APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008 - (Page 19)

cation on our product, so every manufactured hot tub has to meet a certain criteria,” Gorlin continues. Retail establishments will also be able to earn certification by meeting strict criteria (clean stores, proper lighting and signage, etc.). Technicians who service hot tubs will be able to earn certification as well. (This last program will make use of the new APSP Hot Tub Technician Manual published in 2006. Finally, the program will serve as an advocate for the industry. “We need to make sure that legislation that affects the industry isn’t passed recklessly, and that when a news story comes out about a particular incident in a hot tub or spa that we have a quick way to respond,” says Giles. “We need somebody who is looking out for the industry as a whole and giving a consistent message.” Overseeing this initiative will be a separate affiliate of the APSP, with its own board of directors and no commingling of funds with APSP. “We’re better off—and indeed we want to remain—under the auspices of the APSP for many reasons, not the least of which is the legal protection that we get as a trade association,” says Robinson. “With this framework, I think we’ve provided enough safeguards so that the money for this program will be protected.” Funding for the initiative will come from contributions made by hot tub industry manufacturers, dealers and suppliers and by ancillary companies (chemical companies, hot tub cover manufacturers, etc). Additional Details to Come The 60-plus hot tub industry representatives at the September meeting responded favorably to the initial presentation. Several made on-the-spot pledges to provide funding to draw up the legal papers necessary to get the new group started. “We understand, however, that not everybody is going to sign up in 60 days,” says Robinson. “Each company will have questions that they have to answer and decisions that they have to make. At the same time, we will have to modify and tweak the program and the details to put a prospectus together that meets everyone’s needs. “I’m confident that we will have the $600,000 we need within a few weeks,” says Robinson. “We hope to launch this new nonprofit organization under the APSP umbrella within three to six months.” The Strategic Planning Committee also hopes to have some advertising impact on the 2008 hot tub season, although that is likely to be gradually rolled out over several months. Once the funding and organizational issues have been resolved, the other task forces will step up their work as well. “There are a lot of people who have put a lot of work into this initiative up to this point, and there’s a great deal more to be done,” observes Robinson. “The enthusiasm for this has not dimmed at all; as a matter of fact, people are more energized coming out of this meeting to get things done. I think we will have additional participants on the task forces to hammer out the details as we go forward. These are exciting times; this is a turning point in the industry.” “It’s important to act now,” Giles agrees. “It’s time for us as a group to get together and grow the industry. We have put together some good ideas, we have some good programs and we have a good blueprint. We can’t do it on our own, but we can do it collectively.” A Q 345795_SanJuan.indd 1 W INTE R 2008 | 19 11/6/07 12:10:45 PM http://www.sanjuanpools.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008

APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008 Contents President's Message Guest Editorial APSP Annual Report Hot Tub Council Initiative to Speak with One Voice Suction Safety Challenging the Process Industry Update Keeping Pace: Staying on the Cutting Edge With Lifelong Learning APSP News & Resources Advertisers' Index

APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.