Diver certification raffle raises funds for LEMA dive team

Published 3:12 pm Monday, March 2, 2026

Lauderdale County residents interested in scuba diving have an opportunity to earn their certification for just $5 as the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency/ Meridian Fire Department dive team raffles off a PADI Open Water Certification diving course.

LEMA Director Odie Barrett said the certification is available to anyone age 18 or older who wants to learn how to dive and will certify them to scuba dive throughout most of the world.

Raffle tickets are $5 each, and the team is limiting the number of tickets to 1,500. Once the limit is reached, a live drawing will be hosted on social media.

The raffle winner will take a brief online class and get a two-day trip to Pelham, Alabama, to take the course, with the class, lunch, dinner and lodging covered, Barrett said. All the winner has to do is cover travel to and from Pelham for the course. The total cost of the prize is around $900, he said.

“Everything else we take care of,” he said. “All the equipment we’ll provide for you to get through the class and all that stuff.”

The prize is also transferable, he said, and in the event the winner does not want to go, they can pass it on to someone else.

Funds raised from the raffle will go to help the dive team purchase equipment and pursue training opportunities for its divers.

Tickets can be purchased online at zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/lema-dive-teams-padi-open-water-dive-certification or by scanning the QR code on the Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency or LEMA Public Safety Divers Facebook pages.