Pamela Basham 39 Account manager and service tech Royal Pool Service & More, LLC Charlotte, North CarolinaRPoolService.com Pamela Basham’s parents instilled a strong work ethic in her from an early age. Her mother started a pool service business from her garage in West Virginia in 1979, while her father worked nights in the coal mine…
Ryan Morson 31Southeast regional sales managerHayward Hayward-Pool.com When Ryan Morson graduated from college in the middle of the recession, he had little to show on his resume other than a bachelor’s degree and pool experience. “I had a college summer job working for Splash Pool Management in Dallas, Georgia,” Morson says. While maybe not the…
Jonny Nalepa 30Senior designerAquatic Consultants, IncMiami, FloridaAquaticConsultantsInc.com Jonathan Nalepa is a second-generation pool professional. Over 35 years ago, his father started Miami-based Pool Rangers, Inc., a service company that has turned into a family business. Nalepa started riding in his dad’s work truck, and as he got older became an official employee of the company….
Jonathan and Jessica Rust 35Co-ownersWaterDog PoolsNew OrleansWaterDogPools.com Jonathan and Jessica Rust met when Jonathan moved to New Orleans to help gut and rebuild homes after hurricane Katrina. Jessica was a local resident that lost everything in the flood, decided to volunteer and was paired with Jonathan’s crew. “It’s been life ever since,” Jessica says. After…
Brian Siegel 34Owner and presidentNorthstar Pool Co.Allensdale, New JerseyNorthstarPoolsNJ.com Brian Siegel’s first job in the industry was as his dad’s apprentice, learning to service and repair residential pools. “Before I had my license, I remember riding my bicycle to a job we were working on near our house,” Siegel says. “We were in the process…
29PresidentBowen PoolsFlower Mound, TexasBowenPoolsLLC.com Christopher Bowen was working as a service tech for another business when he decided to start his own pool service company. He had one account and, when he opened Bowen Pools in March 2017, asked the homeowner if he could continue to service her pool for free in exchange for using…
36 PresidentSummit Swimming Pools, Inc.Wayne, PennsylvaniaSummitPoolAndSpa.com With a degree in economics and mathematics, Kevin Barry worked corporate jobs in the financial sector for four years before finding himself in the swimming pool industry. “I just fell into the industry,” Barry says. “I needed a change.” He started at a sports club, first as a pool…
Jose Moranchel 38OwnerJose and Sons Pool ServiceSouth Carolina Jose Moranchel started as a pool industry supervisor at 18 years old. He managed pools for a lawn care company, then spent five years as a foreman for another pool business. But after a series of broken promises for advancement, Moranchel needed a change. “One day my…
Paul Cruze 38Designer/project managerPremier Pools & Spas Sacramento Sacramento, CaliforniaPPAS.com Paul Cruze’s father-in-law is a pool industry lifer and got Cruze a job at SCP Distributors loading up bags of marble dust and cement and driving a forklift in the warehouse. Cruze worked his way up to a design center salesman for NPT, eventually going…
Jason Bryant 33OwnerPool Works LLCBrandon, MississippiPoolWorksMS.net Jason Bryant started working in the pool industry when he was 18, “extremely broke” and trying to work full time and attend college. It was exhausting, Bryant says. He became the retail manager at a local pool retail, service and construction company. Bryant worked there for eight years before…
Jennifer Roscoe 35Co-ownerA Plus Pools, Inc.Norton, MassachusettsAPlusPoolsInc.com Five years ago, Jennifer Roscoe’s boyfriend, Shaun Andrews, decided to open a pool business. “She jumped on board,” Andrews says. “Jenn is now the co-owner and does all the behind the scenes work, including raising our two kids. She’s spent the last few years learning everything she can…
Mason Guarino 33OwnerAccelerated PoolsBillerica, Massachusettsacceleratedpools.com Mason Guarino started his pool career at South Shore Gunite Pools & Spas, working summers and when he was off school, doing rebar, shotcrete, gunite, plaster, plumbing, excavation, grading and flatwork. He got a bachelor’s of science in construction management and started full time at the company in 2009. He…