Mt. Lake Pool & Patio is a company that had its beginning in the mid 60s as an authorized service company doing work on residential and commercial pools for Sylvan Pools in the Northeast. Mike Stachel, owner and founder of Mt. Lake Pool & Patio, was formerly a service technician working for Sylvan Pools.
 
In those early days, the company's headquarters was in Mike and Arlene's kitchen. Within 2 years it grew enough to build an office in the basement of their home. A secretary was hired to help with the phone calls and paperwork of a growing business. The company also had four service technicians working. From Maine in the north to Virginia in the south to Ohio in the west, the company was servicing a large geographic area. Wherever there was work to be done, we were there.
 
In the beginning, we were strictly a service company, but little by little, our customer's needs drove us to find products that they were requesting, and our retail business started. In 1974, we opened our first store. It was approximately 1000 square feet in an old barn, to which we added windows and a front door. In that limited area, we had a service counter, an office with 2 desks and a few shelves for chemicals and toys - and even a spa on display.
 
Then, our customers started to ask for help in getting furniture to use near their swimming pools. Arlene did some preliminary investigating and found there was a market for casual furniture buying in Chicago, so she went off to Chicago on our first buying trip. We started forming relationships with three or four outdoor furniture manufacturers, and then it was off to the bank to borrow money to purchase our first stock. In 1974, it was very difficult for a woman to borrow money, or even consider starting a business venture. Fortunately, we had a very forward-thinking banker and a healthy mortgage on our home, so we were able to secure a small loan. It was an exiting time and frightening time for us. It was a large gamble. We risked losing our home if things didn't work out.
 
Our pool and spa service grew rapidly and we took on more and more work and hired more employees. This was when we really got involved with NSPI (National Spa and Pool Institute); we took advantage of the training classes in Region 1 and at Penn Jersey to train our new employees and bring them up to par. By 1986, we had three retail locations, a service company, and had started to take on pool renovations. Our staff increased to  over 60 employees in peak season, with 28 full-time year round. We currently have over 20,000 square feet of retail space and a 30,000 square foot warehouse for pool supplies and furniture.
 
Our main commitment to our customers is, and always has been, service, competence, fairness and quality. As a result, we have built up a great customer base in all the divisions of our company. Our commitment to our employees is trust, fairness and a pleasant environment to work in. We have more than a dozen employees that have been with us for over 20 years, and are very proud of the fact that they have become the nucleus of a great company.
 
As we move into the 21st century, we at Mt. Lake Pool & Patio are doing everything possible to be ready for it. We have a succession plan in place for Michael Jr. and Kelly Stachel White. We also have computerized our business and are updating as quickly as possible to be a front-runner in the 2000s.