Wise Pools Becomes a Family Business
It was 1972, at the grand opening festivities of the Woodloch Neighborhood Pool
(later named the Arthur Mack Memorial Pool, after a long-time Wise employee and
resident of Woodloch). Sympathetic neighbors introduced recently-divorced Merry
to bachelor Charles, hoping for a spark. Neighborly hunches were as good as their
intentions, and soon, the couple married, and Charles became stepfather to young
Erik and Brock. The Wises grew their business from their house on Woodloch while
simultaneously growing their family. In 1976, Summer Megan Wise was born.
The Business Grows
Soon after the birth of their daughter, Merry and Charles opened Wise's Needham
Road location, complete with warehouse, retail, and sales center. Construction,
service and maintenence departments emerged, and development of The Woodlands
began. As The Woodlands took shape, Wise was there to insure that every new homeowner
that wanted one had a glistening, custom-designed swimming pool in their backyard.
Wise Pools became a member of the National Spa and Pool Institute, an organization
which promotes the highest of structural and aesthetic standards in the industry.
Soon, Merry and Charles joined the board of the Houston NSPI, helping to define
these standards for their fellow swimming pool builders.
Wise Pools Mulitplies
The time came for Charles and Merry to open a second retail location to better
serve their increasing consumer base. In 1981 Wise Pools #2 emerged in the Pitch's
Shopping Center in Oak Ridge North. The store served its customers with a greater
stock and range of products - and top-of-the-line water testing facility (which
seems archaic by today's standards!). The Store prospered, and in 1984 another
store opened in Conroe, in a little converted cottage on Cable Street, two houses
down the road from Charles' childhood home! Despite its neighborhood location,
the Conroe store's eclectic context has served it well, as it continues to draw
sales much larger than than the tiny size seems is plausible.
The 1980's: The Decade of Design
As retail locations blossomed, Charles continued to design pools to the highest
artistic and technological levels, attending trade shows and conferences to learn
about new products and techniques in swimming pool construction. Charles was one
of the first to computerize his business, working on a computer as early as 1974.
The expertise gained from his active involvement paid off in the form of annual
design awards won at the NSPI regional and national conventions. Soon, Charles
and Merry had garnered more design awards than any other swimming pool business
in the Houston area! As the decade continued, Charles continued in the technology
forefront utilizing Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to make his designs as
accurate and as faithful as possible to necessary specifications.
Wise Migrates
While Charles and Merry continued to construct superior swimming pools for customers
in the Houston area, their Pitch's Center retail location began to seem smaller
and smaller. Wise Pools #2 eventually moved to Clayton's Shopping Center in 1989.
The new location was bigger, brighter, and closer to the maturing Woodlands. Additionally,
a sales and conference center occupied the new store. Charles upgraded his computer
technology as well, including advanced computer imaging hardware and software
to his repertoire. The design staff was now able to photograph a pool buyer's
back yard, design and render an image of the pool design they are interested in,
and illustrate how the pool would look in their backyard - before a stake rested
in it! Wise Pools was one of the first swimming pool designers in the country
to utilize this technology!
Panther Creek and an Empty Nest
When The Woodlands Corp. announced plans to expand the Panther Creek Shopping
Center, Merry and Charles leapt at the chance to move into The Woodlands, where
the majority of their consumers now lived. Always eager to serve their customers
better, they recognised the opportunity to do so in Panther Creek. Proximity and
Merry's presence in the store paid off, and now the store thrives. Merry combines
competitive pricing, helpful, personal service, and - at no charge - the most
advanced water analysis available to produce a winning combination for both Wise
Pools and their clientelle.
In October of 1997, Merry's marketing talents were recognised by Aqua Magazine,
and she was invited to sit on a pannel of experts at their convention in Orlando.
In addition, Wise was awarded its second "100 Best" award by Aqua, recognising
Merry and Charles as one of the 100 best swimming pool companies in the U.S.
Amidst all their success, their daughter Summer grew up. She was off to The University of Texas in Austin where she learned to design web pages so that she could help her parents continue to grow, obtaining an identity on the World Wide Web. Wise maintains their family business traditions even in the non-traditional cyberspace.
As Wise Pool Company continues to grow and flourish, we invite you to grow with us. Whether it be the purchase of a new pool or spa, regular maintenance, the occasional service call, or simply supplies and toys for your pool, when you use us you make the Wise choice!