BACKYARD SWIMMING POOLS have come a long way from the days of rectangular configurations trimmed in bright white plaster.

“Today, if you can dream it, we can build it,” says Morgan Russell, marketing director at Russell Pools. “The first thing we ask is, ‘What’s your vision?’”

Indeed, Russell’s portfolio of completed pools includes vastly different shapes, sizes and applications. Each one is designed based on customer preferences and usage, taking into consideration whether the pool will be used for socializing, exercising or simply to add beauty. 

Russell Pool designer/contractor Jeff Albarez says amenities can include submerged barstools, benches, waterfalls and spouts and other items. A popular trend is tanning ledges, in which a flat shallow area provides cool comfort to sun worshippers. The company is currently at work on a couple of different dream projects for regional homeowners, including a “cliffhanger” pool built into the side of a bluff near Natchez, and, in Zachary, the negative edge into a lazy river-pool combination inspired by the homeowner’s travels to the world’s greatest resorts.

“We’ve got an incredible design team that can draw anything,” says Russell.

The company was started by Russell’s grandparents, Roy and Betty Russell, who built their first pool on a lark. Roy Russell was employed at what was then Esso, and one summer he decided to build a pool in his own backyard simply as a way to keep his children from squabbling with the neighbor kids, who had their own pool.

“He said, ‘How hard can it be?’” laughs Russell, who says her grandfather—a can-do World War II veteran—bought a book on the subject and recruited skilled friends to give him a hand. Soon enough, the family’s new backyard pool was finished.

Roy Russell ended up building two more pools for friends, but when a third person reached out, he and Betty decided they were on to something. They started the Russell Pools company officially in 1965 with Roy continuing to work at Esso until business got off the ground. Betty ran the office and learned to service pools herself.

“She was the company’s first service technician,” says Russell. “And she also designed our blue swimmer logo, which we represent on the side of our showroom.”

The company and its staff of 15 have amassed significant knowledge and experience about pool construction in Louisiana’s unique environment, which includes year-round rainfall, high humidity and shifting soil. Albarez says the company’s construction routine is down to a science. A pool can usually be completed in four to six weeks.

Roy and Betty Russell eventually retired and sold the company to two of their children, Keith and Tommy Russell, who still own it today. Morgan, and her cousin, Lee, work for the family business.

In addition to pool construction, Russell Pools also offers service, service contracts and retail items, including deck furnishings.

Business has expanded steadily. Ten years ago, the company moved to a larger space on Airline Highway near the East Baton Rouge Parish-Ascension Parish line to accommodate demand in the Prairieville area. Russell says there is no such thing as a slow season for the company.

“Our goal is to complete about 60 pools a year,” she says. “And we always have a waiting list.”