Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 30, 1994                   TAG: 9411290065
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CLAUDINE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CREAMERS DIVE IN, MOVE BACK TO CMT

"The first time they put a regulator in my mouth, and I found out you could breathe under water, I thought that was the neatest thing," Creamer said.

So when the opportunity came about a year later for her to open a small dive shop, she thought, "Why not?"

"I grew up seeing so many businesses develop, that opening a new business did not seem scary to me," Creamer said. "It seemed like the natural thing to do." Creamer's father, Gordon Willis, is chairman of the board of Rockydale Quarries and was involved in other businesses, she explained.

Shortly after being certified as a diver in 1984, Creamer and a partner opened Diving Enterprises on Brandon Avenue.

"It was a little teeny brick building, about 500 square feet," Creamer said. "And we had to share what little space we had with another business."

At the time, her children were between 9 and 15 years old. She worked at the shop while they were in school and only left to drive them to soccer practice in the afternoons.

The relationship between Diving Enterprises and CMT began in those early days, Creamer said. Diving Enterprises was about two buildings away from CMT's store on Brandon Avenue. There was a little competition between the stores, but it was friendly, Creamer said.

There were some products that CMT did not carry, and the store owners would refer their customers to Creamer's shop. And when Creamer did not carry an item a customer needed, she would tell that person to visit CMT.

A year later, Creamer bought out her partner and moved to a larger building on Franklin Road. The new quarters gave the business room for a retail store, a repair facility, a scuba rental department and classrooms for diving instruction.

She met Kyle Creamer in 1988 when he was taking a diving class at her school. They married a year later. Kyle is the vice president of the company and teaches diving classes.

This year, the shop will have about $500,000 in sales, compared with $180,000 the first year. Diving Enterprises is the only dive shop in Roanoke, Kyle Creamer said.

When CMT invited Cindy Creamer to move into its new superstore, she agreed because she saw it as an opportunity to grow.

The dive shop's current quarters are devoted to the one sport, meaning it doesn't get many browsers. That could change at CMT.

"Customers may come into the superstore looking for boots, see us and just stop by," Creamer said.

The dive shop will operate as a separate business from CMT and continue all the same services it now offers, Creamer said.

She expects to need additional employees, however. Currently, Diving Enterprises has 11 people on its payroll, including Creamer and her husband.

Creamer said the move will help the store to mature.

"We used to be just a small operation. We were able to just close the shop and go to different conferences," Creamer said. "But once we get into the superstore, we won't be able to do that. We are finally growing up."