After a high school teacher recommended Eric Cassidy for a sales manager job at a friend’s pool store, Cassidy left his post at a potato chip company and never looked back. “I love growth, I love challenges,” he says, “and love seeing those around me grow and succeed with the ideas I have had on my own or taken a part in forming.”
Cassidy says working for a supportive owner allows him to take risks and run with his “crazy ideas,” and that for him, it’s all about relationships and networking: “The company is where it is today because of the relationships I have grown with all the great people I have met over the last 15 years,” he says. “Now with being owned by Leslie’s, the company can really kick into high gear and continue to build upon our years of successes.”
Cassidy has remained in the industry through the low point of the recession and now the highs of the pandemic demand. “This industry proves it can weather many storms,” Cassidy says. “Folks more than ever look to escape from real life in their own oasis.” He sees the industry thriving, but changing rapidly, in the years to come. “I hope to continue to build my team and Valley, and allow the successes around me to continue to propel me forward for myself and my family. That mindset has worked for me since my first job at 16, so it’s what I will forever focus on.”
