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Updated November 19, 2004
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| Pool & Spa News welcomes news tips from our readers. Send news items, with company and contact information included, to Joshua Keim at jkeim@hanleywood.com or fax to 323-801-4986. |
AALD Celebrates Its 30th
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 American Leak Detection celebrated its 30th anniversary at its annual convention in October. More than 200 franchisees from around the world headed for the Marriott Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, Calif., to take in new-technology demonstrations and business seminars on a variety of topics.
Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden was on hand to introduce the awards banquet on opening night. At the ceremony, Tom and Debbie Pflug of Melbourne, Fla., were named “Franchisee of the Year.” American Leak Detection is a manufacturer of a noninvasive leak detection and repair process based in Palm Springs, Calif. Shown (L-R): Jim Carter, ALD director of corporate field services/Palm Springs and San Bernardino; franchisee Vern McCollough, 2003 Franchisee of the Year from Tulsa, Okla.; the Pflugs; Lorrie Rennick, ALD executive vice president; and Dick Rennick, CEO of ALD.
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SPP Opens Memphis Center
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Spa Parts Plus has opened a distribution center in Memphis, Tenn., serving the area east of the Mississippi River. Not only will that mean reduced shipping costs and time for dealers in those states, but company officials said it enables the distributor to ship from both the western and eastern United States. Orders will still be directed to the company’s office in Prescott, Ariz., though. The new center’s address is 3465 Winchester Rd., Memphis, TN 38118.
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The Home Depot Honors Spa Maker
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 The Home Depot Inc. named Image Spas its “2004 Partner of the Year” at its suppliers meeting in Atlanta last month. The spa maker has managed to double its sales each year since it began supplying the home-improvement retailer with portable spas in 2002.
Image Spas is owned by Icon Health & Fitness, based in Mesquite, Texas. The Home Depot is based in Atlanta. Shown (L-R): John Costello, executive VP of merchandising/marketing, The Home Depot; Mike Dolder, VP, Icon Health & Fitness and head of Image Spas; Bill Lennie, senior VP of décor, The Home Depot; and Jace Jergensen, Icon senior VP.
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Judge Opens Adults-Only Pool to Kids
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A U.S. District Court judge has ordered a condominium complex that was once adults-only to open its main pool to children. For years, kids under 18 have been deferred to the two alternate pools at the Keys, a 792-unit development in Walnut Creek, Calif. The Keys was built in 1973, before adults-only housing was made illegal under the Fair Housing Act, but has tried to maintain that culture, according to one tenant. However, after three residents filed a lawsuit claiming the pool’s age bias discriminated against families with youngsters, a preliminary injunction was issued requiring the homeowner’s association to open the pool to minors.
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Vogue Announces Sweepstakes Winners
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 Vogue Pool Products in LaSalle, Quebec, Canada, released the names of its 2004 Swim & Win Sweepstakes winners. Aimed at generating pre-season sales, the promotion was open to consumers and dealers. People who purchased Impact or Zenith aboveground pool models were entered into the drawing, along with their corresponding dealers.
Impact pool owner Luis Quiles of Chester, N.Y., received a trip to Orlando, Fla. — while Zenith owner Joseph Zuppo of North Tonawanda, N.Y., was refunded the cost of his pool. Two New York dealers received home-movie theater systems: Tom Mullane of Pool FX in Goshen and Donald Kasperzck of Gary Pools Sales & Service in Cheektowaga. The company said the promotion was so successful, another sweepstakes will be held in spring 2005. Shown (L-R): Kasperzck and the Zuppos.
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WPSS Starts Online Registration
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Organizers of the 27th Annual Western Pool & Spa Show have opened online registration on the WPSS Web site, www.westernshow.com. Slated for March 10-12, 2005, the event returns to the Long Beach (Calif.) Convention Center. WPSS officials said the 2005 show already has booked 20 percent more exhibitors than it had this time last year. For more information or to reserve a booth, contact WPSS board member Lionel Marlow at (800) 746-9772.
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Recreonics Aids U.S. Troops in Iraq
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Some U.S. soldiers in Iraq now can have fun in the sun, thanks to a shipment of swim accessories from Recreonics Inc. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force stationed at Camp Fallujah had recently reopened a nearby pool ravaged by war, in hopes of getting some R&R. The Marines and sailors received swim goggles and caps from the pool equipment manufacturer. Recreonics is headquartered in Louisville, Ky.
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Two Electrocuted in Yankee Pitcher's Pool
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 Two relatives of Mariano Rivera, a New York Yankee relief pitcher, were electrocuted in the pool at his mansion. Victor Dario Avila (a cousin of Rivera’s wife) and his 14-year-old son, Victor Jr., were killed while cleaning the pool at the baseball player’s home in Panama. The teen had touched an electrical wire and fallen into the pool. The senior Avila died trying to save his son. Rivera’s brother-in-law tried to rescue the two victims from the water, but was unsuccessful; he survived and was hospitalized. Rivera received the news just after the Yankees had beaten the Minnesota Twins to advance to the American League Championship Series. He attended his relatives’ funeral in Panama, then had to put his grief aside for a time and return to New York, where he rejoined the Yankees for Game 1 of the Playoffs against the Boston Red Sox.
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© 2004, Pool & Spa News
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