PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - The International Hot Tub Association has announced the nomination and election of four new Directors to their Board. Beth Hamil, Vice President, Corporate Compliance Market Development for DEL Ozone; Bob Lauter, President and CEO of Master Spas; Larry Savage of Lawrence R. Savage Associates, Inc. and Bill Drury, Co-President of Custom Molded Products.All four of the new Board members bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the IHTA. Beth Hamil has served the spa industry for over 30 years and working with ozone for 27 of them. She co-wrote and published the “Application Guidelines for the use of Ozone for Commercial Pools and Spas.” She is named in multiple ozone patents and developed the first UL listed ozone systems for pools and spas. Larry has been around the spa industry for a long time running two companies that were subsidiaries of Hayward, making filters and pumps. He was VP of Sales, Marketing and Distribution for several years for Leisure Bay Industries before becoming an independent rep selling not only in the USA but also overseas for companies including Waterway, Pleatco, Sloan LED and EMG Motors. Bob Lauter is a leader of leaders in the spa industry serving over two decades in manufacturing. He has lead Master Spas to become one of the largest manufacturers and oldest companies in the industry today. And, Bill Drury was educated at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his BS in Chemical Engineering, MS in Metallurgical Engineering, and PhD in Materials Science. In 1993 he co-founded Custom Molded Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer of molded plastic components for the bath, pool, and spa industries. He currently serves as co-President of CMP, which now does business in the U.S, Europe, Australia, and Asia.We are grateful for dedication of these industry leaders stated Mitch Brooks, IHTA’s Executive Director. “We thank them for their vision and leadership as we work together as a team with the objectives to attain outstanding results for the portable hot tub industry!”

PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - The International Hot Tub Association has announced its acceptance into the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) with the strategic plan of writing and revising standards for the portable hot tub industry. The IHTA was founded on the purpose of advocating and protecting the hot tub industry from unwarranted regulation now and in the future. ANSI facilitates the development of American National Standards (ANS) by accrediting the procedures of standards developing organizations (SDOs). These groups work cooperatively to develop voluntary national consensus standards. Accreditation by ANSI signifies that the procedures used by the standards body in connection with the development of American National Standards meet the Institute’s essential requirements for openness, balance, consensus and due process. The IHTA’s Board of Directors has established a portable hot tub Engineering Committee which will assist the organization in defining sound technical areas which are in need of standardization. With new standards being established, the organization can use these domestic standards as a model for future international standards to benefit international members. In many instances, U.S. standards are taken forward to International Standardization Organizations (ISO) through ANSI, where they are adopted in whole or in part as international standards. For this reason, ANSI plays an important part in creating international standards that support the worldwide sale of products, which prevent regions from using local standards to favor local industries. “It’s our intent to educate as many government officials as possible regarding the differences between the portable hot tub industry and the swimming pool industry. No longer can we afford to be considered the same industry,” stated Mitch Brooks, Executive Director for the group. “There is no doubt in my mind that the IHTA is becoming the primary voice of the portable hot tub industry!”