Former water ski pros leave lasting impact in Polk County

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — While world-class water-skiing shows will soon end at Legoland, former skiers are still making a big impact.

Mark Jackson was 27 years old when he was recruited from Wisconsin to water ski at Cypress Gardens.

“In 1981 I was recruited to come down here and water ski at the Water Ski Capital of the World. Which is sort of like playing for the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium,” said Jackson.

For 22 years, Jackson performed in front of millions at the Cypress Gardens theme park before it became Legoland.

“It was just so much fun, skiing at the Gardens four shows a day. It can be tough, and it takes a toll on your body but also skiing on the professional tour and free style jumping,” Jackson said.

Most professional water skiers in Polk County are brought down from up north.

“Young water skiers would dream of performing at Cypress Gardens,” said Dave Dershimer.

Dershimer left his home in Pennsylvania at 17 years old to make his water-skiing dream come true.

“I hitchhiked from Pennsylvania to Cypress Gardens, and sooner or later I qualified and got hired,” Dershimer said.

Years down the line, Dershimer would be elected to lead the city.

“I was the mayor of the city that I hitchhiked into when I got to be 40 years old, so the community means an awful lot to me” he said.

Jackson has been the director of Visit Central Florida for three decades and started the Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing program.

“I got into some broadcasting and other things. So, I was able to do that and still carry on and develop my professional career, eventually here at Visit Central Florida,” he said.

They and many other former Cypress Gardens water skiers are leaving a lasting impact in the community.

“It allowed a lot of people to get out and develop their skills and grow then move into different careers and there's a lot of us out there,” said Jackson.