Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Savio Water Feature Institute

Last week, we hosted a Savio Certification Event as a part of the Savio Water Feature Institute at our facility in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The two-day event featured a hands-on Pond-Free water feature construction class and several hours of classroom instruction. Class participants traveled from as far as St Louis, Missouri and Houston, Texas to attend. At the conclusion of the seminar, participants were able to test to become part of the Savio Certified Contractor Program. The test was administered by the National Association of Pond Professionals.

Rick Bartel, Director of the Savio Water Feature Institute, led the instruction. Rick is one of the most decorated and experienced water feature installers in the United States. His creditials would take most of the page if I were to list them here, but if you want to see for yourself they can be found on the Institute's web site. Besides Rick's experience, expertise and subperb ability pass along his knowldge, you come away from the event impressed with what a genuinely nice person he is.

The Savio Pond-Free water feature installation incorporated the RISE construction method, which produces a more appealing and natural water features while using less stone and the same or less man hours for the installation. Instruction included water feature pricing, best business practices, marketing, Savio product training and basic water feature knowledge including working with pond liners, pumps, filtration, pond skimmers, ultraviolet clarification and water treatments.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Randy is right! This was an awesome seminar. I have had the pleasure of working with Rick Bartel on two other occassions and he is exactly what this industry needs...true caring professionals striving to better our industry.

Water Wizard

Jim Lewis, Water Features Portland Oregon said...

Savio has been an industry leader for years. We've been using their biofalls and skimmers on our water features for a long time and have always been impressed with the quality. Never had a problem with one yet.

Water Features Portland Oregon