AQUA and the Midwest Chapter of PHTA are planning an exciting event: AQUA Live Spring Training, taking place March 11-15, 2024, at the Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort in Oak Brook, Ill.
Education, training, networking and fun will be the focus of this five-day event, as industry professionals come together to solve the unique challenges of the Midwestern pool and spa market.
Dan Lenz, PHTA Midwest Chapter president and owner of All Seasons Pools & Spas, offers a unique insight into Spring Training, from the event’s origin to what attendees can expect from this year’s event. Read on for his Q&A with AQUA’s Haley Grace Harris.
AQUA: What is the origin story behind the Spring Training event?
Dan Lenz, All Seasons Pools & Spas: “The first event was in March of 2019. It took place at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wis., which was a lot of fun. We initiated this event because our Chapter saw that there was nothing really offered, in terms of high-quality, affordable education, in the Midwest area. Before, in order to get this type of training, pool and spa professionals in our area would have to travel to large, national shows — which can be both costly and time consuming. So instead of asking someone else to do it, or waiting around for the Midwest education void to be filled, our Chapter decided to take on the task ourselves and get into the trade show business. This will now be the fourth year of Spring Training.
“Last year, after not hosting the event for two years due to the pandemic, we had more people than ever attend. We had pool and spa professionals come in from Nebraska and the Dakotas — even as far out as Colorado — for our dealer training classes. We had a lot of vendors ask for a bigger exhibit space, and before the 2023 event even happened, the Chapter was questioning if the facility we had already booked would be big enough to host everyone successfully. It’s a shame we lost two years to the Coronavirus, but we came back in 2023 with a bang, setting the stage for future Spring Training success. We’re more excited than ever for this year’s event.”
AQUA: How did AQUA get involved?
DL: “These types of events are honestly very difficult for us on the board to put together. It takes a lot out of us, and it’s time that we’d otherwise be spending with our businesses or families. A partnership was always the vision for this event, so we could have the help to maintain and grow it. I’ve been friends with AQUA Magazine for so many years; AQUA is even a board member of the Midwest Chapter, so naturally, everything just came together.
“The goal is to develop a regional event that takes place every year, without fail, somewhere in Milwaukee or Chicago, so that people come to rely on the event to attain affordable
education and networking — these
are the goals of AQUA Live. The
Midwest is especially unique in
regards to winterization, so bringing
northern states together to learn
about our special challenges and build
relationships would only be easier and
better with the help and support of an
industry media leader like AQUA.”
AQUA: What kind of education will take place?
DL: “We’re definitely going to be
offering the Certified Maintenance
Specialist course, the Certified Service
Technician course, the Certified Pool
Operator course and the Certified Hot
Tub Technician course from PHTA,
to name a few. I know our national
association will also be bringing in
GENESIS to offer some of their courses
as well.
“Pentair will be there, and this year,
they’re actually kicking off our event
with their two-day Academy. There
will be specific dealer trainings, and in
conjunction with those, other seminars
and sessions during the expo portion of
the week. We’re talking to other major
manufacturers and PHTA to coordinate
some additional things as well. The
moral of the story is that this event
is going to be a lot of fun and super
educational — so if you’re a pool or spa
professional in the Midwest region, you
won’t want to miss it.”
AQUA: Will there by any fun, unique events for attendees?
DL: “Yes, some are still in the planning
stage, but my vision for the first night
would be to intermix the end of expo
hours with a cocktail party so that
people could wander around the show
floor with a drink in their hands. This
sort of browsing approach would
give the end of the first day an easygoing
feel and give people a relaxed
opportunity for networking.
“Then, on the following night,
we would have a different formatted
reception, still while intermixing
exhibitors with attendees. We want to
build something that’s less traditional
and more friendly, and I think nighttime
events are a great way to accomplish
this.
“And the WAVE subsection of our
chapter is very important to us; it
provides the younger pool and spa
generation with the opportunity to get
together to network, learn and laugh
with each other. That is vital when it
comes to growing and maintaining
our industry, and they really bring the
energy.
“We’ll definitely have a WAVE event,
and at least one reception. We want
to try something a little different this
year though, which I’m not allowed to
share yet, but once all the details about
the Welcome Party are hammered
out, I think it’s going to interest not
only the attendees, but the exhibitors,
too. It could be gambling, or it could
be singing, but you’ll just have to stay
tuned and attend the Spring Training
event to find out.”
AQUA: What is the importance of networking at an event like Spring Training to the Midwest Chapter and the WAVE group?
DL: “In all my years of working in the
industry, networking is honestly where
I’ve learned the most information in
order to help my business grow and
succeed. Hearing what other pool
and spa professionals do — and then
bringing those ideas back to your own
business and reformatting them so
that they fit with what you do — is
really what makes networking so vital
to our industry. And the more people
share this vital information through
networking, the better the industry
becomes. You can learn about pumps,
filters and heaters in a class, sure, but
networking with people, especially
like-minded people, gives you so much
more than a class ever will.
“Young people, regardless of what
industry they work in, are oftentimes
timid, shy, and they just don’t want to
talk to people — especially when those
people are twice their age. They’re
afraid they’ll say something stupid or
silly, so the more those young people
are exposed to each other without us
old folks around, hovering over them,
the more they’ll open up and learn from
each other.”