Debra Smith, former owner and president of Fort Worth, Texas-based Pulliam Pools, has died. She passed away six months after being diagnosed with cancer and just a week after her 69th birthday.
Known as an astute businessperson from the time she joined the industry more than 30 years ago, she also is credited with establishing government advocacy in Texas and helping create an environment where competing builders in Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth area specifically could join forces. While a pioneer among women in the industry’s construction segment, she is credited for mentoring and setting an example for other business owners regardless of gender.
Born May 15, 1956, Smith grew up in Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an accounting concentration at Mesa State University in Grand Junction, Colo. She and her husband were said to travel and live in places as far-reaching as Cairo before making a home in the Fort Worth area.
Upon settling in, Smith worked in the banking and auditing industry until 1992, when she joined Pulliam, one of the oldest pool builders in the country. She was at the front end of a trend that has gained steam since she joined the company – people who entered the industry not with construction experience, but rather business education and training. Pulliam, which celebrated its centennial in 2016, remained owned by the founding family until she purchased it with a partner and fellow employee in 2009. She gained sole ownership in 2021. Later that same year, she got ahead of another trend, selling her company to Riverbend Sandler, which has consolidated construction companies at a time when roll-ups have mostly focused on service and maintenance. After a short time guiding Pulliam through the transition, she retired.
Smith’s business acumen lead the company to rank on the PSN Top 50 Builders list every year since the program’s start in 2003, a distinction enjoyed only by Pulliam.
She also made her mark as the first woman to earn her Certified Building Professional designation from the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (now PHTA).
Her legacy also includes initiating the formation of a lobbying group for the Texas pool and spa industry, said Charlie Claffey, president of Claffey Pools in Southlake, Texas. He worked with Smith in the association, first called APEC and now known as the Texas Pool and Spa Coalition.
“It was her brain child, her passion,” Claffey said. “She stepped up when no one else would. I jumped in after, but without Debra… [the Texas Pool and Spa Coalition] doesn’t exist. She was just an incredible woman who did so much for Texas, so much for the industry.”
He also credits her with encouraging him to become involved in the industry. For him, what started out with APEC eventually lead to him becoming chairman of PHTA. “Without Debra’s asking me [to work on APEC], who knows if I would ever have been as engaged as I turned out to be,” he said. “It was all as a result of her.”
Smith held another distinction, as a woman leading Pulliam’s operations by the mid 1990s, when it was rare to see women in this position on the construction side.
Kim Westbrook, regional sales manager for Fluidra and a close friend of Smith’s, said becoming the first female Certified Building Professional exemplified Smith’s strategy for success in a male-dominated field.
“She always spoke from a place of knowledge,” Westbrook said. “She had the facts. She could back up what she was saying. When she came to the conversation, it wasn’t what she thought or felt — it’s what she knew. She learned it, mastered it and was able to communicate it in a way that reflected that. She invested in herself and knowledge. Being a CBP changed things for her because it gave her the footing to say, ‘I have this, I know this, I’ve learned and studied this.’”
Industry friends said she was very generous with her time and guidance throughout her dealings.
“I learned a lot from her: Stay committed to the community you serve, do things for the right reasons, service the community and good causes, and God will take care of the rest,” Claffey said. “…Taking care of the industry was important.”
In a social media post, builder Scott Cohen added: “Over the years, she became someone I could always count on – not just for her brilliant insights into contracts and business practices, but for her strength, grace and unwavering generosity,” said the president of The Green Scene Landscaping & Pools in Chatsworth, Calif.
Bruce Mungiguerra, CEO of Riverbend Sandler, said the same held true for her approach to managing.
“She was looked at more as a mentor than a boss or owner,” he said. “She did a lot with her team to insure they were mentored for great success, which was a very interesting characteristic for us.”
Those who worked with her said they’ll remember her combination of business prowess, kindness and humility.
“I attribute Debra’s success to not only her brainpower, but also to her work ethic — she was truly all-in with whatever she was involved with,” said Matt Gohlke, president of Gohlke Pools in Denton, Texas. “She was the hardest worker that I had ever seen in any line of work… Debra was one who definitely gave more than she took.”
