Tess Versluis
Around the County is a presentation of Preferred Credit Union, www.preferredcu.org, located locally at 266 N. Jebavy Dr., Ludington.
By Jeff Kiessel, MCP Contributor
LUDINGTON — Growing up in Ludington Tess Versluis has been passionate about the water pretty much her whole life.
“My mom convinced me to join the recreational swim team when I was 8 or 9 and I have been hooked ever since,” she said.
Ludington Area School District’s Donald C. Baldwin Community Pool has held many memorable moments for both Versluis and her family throughout the years.
Those times she spent as a child, teenager, and adult have flooded her desire to give back to the community.
She was hired as pool director in September of 2024 and has not looked back.
One of the main reasons she took the director position was her passion for the pool but also her memories of it being an important piece of the community.
“It is so important — learning to swim — in the area that we live in, there are so many water hazards that are preventable. Teaching water safety is really important for our community,” she said.
Versluis also values that swimming provides valuable life lessons.
“Swimming is such good exercise for all ages and abilities.” she said. “Swimming, especially swimming competitively, teaches you self discipline and valuable lessons that can last throughout one’s lifetime.”
The pool director is involved in scheduling all of the events that happen at the pool including scheduling and hiring of lifeguards to maintain pool safety.
“When I first started we had one lifeguard,” she said.
Tess — through connections of hers from Zeeland— was able to offer lifeguarding classes and now has 15 lifeguards for all of the programs the pool offers.
“With those 15 lifeguards we have been able to cover the O.J. DeJonge Middle School and Ludington High School winter electives at the school,” she said.
She is involved in marketing for pool events and activities throughout the year. She said she is hopeful to bring back open and lap swimming to the community also with swim lessons.
Versluis is hired by the City of Ludington to run the Ludington Recreation Swim Program and works with the Ludington Area Schools District throughout the year.
She said the first seven months have been a big learning curve.
“I have learned a lot about pool rules and regulations, competitive timing systems for meets, managing employees and time. But the biggest thing I’ve learned is that our community is hungry for a pool,” she said.
Brent Gillett, director of recreation and O.J. DeJonge Middle School athletic director, said Versluis has been a great addition to the team.
“Tess has taken a hands-on approach as our pool director. She has organized lifeguard certification classes, added new programming and hours to better serve the community, and continued to coach the recreation swim team, bringing consistency and support to young swimmers.”
“She is incredibly passionate and has done a great job in recruiting more lifeguards,.” said Kyle Corlett, LASD Superintendent.
Pool repairs planned for summer
Corlett said LASD is still working with the construction team on developing a plan for the pool this summer which could close the pool for needed repairs.
“We want to have the pool closed for as little time as possible to make the repairs needed,” he said. “At this time, we’re not sure how long it’ll be closed this summer or when the work will begin.”
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