Fond memories of Lake Mohawk Pool

By Laurie Gordon
Sparta — Greg Leo, of Sparta, has been the General Manager of the Lake Mohawk Pool since 2012. There is now a contract (pending membership approval) to sell the pool to The Lake Mohawk Country Club. Leo has some great memories of his time at the pool, but feels the best interest for its future is this sale. He fondly recalls the history.
“In 2012 the General Manager of the Country Club asked if I would consider purchasing the pool, as there was quite a bit of fear and trepidation about a group from outside our area purchasing the pool and the Club felt than a 'local' owner would have more of the community's interest at heart,” Leo said. “So I called a couple of our friends from Sparta and together we happily purchased the pool.”
The official owners who are now selling are Celia Leo, Carol Carbin and Tom Carbin, with Greg Leo as the General Manager.
The 2012 purchase meant a lot of renovations.
“There is almost no corner of the pool complex that we didn't improve rather dramatically,” Leo said. “We invested an additional $400,000 into the pool and we now are completely ADA compliant, have expanded sports fields, an arcade, gazebos, mini-golf, and a really good restaurant.”
Then Leo met his first group of employees and first members.
“The kids we have hired over the years have all been fantastic and our members have been so excited at the changes we have made," he said. "Early in our first summer a member came up to me and said 'the pool was really getting run down and I was a little ashamed to bring my friends here, but now I am proud and they are all jealous.' That was so nice to hear.”
The Swim Team has been the backbone of the pool for generations.
“In fact our current head coach, Tim Holovacs, swam on the team as a boy and now his own son, Finn, not only is on the team but is one of our lifeguards," Leo said. "It is so much fun to be at the meets to see and hear the excitement of a new generation of 'Olympic hopefuls.'”
Annual events have included: the Northeast Water Polo Competition, the Helen Morgan School End-of-Year Party, annual "Theme Days" such as Minions Day, Pirates Day, Marvel Day, and Star Wars Day and the pool sponsored a "Sunday Music Series" featuring local musicians poolside every Sunday.
The final go-ahead for the pool to be officially sold to the Lake Mohawk Country Club will come from the membership at their annual meeting, in November, or at a special meeting should one be called on the subject.
As Leo and the current owners pass the torch, they want their legacy to be, “That we loved, loved, loved our time as stewards of this wonderful facility and that it was our pleasure, no, our honor to share these past six years with our members who we now regard as 'family.'”