A.J. 'Bud' Weisbrod dies in car accident

Pool & Spa News, May 21, 2004 by Rebecca Robledo

A.J. "Bud" Weisbrod, former president of Aquatech Corp. and Anthony Pools, died May 3 in a head-on automobile collision. He was 73.

Weisbrod and his wife, Nancy, were in the Hemet, Calif., area when a truck ran across a highway divider and struck their vehicle. At press time, Nancy Weisbrod was recuperating in the hospital.

As head of Aquatech from 1983 to 2000, Weisbrod was considered an architect of the pool and spa industry buying group. "Bud is Aquatech in that he took the company from a very difficult situation to the most successful situation," said current Aquatech President Jeff Fausett. "He defined buying groups."

Also an active member of NSPI and SPEC, Weisbrod was widely loved and respected. "In addition to being a giant in the industry, he was an incredible human being who gave so much of himself," said Jules Field, former Pool & Spa News publisher.

Alvin John Weisbrod was born Jan. 30, 1931, in Jackson, Minn. He entered the industry in 1953 as a delivery truck driver and draftsman for Anthony Pools, the precursor of Anthony & Sylvan Pools Inc. Within two years, he was construction manager and corporate secretary. He oversaw the building of approximately 5,000 pools in one year alone, and wrote a manual containing many standards that are still in use today.

In 1976, he became president of Anthony after a brief hiatus from the firm. "Bud led the expansion of Anthony Pools to the East Coast," said Howard Wertman, president of Anthony & Sylvan Pools. "He brought in [business] systems and procedures that [Anthony] didn't have at that time. He created a really professional atmosphere." Weisbrod also held three gunite patents.

Aquatech was suffering financially when Weisbrod took over in 1983, said Frank Bjorndal, an original Aquatech member and chairman of the board during Weisbrod's tenure. "I asked him why he was working for the company because I knew he [could] read a financial statement," said the president of Intermountain Aquatech in Sandy, Utah. "He said, 'I think we can really make something out of it.'"

Since that time, Aquatech has gone from eight members to its current roster of 147. Bjorndal said Weisbrod did this through active recruitment and raising membership standards. Under Weisbrod's direction, Aquatech set up shop at its current Huntington Beach, Calif., office.

He will be remembered as a straight shooter, Bjorndal said. "As absentee owners, we had millions of dollars going through the business and we never had to worry for a minute," he said. "When [people] talked to Bud, everyone knew exactly where he was coming from and what was going to happen."

Weisbrod was active in NSPI in several capacities. He was a member of its Board of Directors from 1992 to 1996. "He was one of the most intelligent, articulate members of the board," said former NSPI President John Kelley, CEO of Kelley Technical Coatings in Louisville, Ky. "He was diplomatic, passionate and had the ability to make people see both sides of the picture. He could get people to bridge the gap when they didn't think that would be possible.

"He was probably as fine a human being as I ever knew," Kelley said.

Weisbrod retired as Aquatech president in 2000 and became chairman of the board. He kept that post until his passing. In retirement, the Huntington Beach resident traveled to Europe, went on wine-tasting excursions with Nancy and played golf. "His handicap now was the lowest it had ever been in his life," Bjorndal said.

Bob Dumas contributed to this story.