BY ALESHA CLAUNCH - Fort Worth Business Press

In his younger days, Barry Pulliam piddled with construction and tried his hand at the convenience store business. In the end, he finally yielded to what people had been telling him his whole life - he has chlorine in his veins.

Pulliam, 56, is now the proud president of Pulliam Pools, a pool building and maintenance company his grandfather established in Fort Worth in 1916.

'It's in my blood, it just took me a little while to realize that,' Pulliam said. 'This is more than a business, it's a legacy. Sometimes it's hard to live up to the reputation my grandfather and father set, but I am proud to be a part of it all.'

Today, Pulliam Pools stands tall as the oldest pool contracting business in America. Pulliam and his business has grown up with the families who have hired Pulliam Pools for an aquatic addition to their homes. Just as Pulliam is a third-generation owner of Pulliam Pools, having taken the reins of the company from his father, he has several third-generation customers in Fort Worth and surrounding areas.

"Our consumers know us, but more importantly, we know them," Pulliam said. 'As a company, we just keep getting better. After almost 90 years, if you pay close enough attention, you know what your customer wants and you know the best way to give it to them."

Pulliam said that one of the most important things he learned from watching his grandfather and father conduct business was the importance of making himself available.

'People come to us s because they don't want to hire some stranger they'll never hear from again,' he said. 'They hire us because they want a name attached to the company. And we have that - it's my name."

Pulliam said that's why he makes sure his home phone number is available to each of his customers.

"When you have an open business like we do, everybody feels better about the product,' Pulliam said. 'We're not trying to hide anything. We're just trying to do the right thing and give people a pool we can be proud of and one they can enjoy."

Barry's grandfather, Theodore Pulliam, opened a humble swimming pool contracting store on Eight Street in Fort Worth in 1916. He used his experience in cement and plastering to construct some of the first swimming pools in Texas. When Theodore Pulliam died in 1957, his son Doren was running the family pool business. Under Doren's leadership, Pulliam Pools built four Fort Worth public park pools and two Tarrant County Junior College pools. Doren Pulliam died in 1998 and left his son Barry the key to the Pulliam Pool kingdom.

Barry said the company's reputation sustains business, but it's the company's attitude that has helped Pulliam Pools grow through the years.

'The reputation gets u in the door and once we have access to the customer, it has served its purpose.' Pulliam said. "There is a certain comfort people feel working with us as opposed to a newer company. People feel like there's a history in our company that they can trust - and that's because there is."

Pulliam Pool's Fort Worth office is located in south Fort Worth on Altamesa Boulevard.

Pulliam Pools has won many awards, including the Industry Choice Award as National Builder of the Year and the Texas Family Business of the Year award presented by Baylor University. The company's latest honor was being named the Small Business of the Year, 11 to 50 employees, by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

Steve Duttion, Executive director of the Fort Worth Samaritan House, was one of the judges who selected Pulliam Pools as winner of the prestigious chamber award. Dutton said that once employees of Pulliam spoke with judges, the pool company had unanimous support for the win.

"All of the companies were great, but Pulliam distinguished itself in all of the areas that the chamber had asked us to review,' Dutton said. 'The enthusiasm of the employees convinced us that the company is above the rest. They reminded us of a family working together - that's how much they seemed to care about each other and about the success of the company."

Pulliam said the company has about 100 pools under construction at any given time. Communication, he said, is not just important; it's vital.

"We just keep refining the system," Pulliam said. "That's how you get efficiency in anything you do. We do an extensive review of our procedure during our off-season to perfect what we did well and to correct the things we didn't do as well. After so many years, we have a pretty good system down, but you have to keep working on it. You can't just relax and be happy with what you have or you might just lose it."

Pulliam Pools recently opened new offices in Weatherford and Granbury. Pulliam said he hopes the business expansions make his services more convenient for customers in those areas.

Pool prices start at about $17,000 at Pulliam, and the company will build a pool as elaborate - or as simple - as the customer specifies.

Pulliam Pools is also an Aquatech Member, a prestigious designation in the pool industry. Because of that affiliation, Pulliam said, his business constructs pools strictly in the DFW area, stopping just shy of Denton.

"As a courtesy, we don't go into other Aquatec Members' areas," Pulliam said. "The group is invitation only and we help each other out. If someone from the Denton area wants us to build a pool for them, we will refer them to the Aquatec Member in their area."

Pulliam said customers in the Fort Worth area come back to Pulliam Pools time after time because his employees take their time with customers and don't rush decisions. That, he said, is another thing he has learned in his life-time of pool construction.

"Buying a pool is a scary thing," Pulliam said. "It's a big ticket item and a lot of companies will build the pool for you and then a maintenance company to service your pool should something go wrong. Myself, if I have someone build something for me, I want them to be able to come fix if it something goes wrong."

Pulliam said that is why his company also services each pool it builds. Giving customers access to the pool-builder adds a certain level of security to the customer, he said.

'I wouldn't ever want to build a pool for someone and then tell them to try this guy or that guy if they have a problem," Pulliam said. "I like to find the individuals in the company in worked on each pool to answer questions - no matter what they are."

Michelle Conner, Pulliam Pools marketing and building representative, said she loves working for Pulliam because of the basic values of the company.

"Our customers are confident in us and that's why they keep coming back," Conner said. "When you work for a place with such a good reputation, it really helps you sleep well at night.'

Those values, she said, are apparent in the company's new marketing strategy. Pulliam has decided to pull a chunk of the company's advertising dollars from conventional markets, such as yellow page ads, to put those dollars to better use. Instead of the ads, Conner said, the company has started a Pulliam Pools Scholarship fund for the area high school students. This, Conner said, is another example of why she feels good about working at Pulliam Pools.

'Instead of some big marketing firm getting all of our money, we thought it would be better to help a kid go to college,' Conner said. "It promotes what this company is built on - getting out into the community and letting our reputation speak for itself."

Conner said the scholarship is given to one student and to several local high schools in recognition of good business morals and ethics.

Pulliam, who is divorced, has three children - two of whom share his devotion to the pool business.

Pulliam daughter, Marissa, 28, works in the Human Resources department of Pulliam Pools. Barry's son, Parker, 13, accompanies his father to pool construction job as often as he can. Pulliam's daughter Carrie, 31, does not work in the family business.

Pulliam said his company will celebrate its 90th anniversary next year and with two of his children working by his side, the company will continue to get stronger each year.

"Maybe I do have chlorine in my veins," Pulliam said. "If that means that I love pools, then everyone was right. I haven't ever had to live without one and I hope I never do."