Last month, the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals and the National Swimming Pool Foundation held a public signing ceremony making their upcoming merger official.
In January, the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals and the National Swimming Pool Foundation said they would merge to form a new association. The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) will officially begin operations on April 1. Officials said they were able to do this largely because of the exploratory work performed in 2016, when the groups considered merging but ultimately walked away.
At the ceremony, held in Atlantic City at The Pool & Spa Show: Powered by NESPA, the chairmen of both organizations’ boards signed the unification agreement, an approximately 25-page document outlining the details that have been agreed upon so far. Unlike the last time that a merger was considered, this document does not state the intent to merge, but contains the actual agreement, with the only escape hatch being activated if one group were to find out deal-breaking information such as fraud while due diligence is being performed.
Photo: Joanne McClain
Pictured L-R: James Mock, interim executive director of the Pool & Hot Tub Foundation; interim PHTA CEO Lawrence Caniglia; APSP Chairman Donna Williams; NSPF Chairman Rob Butcher; APSP Past Chairman Chris Curcio.
On March 13 and 14, the board of directors for the new organization will meet in Chicago to begin establishing the PHTA’s logistical underpinnings, such as electing the new board chair and voting in governing documents, said Lawrence Caniglia, the group’s temporary CEO.