, the long rides to Florida for Devil’s Den, International Travels. All of that will be cherished forever. This program has left an indelible mark on me, equipping me with skills that guide as I enter adulthood and embrace the uncertainty of my next journeys.

This isn’t a goodbye TAP; simply a see you later.