Music, Skis and Pool Retail
“You can spend your whole life chasing the dollar, and I’ve seen it. I wanted to be there for my kids.”
Next Generation
Photography by Ian Schatte New Year’s Day was big for the second generation of Mannings. Their ownership of Manning Pool Service in Houston, Texas, many years in the making, was finally official. Jeff Manning, Sr., who had been in the pool industry since 1982, started Manning Pool Service in 2001 as a one-pole operation running…
In House
Photography by Javaughn Henry and SSG Bridges, factories and performance halls aren’t exactly the structures that come to mind when considering a pool company’s construction portfolio, but they are every bit a part of what South Shore Gunite Pools & Spas has grown into over more than 40 years in business. Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts,…
Forever a Pool Finisher
Photography By Tommy Ton You don’t really know what work ethic looks like until you meet Alan Smith, CEO and co-owner of Alan Smith Pools in Orange, California. Smith graduated high school early in 1974 and, on his own at 17 years old, went to work on a commercial fishing boat. After six months on…
What a Way to Grow
Photography by Thao Nguyen Patriot Pool & Spa in Austin, Texas, services nearly 800 pools a week and has more than 35 employees — but owner Hal Denbar still remembers how hard it was to hire the first one. “Everything about that, mentally and emotionally, was much harder than anything else I’ve encountered [with this…
At Her Service
Photography by Austin Mullen Two years ago, Natalie Scott’s friend from junior high school posted an ad for a pool tech position with his company — a position he was willing to train. At the time, Scott was working in the hotel industry, trying to establish a new normal after a divorce and several office…
Full House
Photography by Doug Melillo John and Lisa Morgillo own the place. Their daughter, Lia, heads the marketing and sales department while Lia’s boyfriend learns construction. Lisa’s brother, Al, is the project manager for in-ground installations. Sue, Al’s wife, runs the front-end cash registers for the store. Doreen and Paul, John’s sister and brother-in-law, do sales…
From England with Love
photography by Christian Hernandez In the mid-2000’s, Mike Burns and his wife, Amanda, were ready for a change from their life in England. Setting their sights on sunny Florida, the family purchased Doc Dean’s Pools from its original owner and emigrated in 2005. It’s been a great fit, says their son James Burns, because of…
Young, Hungry and Humble
photography by Joan WoodPool built by Red Rock Pools & Spas, based in Mesa, Arizona When Tyler Rasmussen got passed over for a promotion at his job, he said enough is enough. He had always dreamed of working for himself anyway, and a friend had been telling him about a pool route he just purchased….
The Next Generation
photography by Simon Hurst Ryan Hayes has big dreams for the family business he’s been around since age 8. Already committed to taking over for his parents, who own Leisure Time Pools and Spas in Oklahoma City, when they retire, Hayes started out water testing and helping his dad in the store’s warehouse between throwing…
Scouting It Out
photography by Marc Ridel Tiffiny Consoli wasn’t looking to go into the pool business. She was just looking to own a business, any business, that made sense. “I didn’t have one thing I was particularity good at or knew I wanted to make bagels every day,” she says. “It wasn’t like that. I wanted to…
A Father’s Legacy
photography by Brad Zimmerman Brian Lee Miller started Hilltop Pools and Spas, Inc., after moving from his native upstate New York. Brian initially only did pool construction in summers as a way to earn supplemental income while not teaching school. He eventually opened pool construction company Hilltop in 1976 in the tiny town of Jonesboro,…