Community meets new pool manager
One of the first steps in getting the Honey Lake Valley Community Pool on South Street up and running is to get a pool director on board.
Jared Hancock, the authority’s executive officer, introduced Eric Heumann, 28, the newly hired pool manager at the authority’s Wednesday, May 16 meeting. While Heumann will manage the pool for the authority, he is an employee of the city of Susanville.
Heumann grew up in San Diego, California, and began swimming at a young age. He was a competitive swimmer, a swim instructor and a junior lifeguard. While the authority seeks to finalize an arrangement with the American Red Cross to train lifeguards and swimming instructors, Heumann may be able to obtain certifications to train new employees in the future. Heumann said he’s impressed with the new pool.
“It’s great,” Heumann said. “It’s all new. It’s a gravity pool, which means the water comes up from the bottom and flows over the gutters, so the gutters catch all the debris.”
He said the L-shape of the pool will allow for recreational swimming as well as competitive events. Heumann said he lived in Seattle, Washington for a year before moving to Susanville to accept the pool manager position, and he plans to stay in Susanville for a while.
“I’m happy to be here,” Heumann said. “I’m happy to be here in a full-time role where I can do what I want in terms of programming, building up a swim team and building up other aquatics.”
He’s also looking forward to coordinating with the high school regarding a competitive swim team for the students.
He said, for example, the pool could accommodate water polo competitions. One of the first priorities is providing swimming lessons, especially to local youngsters who haven’t had an opportunity to learn how to swim in a pool for more than a decade.
