Master of Ceremonies
Joyce Hayward began diving in 1982. During her diving career she has served as the Great Lakes Director of the Atlantic Alliance for Maritime Heritage, and the Vice President of the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History where she served as chair of the Divers Coordination committee. She is the President of the Ohio Chapter of Save Ontario Shipwrecks. Joyce has held various offices with the Ohio Council of Skin and Scuba Divers where she is presently the Secretary and serves as Chair of the Legislative Action committee.
Joyce earned “Diver of the Year” upon three occasions for the state of Ohio. She also was appointed by the Governor of Ohio to serve on the Maritime Advisory Council, a management advisory committee for the shipwrecks of Lake Erie. She has received the Order of Excellence from AMHC, the Distinguished Service Award from the Ohio Council of Skin and Scuba Divers and the Director’s Achievement Award from Save Ontario Shipwrecks and recently was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame. Joyce is an Assistant Instructor, Master Diver, Technical and Tri-mix diver and member of IANTD.
She has been involved in deep, over 160 ft., diving since 1988. Joyce has organized and helped to instruct Archaeological training workshops in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Joyce has been featured in several videos and television documentaries including Michigan in Depth, and has been featured in Voices of the Lakes and The Best Adventure Yet. Her photography has appeared in various publications and she has given presentations all over the United States and Canada. She is often referred to as “The Lady of the Lakes.”
