The Awards of Excellence is just one component of APSP's awards program. Additionally, the organization offers special honors for individuals who have made their mark on the industry. These honors include CBP of the year, CSP of the Year, Retailer of the Year, Chapter of the Year, Young Professionals of the Year and APSP Fellows. The winners below were nominated by their peers and represent the best of the best our industry has to offer. Bravo!
CBP OF THE YEAR
Stephen Neville, CBP, CSP, PPSO
Island Construction Corporation
Del Mar, Calif.
Over the course of his career, Stephen Neville has won the respect of his peers for his consistently high-quality work as well as his dedication to bettering the industry. In addition to serving as the vice president of the APSP Southern California chapter, Neville was elected chairman of the Builders Council and awarded a voting seat on the APSP Technical Committee. As Carvin DiGiovanni, APSP vice president, technical and standards, wrote in his nomination letter, "Fairness, integrity and passion can be added to Stephen's selflessness. He has always stepped up to meet the challenges facing our builders and has never shied away from a difficult task. He truly represents the spirit of what is to be a CBP: to become a leader and share what he has learned to motivate other CBPs to lead."
CSP OF THE YEAR
Rick Woemmel, CBP, CSP
Bi-State Pool & Spa
O'Fallon, Mo.
Rick Woemmel is known for being one of APSP's strongest assets. In his career of more than 25 years, he has become one of the organization's most prominent educators — he has taught CBP, CSP, CHTT and CPO courses at regional and national shows — and serves as vice chairman of the APSP Builders Council. In addition to his work with APSP, Woemmel helped develop the American Red Cross lifeguarding program and is a scuba instructor in his spare time. As S.R. Smith Regional Sales Manager Belinda Schmieg writes, "From his leadership in our local chapter and his involvement at regional shows to his leadership on the Builders Council, he is a go-to guy for industry professionals to get their questions answered."
RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Brooke Rossi
DesRochers Backyard Pools and Spas
Wilmington, Ill.
Brooke Rossi started working at her family's firm, DesRochers Backyard Pools and Spas, back in junior high. Today, she's a second-generation owner of the company with several accolades under her belt. Rossi was named Bioguard Retailer of the Year in 2017, for example, and hosted a retail symposium in 2016 to discuss the system she developed to efficiently manage three retail stores. Under her leadership, DesRochers has won a host of awards for customer satisfaction, exemplary service and showroom design.
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR
The Chapter of the Year Award recognizes one outstanding chapter that has set a stellar example for the organization, advancing and enhancing the profession through strong leadership, community outreach and providing their members with the highest quality of programs, activities and services.
APSP's motto is "reflect success," and no one does it better than Georgia's APSP Chapter, which has now won the Chapter of the Year award twice.
Highlights of the chapter's service include hosting the first on-site classroom seminar for the PPSO certification, sponsoring 10 continuing education events around the state to educate building officials and contractors, establishing its own WAVE Young Professionals Network Chapter and raising $15,000 for Zac Brown's Camp Southern Ground aquatic facility.
Even more impressive is what the Georgia chapter has accomplished on a legislative level. In just one example, representatives from the Georgia Chapter helped craft and pass a bill that requires any company that sells more than $250,000 of merchandise in Georgia in a calendar year to pay sales tax, a law intended to help brick-and-mortar small businesses of all kinds compete against online retailers.
"Georgia and I are very lucky to have such an engaged group of board members and volunteers," writes Steve Selak, president of RWB Sales and president of APSP's Georgia Chapter. "It has allowed our chapter to maintain continued success of its ongoing annual events, as well as add new events and informative opportunities for membership."
