A Year to Be Proud Of

What a difference a year makes. This time last year, I had a weeks-old baby and never would have imagined sending my kindergartener to school wearing a mask.

I’ll admit that I don’t love change. I like plans and stability. A year as unpredictable as 2020 was not easy for me to navigate.

But what an amazing view I’ve had of our industry rising to the occasion. You were told to stay home, close your doors, wear a mask — and you didn’t flinch. You powered through, found ways to make it work, continued to serve your customers, your employees and your community however you could. You were the example I needed of how to move forward amidst uncertainty.

Our industry has fared well during the pandemic. It has been a good reminder that what we do matters. No, we weren’t putting our lives at risk treating COVID patients, but we still provided a critical service caring for and creating the swimming pools that provide a much-needed respite from chaos. I’ve heard horror stories of pools being overused this year; the entire neighborhood swimming in a single residential pool making it almost impossible to keep clean and clear. But if that doesn’t point to the viability and necessity of access to recreational water, I don’t know what does.

This is our second year doing 30 Under 40. It was tough — we had so many great people that we couldn’t fit (please, please, please enter again next year!) When I think about the prospects of our industry, and I look at how the world has changed around us, seeing these young faces (and man, don’t they all look so young??) on our pages gives me even more hope. We want to continue to bring more young people into the pool industry, and hopefully we can use this unlikely boom to attract high-caliber candidates and show them all this great industry has to offer.

Thank you all for your support this year.

Best,
Megan Kendrick, publisher
megan@kendrickcontent.com