Commentaries, Interviews & Profiles
If you asked ten people to rank which was more important in their lives, I’d say seven or eight of them would reflexively say that physical health is more important than success in business. If you’re not healthy, the reasoning goes, there’s no way to enjoy the fruits of success. These people also recognize that being robust and healthy gives you a better shot at
Let’s begin this discussion with a question: What if you were so bad at your job that a person in a related field decided, for the good of his own business, he had to learn your business and replace you rather than cope with your incompetence? Most people would say that this would be a justified response to the fact that you do lousy work. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), this very thing is happening in the pool industry – or, more accurately, to the pool industry. For years now and with increasing frequency, landscape architects have decided they’ve had enough and are entering the pool industry. They are doing so because
An Interview by Lenny Giteck In the six years since Dr. Tom Lachocki became CEO of the National Swimming Pool Foundation, NSPF has given more than $3.5 million in grant money for scientific research into aquatics, a figure that represents
I was chatting recently with my longtime friend Laurie Batter, president of Batter Up! Productions in Carlsbad, Calif. Among other things, her media relations firm takes care of public relations for the National Swimming Pool Foundation. We were discussing ways to promote the health benefits of swimming and other aquatic activities, when Laurie mentioned the Let’s Move initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama, which fosters physical fitness among children. While we agreed it’s a great cause and a wonderful program, Laurie pointed out that the initiative apparently does not promote swimming.
By now, most of us have noticed or at least heard news of the onset of a much- anticipated rebound in the economy. Most watershapers I speak with confirm that it’s true (although to widely varying degrees) and that they are indeed experiencing increases in business – both with new contacts and old leads that have come back into play. I write those words knowing that you may or may not be convinced that this is the real thing. After all, we’ve learned some tough lessons during this recession, not the least of which is to be wary when pundits offer predictions that they seem perfectly willing to adjust from week to week. At present, however, most of these economic gurus are
By Lenny Giteck A study has shown that 60 percent of African-American children don't know how to swim - twice the rate for white children. And the rate at which black children drown in this country is three times the overall drowning rate for kids. The picture for African-American adults is similarly disturbing. What are the causes for this disparity? What are the solutions? Sadly, this problem has largely been
Just before the holiday season of 2010, we were contacted by Dr. Carolyn Rowley, the vice president and chief financial officer at the watershape-control manufacturer Gilderfluke & Co. (Burbank, Calif.). She is also founder of the Machao Orphanage, a facility located about 100 kilometers outside Nairobi, Kenya, in the rural region of Makuini. Makuini is a place where more than 60 percent of the 1.8 million who live there exist
By now you may have heard the news that Mark Urban, valve designer/manufacturer and gifted innovator in pool/spa technology, died in December of bone cancer. He was 70. The facts of his life have been covered in detail elsewhere, so instead of restating that information, I’d like to
Interview by Lenny Giteck Judith Corona has a keen eye for color -- plus a rare ability to teach people how it works and how to use it to greatest effect. Corona is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Art at Otis College of Art and Design, in Los Angeles, and is on the faculty of UCLA Extension in the Architecture, Interior Design & Landscape Architecture Department. In addition, she teaches
Watershapers Must Grow or Go!