Exhibit 31.1

                    CERTIFICATION BY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                       PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
                       AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302
                        OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Richard V. Priddy, certify that:

     1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-QSB of TVI Corporation;

     2. Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact  necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the  circumstances  under which such statements
were made, not  misleading  with respect to the period covered by this quarterly
report;

     3. Based on my knowledge,  the financial  statements,  and other  financial
information  included in this quarterly  report,  fairly present in all material
respects the financial  condition,  results of operations  and cash flows of the
small  business  issuer as of, and for, the periods  presented in this quarterly
report;

     4. The  small  business  issuer's  other  certifying  officer(s)  and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining  disclosure controls and procedures
(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal  control
over  financial  reporting  (as  defined in  Exchange  Act Rules  13a-15(f)  and
15d-15(f)) for the small business issuer and have:

     (a)  Designed  such  disclosure  controls  and  procedures,  or caused such
disclosure  controls and  procedures to be designed  under our  supervision,  to
ensure  that  material  information  relating  to  the  small  business  issuer,
including its  consolidated  subsidiaries,  is made known to us by others within
those  entities,  particularly  during the period in which this  report is being
prepared;
     (b) (Paragraph omitted pursuant to SEC Release Nos. 33-8238 and 34-47986.)
     (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the small business  issuer's  disclosure
controls and procedures and presented in this report our  conclusions  about the
effectiveness  of the disclosure  controls and procedures,  as of the end of the
period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
     (d)  Disclosed  in this  report any change in the small  business  issuer's
internal  control  over  financial  reporting  that  occurred  during  the small
business issuer's most recent fiscal quarter (the small business issuer's fourth
fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or
is reasonably likely to materially  affect, the small business issuer's internal
control over financial reporting; and

     5. The small  business  issuer's  other  certifying  officer(s)  and I have
disclosed,  based  on our  most  recent  evaluation  of  internal  control  over
financial  reporting,  to the small  business  issuer's  auditors  and the audit
committee  of the  small  business  issuer's  board  of  directors  (or  persons
performing the equivalent functions):

     (a) All significant  deficiencies and material  weaknesses in the design or
operation of internal  control over  financial  reporting  which are  reasonably
likely to  adversely  affect  the small  business  issuer's  ability  to record,
process, summarize and report financial information; and
     (b) Any fraud,  whether or not material,  that involves management or other
employees who have a significant  role in the small business  issuer's  internal
control over financial reporting.


Date: August 11, 2003
                                                          /s/Richard V. Priddy
                                                         Chief Executive Officer