Aspen Spas receives a city proclamation declaring March 20 Aspen Spas Day in the city of St. Louis. (L to R): Tom Bania (owner), Sam Bania (owner), Lee Bania (founder) and Joe Vaccaro (alderman for the 23rd ward).
In what may be a first for the industry, the city of St. Louis honored local manufacturer Aspen Spas by declaring March 20 Aspen Spas day. The unusually conspicuous recognition was issued in a proclamation from Mayor Lyda Krewson in appreciation for the company's efforts on the city's behalf.
The manufacturer, which sells its spas in the Midwest, Southeast and across the U.K, is well known for its strong and enduring presence in the community and role in the local economy. According to Tom Bania, who owns the company with his brother Sam Bania, the chain of events that led to the honor all started when they decided that, instead of traveling overseas to present to their U.K. dealers, they'd welcome their U.K. dealers to St. Louis and include local activities that would showcase the area.
Part of the motivation to host the event in St. Louis stemmed from the Banias' desire to reflect their beloved hometown in a positive light to counter lingering negative perceptions from the civil unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and the stigma that St. Louis is riddled with violent crime.
"It's a badly skewed view of St. Louis — some people have the wrong image of it," Bania says. "Also, St. Louis is kind of a sleeper city. A lot of people really only know it by name. We wanted everyone who came to the conference to experience the true St. Louis, to understand a little bit about what the city has to offer and see it from a more accurate and positive perspective."
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The Banias didn't expect any local recognition for their efforts and were taken aback when they found out about the citywide honor. It turns out their dad and company founder, Lee Bania, shared what Aspen Spas was up to with Joe Vaccaro, alderman for the city's 23rd ward. Vaccaro was inspired by the idea of a local company promoting the city and in turn took it to the mayor's office.
Tom Bania explains: "My brother and I were so occupied with making sure all the details for the conference were handled that we didn't really know what our dad was up to with the city. They announced it the first day of the conference and we were just as surprised and excited as everybody else. It caught us completely off guard. It was a very special moment."
