Northeast Spa & Pool Association’s (NESPA) Annual Congress of Committees took place on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at the Hamilton Park Hotel and Conference Center in Florham Park, New Jersey. For the past six years, the Congress has been held in conjunction with the gala Design Awards Banquet in the evening and the Service Company of Excellence Awards breakfast the next day.

Those who took part in this annual event literally helped set the course for this great association over the next year and beyond. The Congress is divided up into four “Super Committees,” which have jurisdiction over 20 other NESPA committees. At this once-a-year event, the Super Committees meet and review the goals, responsibilities and activities of each committee, then develop plans and goals for the upcoming year. Each Super Committee continues its work via email, phone and fax during the year, and occasionally, the Committees meet in person. NESPA executive officers and staff are assigned to each Super Committee to give support and assistance to the work of each Super Committee.

The Super Committees and the committees under their jurisdiction include:

• COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS (Oversees: The Edge, Web Site, GRAC, Water Safety, Membership Marketing/Public Relations): This year, the Super Committee focused on the NESPA website in four key areas which include; Members Only Site, Industry News, the Forms Bank, the Chapter Project Bank and Ask the E.X.P.R.T.S. The Super Committee assessed how to better these sections of the website to make them more user friendly and offer more pertinent information to our members.  The Committee also looked at possible advertising in the Update newsletter, and The Edge distribution list.
  
  
• POLICY, CHAPTER RELATIONS, GOVERNANCE (Formerly Policy, Chapter Relations, Governance and Finance) (Oversees: Budget/Finance, By-laws, Strategic Planning, Special Funding, and Chapter Relations): The Committee as its first act of business voted to change the name of the committee to drop any reference to budget and finance.  The Bylaws require a separate and independent finance committee and there was no need to have redundant tasks.  The Committee then discussed the possibility of manufacturer and distributor sponsors and other ways to raise funds for our new headquarters located in Hamilton Township, NJ.  It also concentrated on strategies and ideas on how to encourage new leadership at the Chapter level, and how to get members involved in leadership roles in the Region. 
  
  
• MEMBER SERVICES, PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES (Oversees: Membership Initiatives including the Membership Suite at the Atlantic City Pool and Spa Show, Affinity Programs, Golf, Design Awards, Service Company of Excellence Awards and Service Recognition): The Super Committee discussed several important topics that encompass many different aspects of the Association at this year’s Congress. They reviewed and planned the NESPA membership booth at the AC Show, the current membership drive, how to increase membership and how to promote more collaboration with distributors.
  
  
• EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (Oversees: Professional Training Institute, APSP TECH Schools, Scholarships and Internet Learning): The Education and Professional Development Committee solely focused on issues pertaining to the new NESPA building, such as training facility needs, what equipment will be needed and configuration for the different pool structures that will be featured at the new building.
  
  
• Search and Nominating Committees did not meet at the Congress, but remain as they are with one meeting per year to handle their specific duties.