NSPF Honors Top Instructors

Robert Freligh accepts the award for most certified individuals to date from Fontaine Piper.
Robert Freligh accepts the award for most certified individuals to date from Fontaine Piper.

The National Swimming Pool Foundation recently honored the organization’s active instructors for their extraordinary performance over the past year. Several individuals and four companies received awards for their commitment to excellence in keeping pools safer and open.

“These teachers are creating the world we all want where healthier people have great experiences in and around the water,” NSPF CEO Thomas Lachocki said.

Recognized instructors include:

Most Certified Individuals in their First Year as an Instructor: Jordan DiGuardi of Pool Operation Management, who certified 221 students.

Most Certified Individuals in their Second Year as an Instructor: Rudy Stankowitz, owner of Aquatic Facility Training & Consultants in Florida, who was presented with the award for 588 successfully taught students.

Most Certified Individuals by an Instructor in the Last Year: Scott Ford, owner of Tropical Aquatics Pool Education, Inc., who was honored for his impressive 772 students taught in the past year.

Most Certified Individuals Ever by an Instructor: Robert Freligh, owner of Nationwide Aquatic Consulting of New York. To date, he has certified more 10,800 students since becoming an NSPF instructor in 1995.

Most Impressive Increase in Certifications: Emosi Vodo of 
Continental Pools, Inc., was awarded for his increase of 240 CPO students in comparison to 2015.

Most Certified Individuals Internationally: Emosi Vodo of Continental Pools, Inc., was also honored for most certified international individuals, 147 total.

Biggest Supporter of Pool Operator Primer: Richard Deyo, director of training for EcoLab trained the most students through the online Pool Operator Primer course in the past year.

Biggest Supporter of Online Training Programs: Roy Carter, director of inspection and education for Champions School of Real Estate, who has been using NSPF materials since 2007. This is Carter’s third year in a row that he has won this award, which spans across all of NSPF’s online programs.

Companies recognized include:

Most Certified Individuals by a Company: Leslie’s Poolmart, with 2,070 certified instructors

Most Certified Individuals by a Company Internationally: Alberta Health Services of Canada

Most Certified Individuals by a Company in Spanish Internationally: Asociación de Profesionales de la Piscina of México, which certified 372 students in Spanish.

Most Certified Individuals by a Company in Spanish U.S.: Paraiso Pools received the award for certifying 347 students. José Miguel Torres, owner of Paraiso Pools, has been an NSPF Instructor since 2008 with 1,671 students taught overall.

Content Library
Dig through our best stories from the magazine, all sorted by category for easy surfing.
Read More
Content Library
Buyer's Guide
Find manufacturers and suppliers in the most extensive searchable database in the industry.
Learn More
Buyer's Guide