There will now be no second guessing in Anguilla when it comes to the certification and ability of some twenty-six pool maintenance workers. They have all been trained and certified to keep swimming pools at the island’s high-end resorts, villas and private residences clean, hygienic and generally functioning at a high level.
The person to thank for this thoughtful vision is the multi-talented Cheddi Richardson, whose services to the island include a gallery of admirable driftwood and glass carvings, sandblasting work, a gift boutique, rental apartments, pool equipment and maintenance services and, in another category, local cuisine. He brought to Anguilla a pool
specialist from a highly-acclaimed company in the United States to conduct the training and certification, this week, at his spacious business place on the Cove Road, West End, in the heart of the tourism belt.
The Certified Pool Instructors were Mr. Rick Meyers and Mr. Anthony Alvarado who both work for Korner Equipment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “I am here in Anguilla to certify these fine people for the leading pool operator certification in the world,” Mr. Myers told The Anguillian. “After this training, they will better be able to know safety regulations, chemical adjustments, some of the new equipment on the market and their certification is good for five years.”
Mr. Meyers continued: “We are a manufacturing company of swimming pool equipment and we are certified to teach these classes to advance the cause of the aquatics industry, and also just for people to know and understand our products. Once they get this certification, it is known all over the world and if one of these people move to another island or the United States and apply for a job, this certification will mean something to most swimming pool companies and resorts not only in the US but around the world.”
Mr. Meyer’s colleague, Mr. Avarado, is mainly the Sales Representative for the US company which supplies equipment to Cheddi’s Pool Tech Services, the largest retailer of swimming pool equipment and maintenance services in Anguilla.
Cheddi was particularly delighted to be able to facilitate the training and certification of the pool workers. “In the swimming pool industry, Anguilla has just over 1000 pools from resorts to private homes and, as a seller of pool products, I felt that pool workers on the island needed to be certified,” he told the newspaper. “Probably we in Anguilla take pools for granted, but there are certain requirements the workers must know about. I think by bringing in the instructors from the United States would enable the workers to improve their services.”