Business View Oceania - May 2024

with an awards and recognition event that not only honoured the association’s longevity, but that of its members and partners. On their history, Mr. Samartzis says, “Everything has to start somewhere. From our first ever meeting in St Kilda in 1961 as The Swimming Pool Association of Victoria right through to our rebranding as MBPAA and 60-year anniversary in December of last year, we have championed only the best standards for our industry. Sometimes, it can be too easy to brush aside the history of an organisation such as ours to focus entirely on the new. Of course, we are excited for the future and we are continually looking towards the next big thing for our members, but we believe it is important to respect where we came from. Our awards night did just that- we even had a past member who was 98 years old and still a part of our industry! So, being able to honour our roots, our evolution, and the people that made it happen was wonderful, despite having to postpone a few times.” MBPAA looks forward to the Melbourne Spa & Pool Show 2022, set to be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre on the 9th and 10th of July. The association has partnered with Landscape Victoria Master Landscapers, to co-locate the Backyard and Garden Show, as they bring the expo to life this winter. It promises to be a fantastic event featuring a wide variety of exhibitors for spas, swim spas, and plunge pools, swimming pools and lap pools, saunas, equipment supply, tile, stone, and paver supply, landscaping services, outdoor products, solar heating and pool technology, and fencing and safety supply- everything from the back door to the back fence. The show will present a free seminar program covering topics such as smart pool and landscape choices, engaging designers, evaluating materials, pool technology, pool safety, and more. Industry experts will also be in attendance to provide their advice, inspiration, and expertise for consumers and industry associates. The team of six at MBPAA value respect, confidence, success, influence, and inspiration. Mr. Samartzis elaborates, “Our core principles extend from us to our member base, and also to consumers. Therefore, it’s extremely important that we hold ourselves to an incredible standard.We have a strict code of conduct for our members that holds them to those values as 14 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05