How Justin and Kimberly Retzlaff Built an America's Swimming Pool Co. Franchise and a Routine That Works

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America’s Swimming Pool Company Celebrates Franchise Growth and Excellence at 2026 Owners Conference

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<a href="https://www.aspfranchising.com/">America’s Swimming Pool Co. (ASP)</a>, the nation’s premier swimming pool cleaning, repair and renovation franchise, brought together franchise owners, leadership and industry partners for its 2026 Owners Conference from January 21-23 at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, Florida.The annual event served as a milestone moment for the brand as franchisees from across the country gathered to reflect on the company’s continued expansion, share best practices and align around priorities for the year ahead. The conference theme, “Built to Grow,” focused on the core elements that drive long-term success for franchise owners: basics, strategy, profit and people.The three-day event combined leadership presentations, training sessions, vendor showcases and networking opportunities designed to strengthen collaboration across the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aspfranchising.com/">America’s Swimming Pool Co.</a> system.“Our franchise owners continue to prove that when you follow the model and stay disciplined in the fundamentals, the results follow,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmie-meece-63725262">Jimmie Meece</a>, brand president of America’s Swimming Pool Co. “What we saw across the system this year was consistency. Owners are building strong teams, serving customers well and executing the processes that drive sustainable growth.”In his update to owners, Meece also outlined how the brand has continued to expand. America’s Swimming Pool Co. ended 2025 with 141 locations across 25 states, backed by approximately 670 employees and a fleet of more than 620 service vehicles. At the height of the season, franchise teams were servicing over 19,000 pools, a snapshot of how large the system has grown in recent years.Meece emphasized the company’s commitment to delivering what he described as the three core priorities franchisees expect from their franchisor: returns, relationships and reliability.The brand also reported continued growth across several service categories. Maintenance and service/repair segments both experienced steady increases, while renovation and construction services saw double-digit growth.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewart-vernon-644871257/">Stewart Vernon</a>, founder of America’s Swimming Pool Co. and executive vice president of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.authoritybrands.com/">Authority Brands</a>, delivered the conference’s keynote address, reflecting on how the swimming pool industry has evolved in recent years and how ASP has continued to adapt.He highlighted the development of America’s Swimming Pool Co.’s pool construction program, an initiative supported by Authority Brands that provides franchisees with additional tools, training and operational support to expand into new service offerings.Throughout the event, franchise owners took part in sessions aimed at improving operations, developing stronger teams and finding practical ways to grow their businesses. Topics included sales and customer communication strategies, digital marketing and local search optimization, hiring systems designed to attract and retain strong employees, pool construction training and technology tools, along with acquisition strategies for expanding local market presence.<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghan-meece-0a0929237/">Meghan Meece</a>, marketing manager for America’s Swimming Pool Co., shared updates on the brand’s evolving marketing strategy, highlighting the importance of local reputation management, review generation and faster response times for customer inquiries.New tools introduced to franchisees include a centralized texting platform designed to improve speed-to-lead response and a 3D pool design tool that allows customers to visualize backyard projects while generating construction leads directly through America’s Swimming Pool Co.’s marketing systems.A highlight of the conference was the America’s Swimming Pool Co. awards ceremony, which celebrated the achievements of franchise owners and employees who demonstrated outstanding performance and leadership throughout the year.Key awards included:<ul><li>Best New Start Award: Murfreesboro, Tennessee – Nick Carver</li><li>Highest Gross Sales Award: Nashville, Tennessee – John Hutchinson</li><li>Transformation Award: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma – Brock London</li><li>Brand Ambassador Award: Troy, Michigan – Dave Boddington</li><li>Brand Champion Award: South Shore and ASP of South Tampa – Travis Larson</li><li>Trident Award: South Raleigh, North Carolina – John Portland</li><li>Employee of the Year: Reno, Nevada – Phillip King, Service Manager</li><li>Bean Counter of the Year: Aiken, South Carolina – Lawrence Rountree</li><li>Top Performing Maintenance Franchise: Galveston County, Texas – Scott Brighty</li><li>Top Performing Service Franchise: Mesa, Arizona – Clint Rowley</li><li>Top Performing Construction Franchise:Nashville, Tennessee – John Hutchinson</li><li>Top Performing Renovation Franchise: Tucson Northeast, Arizona – Justin and Kim Retzlaff</li></ul>America’s Swimming Pool Co. also recognized Nevada as the winner of the annual Battle of the States award, which celebrates the state with the highest average gross revenue across participating locations.In addition,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickcarver/">Nick Carver</a>, owner of America’s Swimming Pool Co. of Panama City Beach and the Murfreesboro location, received recognition for his success as a multi-unit franchise owner.With continued investment in training, marketing tools, technology and operational support, the brand remains focused on helping franchise owners scale their businesses while maintaining the culture and service standards that define the America’s Swimming Pool Co. brand.Franchisees left the conference aligned around a shared vision: building on the fundamentals that drive success and continuing to grow the America’s Swimming Pool Co. system in markets across the country.

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Franchise owners, leadership and partners gathered in Florida to share strategic insights, recognize top performers and align around the brand’s continued growth for the year ahead.

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<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinretzlaff/">Justin</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-retzlaff/">Kimberly Retzlaff’s</a> franchise story started the way a lot of real-life decisions do: with a layoff, a late-night conversation and a growing sense that the corporate path was not taking them where they wanted to go.“During COVID times, Justin was laid off, and so we really started talking a lot about what our goals and priorities are,” Kimberly said. “My goal and priority was to be closer to family and to move back home. Justin had always wanted to run a business, so we kind of came to the agreement that we would start a company in Tucson.”<h2>A Late-Night ‘Light-Bulb’ Moment</h2>For Justin, the search did not start from scratch. He had spent years around franchise systems and knew what to look for, even if he did not always read every newsletter that landed in his inbox. “My previous jobs — a lot of them — were on the franchisor side of numerous national and international chains,” he said.“I always got the Franchise 500 newsletter in my box and very rarely read it,” Justin said. “One very late evening, I couldn’t sleep and decided to read the Franchise 500 newsletter.”They opened their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aspfranchising.com/">America’s Swimming Pool Co.</a> business in September 2021 — a local franchise operation focused on pool cleaning, repair and renovation — but Kimberly did not step in full time at the start. She kept her job in scholarly publishing while they built the operation, then joined the business as growth made the split harder to maintain. “For the first 18 months, my previous life was in scholarly publishing,” she said. “So I stayed in publishing for the first 18 months of our business.”&nbsp;Justin said that transition came through a practical conversation. “I think the first conversation was whether she wanted to continue on with her career or not,” he said.<h2>Dividing the Work, Sharing the Mission</h2>Once they were both in, the Retzlaffs leaned into a structure that matched their strengths instead of forcing both partners into the same lane. Kimberly describes Justin as the outward-facing driver. “Justin — he’s a visionary,” she said. “He is focused on following the systems to grow our business, and he is very good at marketing and sales to bring in new customers while keeping our current customers happy.”Kimberly’s role is the systems side of the business, the part that keeps a service operation consistent when schedules change and the days get chaotic. “With my prior life being in editing — [I’m] very detail-oriented,” she said. “So I gravitated pretty naturally toward finance and marketing.”Justin said the division keeps the partnership from turning into daily friction. “It just kind of a yin-and-yang fit,” he said. “The things we needed to operate the business, one of us was good at.”<h2>The Hard Part Is Turning It Off</h2>A clear structure helps, but it does not solve the hardest part: work bleeding into everything else. Kimberly said the overlap shows up in the small moments that are supposed to be theirs. “I would say the hardest thing has been that it’s really difficult to turn it off,” she said. “Even when we go out to dinner after work or when we’re on vacation somewhere, we’re constantly talking about the business.”Justin’s take is less about balance and more about the pace of growth that comes with ownership. “Every day we’re learning things,” he said. “We learn so much more every single day.”<h2>Growth That Leaves Room for Life</h2>In 2025, the Retzlaffs earned an internal milestone that validated what they were building. “The one thing that happened recently that we’re extremely proud of is that we were named&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool/info">ASP’s</a> 2025 franchise of the year,” Kimberly said.They have learned what many service owners learn the hard way: growth only helps if it buys back time. “This year, our main goal is to restructure our team and bring on a little bit more management support so that Justin and I can start to step back — so it’s not like we have to have our phones on us 24/7,” she said.Justin said they are also building systems to prevent a common service business plateau. “We’ve noticed a recurring theme in development points of pool companies where they tend to plateau — hit a wall,” he said. “We’re trying to put a new system in place that will avoid us hitting that wall and allow us to keep scaling.”<h2>Advice for Other Husband-and-Wife Teams</h2>Kimberly’s advice starts with alignment before the first busy season hits. “Sitting down and having that discussion about who’s going to do what, and coming to some agreement on how you resolve differences of opinion,” she said.She also pointed to something simpler, but harder to remember when work is constant: reinforce the partnership, not just the operation. “Catch each other doing things right and compliment each other on jobs well done,” Kimberly said.Justin said he did not expect the role they would grow into within the franchise community, but it has become one of the more meaningful parts of the journey. “We are being asked to and have become leaders of our franchise network,” he said.For more information on franchising with America’s Swimming Pool Co., please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool/info">https://1851franchise.com/america-swimming-pool/info</a>.

A move back to Tucson sparked the leap, but the real story is how they built a structure that let both the business and their marriage hold up under pressure.