Joani Maskell, Swimming Safari
Joani Maskell doesn’t have your everyday
job. After working for a large company she decided to follow her passion—teaching swimming. In 2004 Joani started Swimming Safari, a swimming school for children on the First Coast.
Joani began teaching her own children
how to swim when they were very young. “I’m so passionate about swimming and the safety that comes with it, being so close to the ocean makes it very important to learn how to swim and be safe in the water,” says Joani.
She was able to get involved with her
daughter’s Girl Scout troop as a lifeguard for the troop. Spending more time with her daughter made swimming special to her. Tis is what helped develop her love for teaching swimming lessons. “Tinking about it, I feel that it was because I had a family that it started. If I hadn’t had the need to be a lifeguard for my daughter’s Girl Scout troop, it may have never happened. It was something that was difficult when the kids were smaller, but it was something that I felt so strongly and passionate about that I knew I could do it.”
Her popularity spread through the
community and people began asking her to teach lessons at their neighborhood pools. “I taught swimming in one person’s neighborhood and the whole neighborhood started coming out. I had more and more lessons—it was great, so I continued with
that,” says Joani. “People would come to me from all over the city, so I knew that we needed to bring swimming lessons to them. I want as many as possible that want to learn how to swim to be able to.” Juggling work and family was hard, but Joani started bringing her children to work once they were able to swim on their own. As they grew older they taught swimming lessons with her. Now as adults, they still love to swim and share their mom’s passion.
Joani’s goal is to continue educating
children and parents about water and swimming safety. She aims to make swimming a fun activity, not something children are scared of.
54 | Family!
HERITAGE PUBLISHING, INC. © 2014
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