Pool & Hot Tub Council of Canada (PHTCC) members concluded the 2017 fiscal year at its annual general meeting (AGM), which was held during the Canadian Pool & Spa Conference & Expo in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Council members who attended the Dec. 5, 2017 meeting approved last year’s financial report as well as the proposed budget for 2018, which was introduced by Robert Wood, the PHTCC’s executive director and the Council’s 2017 treasurer, Rodney Taylor.
Wood’s year-end report highlighted the association’s strong membership growth of 12.9 per cent, which he said could be attributed to the PoolSaver program that was launched by six hydro utilities in Ontario in 2017.
“There is optimism that the PoolSaver program will spread to other regions of the country,” said Wood. “At the same time, we want to encourage consumers to seek out PHTCC members to design, build, and service their pools and spas. The objective of the upcoming national campaign is to generate public interest in the hiring of PHTCC members. Indirectly, this should also spur membership growth.”
Other notable accomplishments made by the Council in 2017 included:
- Two draft policies were prepared—one addressing fair competition and another on handling consumer complaints. Both were ratified at the meeting.
- A series of recommendations were submitted to the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care with respect to the management of public pools and spas.
- Industry concerns over a lack of recognition of pool operator training courses on Vancouver Island were submitted to the head of this region’s health authority.
- After 12 drafts, a proposed standard for the construction of residential outdoor inground swimming pools was presented and approved during the AGM.
- The PHTCC became one of the founding members of the new World Alliance of Pool & Spa Associations (WAPSA).
Other achievements were made with respect to finances, new program development, industry/member promotion, and advocacy/lobbying efforts.
Wood also represented the PHTCC as a participant on the steering committee of the Canadian Drowning Prevention Coalition. This federation of non-governmental organizations announced plans on how to eliminate drownings in Canada at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2017 held in Vancouver last fall.
A new television and digital media campaign was also announced with The Weather Network titled “The Pool & Hot Tub Forecast.” According to Dave Warren, the details, at this point, are still being worked on with respect to what it will be called and what it will look like; however, plans are the campaign will run between mid-March and mid-May.
Those in attendance also welcomed the incoming 2018 board of directors, which includes Rob Kamstra (president), Nicole Vander Geest (vice-president), Rodney Taylor (treasure), Dave Warren (secretary), Gary Barber (B.C. Island chapter), Ken Reid (B.C. Central chapter), Alex Graham (Prairie chapter), Markus Brunner (Western Ontario chapter), Steve Vicente (Ontario Central chapter), Roland Goodfellow (Ontario Niagara chapter), Crystal Lengua (Toronto chapter), Jamie Sweeney (Eastern Ontario chapter), Kara Redden (Atlantic chapter), and Mark Fournier (Quebec chapter). Plaques were presented to Gary Barber, Jason Lawrence, and Dave Simek in recognition of their service to the PHTCC as a member of the board of directors. Fournier was also recognized with a plaque for leadership as the Council’s 2017 national president.
