Greg Bowers was mowing a customer’s grass in 1990 when he was asked if he would like to interview for a job at a local Pinch-A-Penny.  Bowers showed up to the interview, aced it, and was offered a job on the spot.  The 19-year-old, at the time, accepted the offer and eventually started working at the Pinch-A-Penny location in Orange Park, Fl.  

Current Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA) treasurer Maurice Bushroe’s success as the owner of Blue Ribbon Pools wasn’t overnight and it wasn’t even close to planned.  Bushroe started off cleaning his mother’s and next door neighbor’s pool when he was a kid.  It was a kind gesture and a way to help out and lend a hand.  Bushroe never once thought he would be doing this as a profession down the road.

Laura Castanza, the Director of Education for the Team Horner Group, had a unique introduction to the pool industry at a young age. 
“My father has been an inventor and formulator of swimming pool surfaces for decades,” said Laura, “As a family, we spent most of our time in and around water.”
The South Florida native watched her dad become increasingly fascinated by cements and aggregates, and resolute in applying them as swimming pool finishes.  It was only a matter of time before she would contribute. 

Ray Kurilavicius isn’t a stranger to blue collar work, he’s done it all.  He started off as an automotive technician and eventually worked as a marine repairman, diesel mechanic, propane technician and then a CDL driver.

That experience Ray was accumulating in his professional life would lead him to an opportunity to work on pools early on in the 90s.

Holly Waldhauer, from Chicago, knew nothing about swimming pools or the industry.  In the early 2000s she decide to quit her job and join a friend in Florida who was installing pool tile.  It was a niche job which Holly had absolutely zero experience in.  Some would look at a move like that as a risk.

“I was only 22,” said Holly.  “When I made that choice, I was young.  I wasn’t scared at all.”