Spotlight: 10 Years - Like a Duck!

From L to R: Joey Vassallo, Tim Szymanski, and Joe Vassallo. Tim Szymanski, public education and information officer, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, made a presentation on behalf of the Senator Harry Reid, who could not attend, in recognition of the 10-year anniversary: "Accidental drowning is one of the leading causes of death of children under the age of 14 in Southern Nevada. Learning how to float gives a child the chance to call for help, and stay out of harm’s way until help arrives to get them out of the water. Float Like a Duck is an opportunity for children to learn how to float properly. Programs like this helps to minimize the number of potential drownings here in Southern Nevada and we congratulate the success of the program here for the past ten years."

Duckie, the Float Like A Duck mascot, with some friends.

Duckie, Joe, Float Volunteer Ashley and event attendees watch YMCA lifeguards give floating lessons.

It started with a builder’s desire to make his product safe.

Joe Vassallo builds pools, “and as a pool builder I felt it was my responsibility to ensure residents had the information and tools to keep their family members safe around any body of water, be it at a residence, a resort or at the lake.”

So 10 years ago, his company, Paragon Pools, started “Float Like A Duck,” an ongoing campaign to educate the public on the importance of safety while celebrating the joys of water sports.

A decade later, the program continues to grow and undoubtedly save lives, as this year more than 375 parents and kids turned up for the growing tradition. Highlights of the award-winning event include access to a popular water park, swimming and floating lessons, firetrucks to explore, games, dancing and interaction with Duckie, the event mascot. As it has been since its inception, the event was free and open to the public.

This year, due to these continuing and tireless efforts on behalf of the local community, Paragon Pools received the 2013 Communitas Award.

The Communitas Award is an international effort to recognize the spirit of communitas — or people helping people. The award celebrates exceptional businesses, organizations and individuals for excellence in community service and corporate social responsibility, those who unselfishly give of themselves and their resources and are changing the way they do business to benefit their communities. Recipients range from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

“We are extremely proud of the program,” Vassallo said at this year’s event. “Everyone involved has such a fun experience, from the kids and parents who attend to our long-term community partners.”