The Pool & Spa Apprenticeship and Training Committee is excited to announce another newly appointed Director to the Pool & Spa Apprenticeship and Training Committee (PSATC) – Ken Howard.

Ken started his career in San Diego in the electrical industry when he was sixteen years old. After four years in the electrical industry, there was an opportunity to start his own business in the landscape industry. It was here that he was first introduced to swimming pool construction. Over the next twenty years, Ken designed and built, in North San Diego County, as a full-service outdoor design, project management and construction company.

This design-build experience included new swimming pool & spa construction, renovations, remodeling, demolition, pool equipment repair & replacement, pool & spa chemical automation upgrades, and electrical work. Additionally, concrete work, including driveways, patios, pool decks, and ICF (Insulating Concrete Forms) swimming pool design and construction, were later added to the scope of provided services.

Ken has obtained five CA Contracting License classifications, as well as obtaining a CBP (Certified Building Professional) and PPSO (professional Pool & Spa Operator) designations from the APSP/PHTA. Since 2018 there has been a focus on peer education regarding the proper installation of chemical automation and chemical automation controllers for residential pool/spa combos.

Ken is the current owner of Ultimate-Pool.com full service-swimming pool service and repair business in North County, San Diego, and the President of Ultimate Pool Tools

Fort Wayne, IN – Master Spas, a leading manufacturer of premium hot tubs and swim spas, continued its support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as a charity sponsor of the 2023 Warburton Golf Tournament.

Master Spas donated an H2X Trainer 15 swim spa to the auction and presented St. Jude with a significant donation, which was made on behalf of Master Spas and its worldwide network of specialty retailers. In addition, Master Spas donated a Michael Phelps Legend Series hot tub for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway raffle.

The 2023 Warburton Golf Tournament took place February 23-26 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, California.  It is an annual event that brings together celebrities, professional athletes, and top-tier golfers to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which provides life-saving care to children battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The event includes a golf tournament, auction, and other activities designed to raise awareness and funds for the hospital.

“We are honored to partner with the Warburton Golf Tournament and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to support this important cause,” said Kevin Richards, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Master Spas. “As a company, we are committed to making a positive impact in our community, and we believe that supporting St. Jude’s mission to find cures for childhood diseases is a worthy cause.”

This year’s four-day event raised more than $4.7 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Warburton is the highest grossing tournament for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, raising more than $26.5 million since it began 13 years ago.

Fueled by the company’s mission and values, Master Spas has established a charitable giving program that supports multiple nonprofit organizations and charities, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Master Spas Care program extends beyond the company and to its global network of retailers.

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Because of events like The Warburton, St. Jude can provide cutting-edge treatments not covered by insurance, at no cost to families. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and won’t stop until no child dies from cancer.

About Master Spas

Master Spas is based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 90 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Operating out of a state-of-the-art, 583,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on a 50-acre manufacturing campus, Master Spas is the largest portable spa, hot tub and swim spa manufacturer in the world with all products built in the U.S.A. The company’s executive team boasts more than 200 years of spa manufacturing success and one of the strongest track records in the industry. For more information, please visit: www.MasterSpas.com.

Following new Department of Energy lighting regulations, the company takes energy-savings a step further

SAN DIEGO – March, 1 2023– The swimming pool industry is about to undergo another transformation as a result of new Department of Energy (DOE) lighting regulations that aim to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by prohibiting the sale of some incandescent lights. In response to these changes, Fluidra, a leading global provider of pool equipment and connected solutions in the pool and wellness sector, has announced its commitment to not only meet, but exceed these regulations.

The new regulations, which apply to various pool lights with a lumen range between 310 and 3,300 lumens (roughly 25 to 300 watts for incandescent lamps), build upon the existing Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which set energy efficiency standards for many common household lighting products. Under the new regulations, manufacturers are required to produce lighting products that are even more energy-efficient, which should result in significant cost savings for consumers. According to independent environmental studies requested by the DOE, this new regulation is estimated to result in net consumer benefits of $3 billion over 30 years.

To be compliant, the new regulations stipulate the following:

•            Manufacturers can no longer sell non-compliant incandescent lights manufactured or imported on or after the effective date of January 1, 2023

•            Distributors & Retailers can no longer re-sell non-compliant incandescent lights without penalties effective March 1, 2023, and with reduced penalties until July 31, 2023

As currently written, these regulations affect Fluidra’s 100W and 300W incandescent lighting products. However, the company, which is focused on reducing its carbon impact both through its business practices and the products it produces is taking a firmer stance and will stop manufacturing incandescent lights completely. Moving forward, the company will only manufacture LED lightswhichhave been shown to provide up to 87% energy savings* for homeowners.

“Pool owners are now looking for much more than just a beautiful pool they can enjoy; they want that pool to include solutions that mitigate environmental impact while also saving them money,” said Fluidra president, Lennie Rhoades. “We’re always looking for ways to make the pool more energy efficient, whether it’s through the use of variable-speed technologies or adding a pool cover, which conserves water, heat and chemicals.  In the case of lighting, we are already seeing a natural migration within the industry to LED-based technologies, so these new DOE regulations give us an ideal opportunity to accelerate the transition to this more efficient technology. We are confident that our customers will benefit from the increased efficiency and cost savings these changes will bring.”

*Calculation based on a comparison between a 500W white incandescent light and a 65W white LED light with comparable lumen output.

In place of the previous generation of incandescent lights, Fluidra will continue to build out its robust range of LED lighting options, including the upcoming release of their latest LED offering, the Infinite WaterColors LED Lights, the company is confident that its lighting solutions will cater to the sustainability concerns of pool owners while providing a superior experience and the highest value to pool owners.

For more information about Fluidra’s LED pool and spa lighting solutions, pool professionals are encouraged to contact their local Fluidra representative for information or visit Jandy.com. 

About Fluidra

Fluidra is a publicly listed company focused on developing innovative products, services and IoT solutions for the residential and commercial pool markets, globally. The company operates in over 45 countries and owns a portfolio of some of the industry’s most recognized and trusted brands, including Jandy^®, Polaris^®, Zodiac^®, CMP®, Taylor Water Technologies and S.R.Smith. To learn more about Fluidra, visit FluidraUSA.com or call 800-822-7933.