Speakers

Speakers

Bruce Wigo, J.D. has been the innovative and tireless President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Swimming Hall of Fame since 2005. His love of history predates his undergraduate minor in history at the University of North Carolina and the research and writing skills he learned from Widner Law School. As steward of ISHOF’s memorabilia collection and editor of ISHOF’s annual yearbook, he is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in world swimming history and has personally researched and visited many of history’s most revered swimming sites such as Paestum, Tarquinia, Rome and Pompeii in Italy, Xian in China, Bath in England, to name a few. Much of his research has been published in ISHOF’s annual or in a self-published book “The Golden Age of Swimming: A Picture History of the Sport & Pools That Changed America”, and in a paper he will present for the first time at this symposium on the little written about topic of “Native American Swimming Skills Before and After The Arrival of the Europeans.” Bwigo@ishof.org


Stathis Avramidis, DipEd, BEd, MSc, MPH, PhD (Greece), is an internationally acknowledged award-winning water safety authority. He teaches Lifeguarding and Lifesaving Sport at the School of Sport Science and Physical Education (University of Athens), works on aquatic accident prevention at the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and as a Lifesaving Sport Director at the Hellenic Federation of Underwater Activity. He was a Lecturer of Aquatics/Visiting Research Fellow (Leeds Metropolitan University, UK) and Advisor of Accident Prevention (Hellenic Ministry of Health). With about 300 publications/conference presentations including 16 books, he is considered one of the most prolific water safety authors in the world. For his contributions he was honored twice by the International Swimming Hall of Fame and twice by the Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth whose patron is Queen Elizabeth II. In 2015 he was enlisted among the “50 Greatest Watermen of Open Water Swimming History” (World Open Water Swimming Association). After he co-authored with Prof. Jan Holden the book “Near-Death Experiences while Drowning”, he concluded that what mostly counts are our acts of love and learning. elagreece@gmail.com

Ms. Audrey Dalton is a drowning survivor who will share her near death experience while drowning. After Audrey’s drowning episode when she was just five years old, doctors cautioned her parents she might never awaken from her coma. Miraculously she fully recovered and recalled in detail the events that took place. Her experience will assist conference attendees with personal insights such as the physiological responses, family struggles, and her spiritual connection to life during and after the event, and how this traumatic experience shaped her life and future goals. Many drowning survivors never fully recover from injuries they sustain during a drowning incident. Survivor stories open pathways for understanding the roles and functions of response and recovery concerns for both professionals and survivors. Bio: In 1973 Audrey founded Daltart LLC, creating unique and custom art and design projects for select clients. Ms. Dalton has enjoyed a lengthy career as a renowned artist and muralist. In 2011 Ms. Dalton began working with nonprofit organizations where she fulfilled a variety of roles: Marketing and Membership Director, Fundraising Consultant, and operating as CEO and Executive Director. She holds a Certificate of Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Michigan State University. Currently, Ms. Dalton is a business partner at K38 LLC, an international educational service provider for water safety specializing in the use of Personal Water Craft. She is the administrator of the international Rescue Water Craft Association. Happily married for over 22 years, Audrey resides in Florida with her husband, John Pennington, and their dog, “Wulfie”. daltart@yahoo.com 

John R. Spannuth became interested in aquatics more than 70 years ago when he nearly drowned and subsequently learned to swim, joined a swim team, and enjoyed teaching swimming. He has worked as a lifeguard, camp waterfront director, and pool manager before becoming an aquatics director, a collegiate swim coach, and a swimming coach. John has made presentations for over 50 years on physical education, recreation, and aquatics, and as President of the American Swimming Coaches Association, he formed the committee for “Swimming for Older Ages”. In 1970, he organized and directed The First Annual National Masters Swimming Meet which included less than 55 men and women, and he was instrumental in getting the National AAU to officially accept Masters swimming as a recognized and official national program in 1971. Since 1971, John has held important positions including AAU National Aquatics Administrator and International Executive Director for the Special Olympics and has organized and directed various aquatics events including: The National Aquatics Summit, The National Aquatics Directors Conferences, The National Adapted Aquatics Summit, the 1969 World Swimming Coaches Clinic, the First National YMCA Masters Aquatic Championships, the First National Masters Synchronized Swimming Championship, and Who’s Who in Aquatics. For his contributions, he has been honored 3 times by the International Swimming Hall of Fame. john@uswfa.org

Since 1988, Dr. Janice Minor Holden has been on faculty at the University of North Texas (UNT), Denton where she now is Professor of Counseling and Chair of the Department of Counseling and Higher Education. Her primary specialization is the transpersonal perspective in counseling, addressing the counseling implications of experiences that transcend the usual limits of space, time and/or identity, and their associated developmental potential. In particular, she has researched near-death experiences (NDEs), with over 30 journal articles and chapters as well as numerous presentations on the topic. Beginning in 2000, Jan served six years on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), three of them as President. She was the primary editor of The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation (2009, Praeger/ABC-CLIO). At UNT, she developed and teaches a course on the Transpersonal Perspective in Counseling. Areas of teaching are Counseling Theory, Transpersonal Counseling, Dreamwork in Counseling, and Supervised Practice of Counseling. Honors and Awards: 2013 Assn. for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counselings Research Award; 2014-19 Fulbright Specialist Roster Candidate; 2015 American Counseling Assn. Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Humanitarian and Caring Person Award. Jan is a Texas Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor, Texas Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, National Certified Counselor, and ACISTE (American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences) Certified Mental Health Professional. Jan.Holden@unt.edu