Meet The Diver: “Reverend” Al Laubenstein
Posted on 06. Jul, 2009 by DanRood in Meet The Diver
Many of you don’t know this but Al’s son Michael and my son (Dan’s) Chris were roommates at San Diego State. Unlike if Al and I were college roommates, our sons both graduated. Al and I always liked to visit the San Diego State campus and both sons turned out, and always were, great boys.
Al was born and raised in Pennsylvania. Al and family make a yearly pilgrimage back to Pennsylvania to visit relatives. Al graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in Business and Economics. After graduation, Al joined Union Carbide and was relocated to the Chicago area where he literally froze his ass off for the next 15 years. Shortly after relocating to Chicago, Al joined Merrill Lynch and has been in the brokerage industry ever since. As a matter of fact, Al and I both worked with divisions or affiliates of Kemper Insurance when we lived in Chicago. I did not know Al at that time, although we were both in the brokerage business. After Merrill Lynch, Al worked with Prudential, Advest and until recently, as President and CEO of JB Oxford & Co a large regional brokerage firm based in Beverly Hills. Currently, Al is the Chief Compliance Officer for Penson Financial Services.
Al reminds Harold that it is a Sin to streak
Al was one of Divevets original divers and if asked why he chose to dive with Divevets Al would tell you it was for the free air fills. Al is an accomplished diver with several hundred dives under his belt. Al was certified in Illinois in 1972 and holds his Master Scuba Diver certification. Not only is Al an accomplished diver, he is also a very good lobster hunter. Al attributes his successful hunting technique to his delicate slender fingers perfect for grabbing short lobsters. Al is also the first to tell you that having small hands in not indicative and does not correlate to other body parts.
Al has two grown kids, Mike and Brittany. Al’s wife of several years (decades), Karen, is very supportive of Al’s love of the ocean. Karen is a French teacher at El Segundo High School.
Al has dived all over and having relatives in Hawaii helps. Al loves all the free t-shirts divers get at various dive functions. His diving ambition, should Karen not mind, is to meet a single diver with a large boat, male or female. Well, maybe not male, but I’m sure it would depend on the size of the boat. Regardless, Al’s love for the sport is contagious.
Holy Water for all at Sunday Mass
Usually, you’ll find Rev. Al hosting the Sunday dive party at Old Marineland each week. Al was appointed his nom de guerre, “Reverend Al”, for his dedication in introducing new divers to Old Marineland and for hosting the good times that follow a Sunday morning dive (bbq, beers), aka Sunday Mass. When you get the opportunity, make sure to introduce yourself to the Reverend.
As the Profet Samuel I always enjoy the Rev. Sunday services after a great dive at OML.
how are you doing Al? Have you made it back to Maui lately…we haven’t seen you in years! Hope the you and the family are all doing well. Maui is still here, beautiful and lots of diving now.