Page 10 - BusinessWest May 26, 2025

Deep Dive
Ted Hebert Reflects on 50 Years of Teddy Bear Pools & Spas
BY JOSEPH BEDNAR
[email protected]
As Teddy Bear Pools & Spas marks its 50th anniver-
sary this year, it’s safe to say most in the business
community have read — in this publication and oth-
ers over the years — Ted Hebert’s story of humble begin-
nings, perseverance through severe challenges, and current
status as not only one of the region’s venerable business
owners, but a strong supporter of area nonprofits.
But ask him what the milestone means, and he says, “I
don’t see the significance of 50 years.”
That’s not because he lacks gratitude or perspective on
his career — he certainly has both — but for him, when he
thinks about the work itself, he’s actually been doing it for
closer to 60 years, starting as a gofer at a pool store at age
14.
“That developed over about three years. I started to
become a pool installer. The above-ground pool would be
dropped off at someone’s house, and my late friend Kenny
and I would go and build a pool. Back then, we used to
hand-dig the above-ground pool. We used to wheelbarrow
the dirt into the backyard. We’d even do two pools a day.
We’d work from maybe 6, 7 in the morning to 8, 9, 10 at
night. I remember working on pools in the dark.”
His own work is, obviously, much less physically strenu-
ous now, but those early years gave Hebert an appreciation
for his employees that he’s quick to express.
“I guess I don’t realize the reality of 50 years because I
don’t have a job. This isn’t work for me. I mean it sincerely.
My employees are my extended family,” he said, noting that
some have been with him for decades, and some are sec-
ond-generation team members.
“Many times, people will say to me, ‘I can’t wait to retire.’ But I do
not work — I love what I do. I’m not here for the money. Teddy Bear
Pools is my home away from home. I get enough free time, but in
May and June, I try to be here almost seven days a week because I
want to see my customers.
“I built someone’s pool 30, 40, 50 years ago, and now their
kids are coming in,” he added. “I call every customer that buys an
above ground-pool, a spa, or even a liner, and I call to thank them
personally.”
That gratitude extends to his own journey, which has seen both
highs and lows (more on that later), but has also been marked by
hard work, dogged persistence, and faith.
“I’m a survivor,” he said. “I think, being in business, you need to
be a survivor. A lot of people can’t. It’s a challenge, but if you’re up to
the challenge, it’s going to be very exciting.”
Into the Deep End
Hebert has told the story of how he wanted to become a doc-
tor, but didn’t have the money for medical school, so he eventually
started his own pool company from the carport of his parents’ home.
Although the original name he chose for his business was Custom
Pools by Ted, his mother suggested he use his childhood nickname
of ‘Teddy Bear,’ a play on the French pronunciation of Ted Hebert.
By 1976, Teddy Bear had grown enough to allow Hebert to rent a
former car-wash bay on Memorial Drive in Chicopee and turn it into
a storefront. When the property was foreclosed upon three years
later, he purchased a run-down former car dealership in a dilapidat-
ed building on East Street in Chicopee, which remains his address
today.
In the early years, the business grew steadily, but he suffered two
major setbacks during the 1980s in the form of employee betrayal
and mismanagement. The first event occurred in 1986 when an
audit undercovered $1.2 million of money and goods not accounted
for, and the second took place while he was on his honeymoon in
1987. When he returned, he found an additional $200,000 of money
and goods missing.
Ted Hebert says his story has been one of being knocked down and always getting back up.
“I’ve been embezzled twice, but I never went bankrupt,” he
recalled. “I went back to church, and I prayed to God to help me
through this. I worked seven days a week, living at home with my
mom. I was like 35. It took me a few years, but I paid off everybody.”
Those times have instilled in him an appreciation for the success
that followed.
“I’ve achieved every goal that I could ever think of. I’ve achieved
fantasies. I’ve been on top of the mountain. But I’ve also been on
the very bottom, with betrayal by close friends, people that I trusted,
people in my wedding party. I’ve had a lot of really low points in my
life.”
And with that appreciation of his journey, Hebert was even more
determined to redirect his own success back on his community. In
2022, he was honored by BusinessWest as a Difference Maker, for
his many years of giving back to the community, not just by writing
checks to nonprofits (though he does a lot of that), but by sitting on
boards and volunteering at fundraising events.
He and his wife, Barbara — who, it should be noted, is an equal
partner in all this community service — give time and money to
many different types of organizations, but have a special place in
their hearts for animal welfare. For example, as a longtime sup-
porter of Second Chance Animal Services (whose CEO, Sheryl
Blancato, was also named a Difference Maker this year), Teddy Bear
hosts two rabies and parvo vaccination clinics each year for the non-
profit, helping hundreds of pet owners access free or very low-cost
services.
Barbara Hebert said some of their civic work hits close to home,
as with their support of Camp Words Unspoken, a program for kids
who stutter — an issue Ted overcame in his youth, and that Barbara
still sometimes struggles with.
“Between the company and our personal ability, it’s nice to just
give back,” she said. “We’re not saying that you have to do as much
as us, but if everybody gave a little bit, it would make the world a
better place. There are people we know that don’t take the time.
They say they’re too busy. We are too, but we make time.”
Ted said his mother, who grew up humbly in the Great Depres-
sion, instilled in him a love for identifying needs and meeting them.
“It feels great to give. Whether it be money or time. I can’t explain
“I’ve achieved
every goal that I
could ever think
of. I’ve achieved
fantasies. I’ve
been on top of the
mountain. But I’ve
also been on the
very bottom, with
betrayal by close
friends, people
that I trusted,
people in my
wedding party. I’ve
had a lot of really
low points in my
life.”
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MAY 26, 2025
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