Water Safety Advocate Joseph M. Vassallo, CBP Recognized By National Drowning Prevention Alliance

Online, May 28, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Joseph M. Vassallo, CBP, President of Paragon Pools in Las Vegas was recognized by the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA.org) with the 2014 Lifesaver Award, for his years of promoting safe water activity.

Vassallo was honored specifically for his signature, Float Like A Duck program, a major public awareness campaign that educates the public on the importance of safety while celebrating the joys of water sports. The annual event held in collaboration with the YMCA, area first responders, the City of Las Vegas, news affiliates ABC KTNV TV-13 and KVVU FOX-5, and other business partners celebrated its 11th year in 2014.

The custom pool builder and APSP (Association of Pool and Spas Professionals) Executive Board Member hosts the yearly event to provide a family friendly activity that is free to the public.

Vassallo continues his mission to teach homeowners and families in Southern Nevada and across our nation on how to have positive water activity experiences. Utilizing a kid-friendly, sidekick named Duckie, Vassallo is able to catch the attention of children and their parents, allowing him the opportunity to provide vital information about the importance of practicing safety measures, around all bodies of water.

His program has become so popular that he and Duckie receive requests from concerned water safety advocates from as far away as Alaska for information and advice on sharing the Float Like A Duck messaging. Joe and Duckie have created topic specific PSA videos to address their community issues. Those videos can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/user/paragonpoolslv.

The NDPA Community Lifesaver Award honors exceptional work in the field of drowning prevention at the community level. The NDPA recognizes, addresses, and supports drowning prevention efforts for persons of all ages and drowning risks in all types of bodies of water. http://www.ndpa.org

According to the NDPA records, Vassallo is the first Nevadan and the first pool builder in the nation to be singled out for the award.

The 2014 NDPA awards included:

- NDPA Community Lifesaver Award:

- Arizona Drowning Prevention Coalition

- Vicki Cech

- Joseph Vassallo (President, Paragon Pools) Float like a Duck program

- Long Island Drowning Prevention Task Force

- Texas Drowning Prevention Alliance

- Lone Star Lifesavers, and the

- Florida Department of Health Waterproof Florida campaign

- NDPA Media Award: "I Remember" PSA Mesa Fire Department

- NDPA Technology Award: iSwimband - Aquatic Safety Concepts

- NDPA Ripple Award: Gerald Dworkin, Lifesaving Resources

- USA Swimming Foundation "Make a Splash" HERO award: Captain Tim Woodward of Littleton, CO

- NDPA 2014 Lighthouse Award: The World's Largest Swim Lesson

- Student Scholarship Recipients: Forrest Bleinberger, Arielle Newman, Alexandra Nieri, Ryan Muraco, Vincent Riddle

For more information go to http://www.paragonpoolslv.com/floatlikeaduckwatersafety.htm and follow Duckie at http://www.facebook.com/Floatlikeaduck .