As 2021 draws to a close, we at PHTA would like to extend our sincere, heartfelt gratitude for your support and engagement. Together we are helping businesses grow and learn, and together we are making a difference for this great industry.

PHTA offices will be closed starting at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 23, and will reopen on Monday, January 3. Orders needed to be shipped before January 3 must be submitted by 4 p.m. ET today, December 22.

See you in the new year! 

PHTA is pleased to announce a new Strategic Partner: Watkins Wellness. “We’re extremely excited to expand our relationship with the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance as a strategic partner,” says Steve Stigers, Executive Vice President at Watkins Wellness. “PHTA performs invaluable services to promote, educate, and protect the industry, and we’re happy to support them in this capacity. We look forward to collaborating with their strong leadership team to help our industry reach its full potential.”

PHTA is pleased to announce a new Strategic Partner: Merchant Cost Consulting. Merchant Cost Consulting specializes in renegotiating and monitoring credit card processing fees. PHTA members save more with Merchant Cost Consulting’s affinity partnership!

Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines, along with swimming and pool industry leaders from the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA), the Pool & Hot Tub Foundation (PHTF), the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), and Every Child A Swimmer, announced a partnership to help combat drowning and create more swimmers. The one-year agreement between these organizations marks a pivotal collaboration to further promote swimming education and share available resources providing free or reduced-cost swimming lessons in communities across the country. Other partners in this initiative are the Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA), National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA), and the United States Swimming School Association (USSSA).

GENESIS® is offering two core courses for the PHTA Certified Pool Builder & Design Professional Pathway at the Southwest Pool & Spa Show. C201: GENESIS® CONSTRUCTION SCHOOL: Concrete Pools will prepare you for the CBP, and D265: Master Designer Methods: Kirk Bianchi, Crafting the Outdoor Space as a Living Art Form is a required course for the Master CBP certification.

Join GENESIS® at the Pool & Spa Show in Atlantic City for C260: GENESIS® CONSTRUCTION SCHOOL: Vinyl Liner / Fiberglass Pools and D211: Elements of Design. C260 is a required course for the CBP certification, and D211 is a required course for Expert CBP. Don't miss out on this opportunity to level up your education!

The World Aquatic Health Conference is available on-demand through January 21. Watch all of this year's sessions, as well as the most popular sessions from WAHC 2020. It's the perfect way to earn needed CEUs! Attendees, please keep an eye on your inbox for a survey about this year's WAHC. We appreciate your participation!

If you currently hold one or more PHTA certifications that have a 2021 expiration date, you only have nine days left to complete your recertification! Recertify by December 31 to maintain your status as an PHTA-certified individual and enjoy the associated benefits.

PHTA is looking for seasoned industry professionals who want to give back to the industry by sharing their knowledge, experiences, and advice with another PHTA member through our unique, members-only mentoring program. Your level of commitment is in your hands – you can select your start and end dates, identify how many mentees you’d like to accept, and approve or decline requests from prospective mentees. View our Mentor Toolkit to learn more about this new program.

Does a work question have you stumped? Interested to see if other pool industry professionals around the country are experiencing the same challenges as you? Have a funny or insightful anecdote that you think others would like to hear? Share all of this and much more at myPHTA, the online community exclusively for PHTA members.

Two PHTA sessions have been accepted by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) for their 2022 Annual Educational Conference. PHTA-2 Standard Writing Committee Chair Dennis Berkshire will present “What’s in the New PHTA-2 Standard” to public health officials. This Standard for Public Pool and Spa Operations and Maintenance addresses how to operate pools and spas in a commercial venue. PHTA Recreational Water Quality Committee (RWQC) Chair Jody O’Grady and RWQC Members John Weber and Terry Arko will present “Let’s Clear the Air: Air Quality for Indoor Swimming Venues” to focus on safer health conditions.

PHTA Codes staff participated in a call with the ICC A117.1 Standard Committee on December 16. This Standard seeks to allow people with a physical disability to independently get to, enter, and use a site, facility, building or element.

PHTA Codes staff spoke with officials in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, regarding ISPSC adoption. Adoption is expected with an effective date of January 1, 2022.

PHTA Codes staff is monitoring and working with coalition members on possible public comments regarding an upcoming rulemaking in California regarding the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65).

U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Despite concerns about the impact of inflation and ongoing labor shortages, 77% of small business owners are optimistic about the future of their business, according to the poll taken October 13-27, 2021.

Aquatics International
GENESIS® instructor Scot Hunsaker explains why sharing institutional knowledge must begin with a common vocabulary.

Digital Authority
It can be difficult for busy business owners to unplug, but taking a break will help ensure you’re working at your highest potential when you return. Read on for the top six benefits of taking that down time during the holidays and resting.

Pool Corporation has completed its previously announced acquisition of Largo, Florida-based Porpoise Pool & Patio, Inc. Porpoise's primary operations consist of Sun Wholesale Supply, Inc., a wholesale distributor of swimming pool and outdoor-living products, including a specialty chemical packaging operation. It also services Pinch A Penny, Inc., a franchisor of pool and outdoor living-related specialty retail stores with approximately 260 independently owned and operated franchised stores in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia.

Pool & Spa Marketing
Every pool owner and service professional needs to do it: shocking the pool. How, why, and when are detailed.

PoolPro
Hazards including toxic chemical fumes and carbon monoxide may lurk within a swimming pool pump room. Pool professionals offer tips for proper ventilation and safety.