The Pool & Hot Tub Council of Canada’s (PHTCC’s) Toronto Chapter recently ratified its 2014 board of directors and announced some new marketing initiatives at its recent annual general meeting (AGM).
Held at Wegz Stadium Bar in Vaughan, Ont., the meeting was attended by 25 member companies, which unanimously approved the appointment of its new executive board. The board comprises Peter Brown (BonaVista Pools), president; Dave Warren (Total Tech Pools & Leisure), vice-president and treasurer; and Dave Simek (Lawrason’s Inc.), past president. The directors include: Tony Broughton (Northeastern Swimming Pool Distributors); Scott Mosselman (Natural Chemistry); Jason Mitchell (Pool Craft); Nicole Robinson (Zodiac Pool Systems Canada Inc.); and the newly elected Michael Di Nardo (Oracle RMS) and Greg Coates (Pleasure-Way Pools).
According to Mette Yellowlees, Toronto chapter manager, two new board members were nominated to fulfil director positions that became void after Rob Pagliaro (Central Spa & Pool Supply) stepped down after serving the Toronto chapter for more than 10 years, and Steven Taylor (TayFam Enterprises Ltd.) was up for mandatory re-election after serving three years on the board. Pagliaro was presented with a plaque in recognition of his service.
During the meeting, members of the executive board reviewed and approved the financial report, which showed the Toronto chapter remains financially strong, with a more than $50,000 in reserves, as well as summarized the past year’s accomplishments. These included investing more than $10,000 in training more than 100 dealers/builders across Ontario in basic hydraulics, water chemistry, water discharge, and Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) standards, as well as hosting the chapter’s annual golf tournament and inaugural ski day, which were both successful events.
In announcing the chapter’s plans for 2014, Simek said the board has some exciting plans for the coming year. For example, the chapter will continue to provide member training with an added safety component along with a possible consumer course on pool openings/closings in early fall.
The big news of the meeting, however, was the announcement of the chapter’s marketing campaign, which will comprise a billboard (located on Highway 400, 1.5 km [1 mile] north on the way to cottage country) featuring an inviting image of the ‘perfect’ backyard. It will also include the tag line: “This is my cottage—where is yours?” and direct people to the soon-to-be created campaign website (www.nocottagecommute.ca) where they can locate a Toronto chapter member company.
The Toronto chapter is asking members who may have the ‘perfect’ backyard image (preferably a photo that depicts people or a family enjoying a backyard pool) to submit them via e-mail to mette@rogers.com. A panel of judges will select the photo that will be used on the billboard on Dec. 19.
The chapter is also developing its new website (www.poolcouncil-tc.ca), putting together a Google Adwords campaign (between March and June) to target various consumer keyword searches (e.g. pool builders, hot tubs, service, etc.), and created a backyard superhero caricature in conjunction with a forthcoming niche website (www.backyardsuperhero.ca), which will explain the value of PHTCC member companies to consumers.
The board is looking for volunteers with web design skills to help with the development of the chapter’s three new websites.
