Pool Builders Academy

This month, Latham International and affiliates gave flight to a family’s dream.

From April 10 – 14, 2011 Latham International, the largest manufacturer of inground residential swimming pool components, with their continued commitment to giving back, donated their seventh  inground swimming pool to a very deserving family.

“We started working with local dealers around the country that we sell our products to – to identify charitable causes that can use water therapy,” said Peter Moran, Technical Services Manager of North America.  Peter runs two pool builds each year, dubbed “pool schools”.

The Beck family of Sicklerville, NJ is anxiously waiting for summer to begin so they can enjoy their brand new inground swimming pool, built very recently by members of Latham International’s Pool Builders Academy.  This family was chosen based on the compassion and drive they have to help each other overcome difficulties and achieve dreams.

Having raised two children of their own, parents Chuck and Dorothy Beck, have adopted ten beautiful children: Emily, Dakota, James, Marlyn, Serena, Joshua, Isaiah, Gianna, Jesse and Shamar — ten children who look forward to enjoying splashing, swimming, water therapy and spending time with one another in their very own pool. 

“Several of our children, like Gianna (age 9) and Jesse (age 12), they have spina bifida and cerebral palsy and spinal cord injuries. And just the therapy of it, the water therapy of it would be really good,” said grateful mom Dorothy Beck. “I can’t wait to swim in it,” said Joshua Beck, age 7. 

The children range from 20-months-old to 20-years-old and are from different places — like 9-year-old Gianna who is originally from Haiti. She has severe cerebral palsy, but is very sweet and is completely dependent. Three children (Jesse, 12; Isaiah, 12; and Raymond, 19) all love to play sled hockey. Jesse has a rare form of spina bifida. Isaiah was born with many heart defects and has orthopedic issues, is deaf in one ear and has major learning disabilities. Raymond has been a paraplegic since he was 10-months old. Adopted at 5-years old, he has been playing sled hockey for the last 10 years, which has allowed him to travel the country and the world.

We at Latham are proud to have donated the entire pool kit, which includes the wall panels, braces, steps and liner.  We’re equally proud of the companies who supported our efforts and donated their time and or materials.  This combined effort included, construction equipment, stone for backfill, permits, landscaping and crew time donated by the host builder, "The Pool Store," and Toni Williamson.  For the past three builds, Pentair has also helped out with these academies, conducting a seminar on hydraulics and assisting with the proper set up of the Pentair hydraulic system.  Coverstar, a division under the Latham International umbrella, donated the automatic cover for the pool and were responsible for a seminar on the assembly and installation.  Superior Pool Products (SPP) located in Blackwood, NJ donated all the white goods, stainless steel handrails, plumbing fittings and pipe, safety rope and more.

“They (Latham) said we wanted to find a local family so they said sure, you guys can do that, so then we were introduced to Dorothy and Chuck Beck,” said The Pool Store’s Toni Williamson.

For the builders, the days were filled with hands-on courses designed to teach contractors the technical skills needed to build residential vinyl liner in-ground pools — and for a good cause.  The course topics included code awareness, pool layout and excavation, panel and step assembly, automatic cover installation, plumbing/hydraulics/filtration assembly, concrete bond beam and bottom installation, receptor options and liner installation, deck pour/float and safety – all from APSP certified builders.  Participants earned 32 hours of APSP technical credit for completing the course, but more importantly – the priceless memory of helping out a well-deserving family!

“All of us at Coverstar, LLC are excited to participate in this event.  It has been a fantastic experience and my fifth build,” said Kevin Losee, Project Manager for Coverstar, LLC. 

We are proud to give back to the community and will continue to do so semi-annually for every Pool Builders Academy we host.

Other recent builds include: Grace Harbor in Cropwell, AL (a Christian-based recovery facility/home being used to house women in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, as well as women who’ve paid their debt to society), the Crumley House Brain Injury Rehabilitation Center in Johnson City, TN; the Lighthouse Ranch for Boys in Loranger, LA and the Tupelo Children's Mansion in Tupelo, MS, which offers temporary and longer-term care to children in need of a safe and loving environment.

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Headquartered in Latham, N.Y., Latham International is the largest manufacturer of inground swimming pool components in North America with 15 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. It was founded in 1956 by Merrill Laven, father of our current President and CEO, Mark Laven.