Built with Grace. Backed by Grit.
We’re Samantha and Joe, the husband-and-wife team behind Grace-n-Grit. This business brings together years of experience around water, plenty of hard-earned lessons, and our belief that you can build a successful company without forgetting about the people who make it possible.
Hi, I’m Samantha
I’m the founder of Grace-n-Grit, but that’s only one part of who I am.
I’m a wife, a mom of three, and a follower of Jesus. I love strong coffee, loud music, a good laugh, and building real relationships with the people around me. I’m feminine, a little spicy, and not afraid to get dirty—which works out pretty well in the pool industry.
Most days you’ll find me in a ball cap or tennis dress, working in the Arizona sun, talking to customers, learning something new, and probably trying to fit twelve things into a day that comfortably holds six.
I take water chemistry and caring for people seriously. Myself? Slightly less seriously.
Grace-n-Grit is a reflection of all of that: faith, family, hard work, honest relationships, and the belief that you can be kind without being a pushover, strong without becoming hard, and successful without losing sight of what matters.
Hi, I’m Joe
My path into pool care looked a little different from Samantha’s. I came into the business without her lifelong background around water, but as I learned the work, met our customers, and became part of the day-to-day care, I realized it was something I wanted to keep building.
My background is in customer service, and taking care of people has always come naturally to me. I like getting to know our customers, answering their questions, and making sure they never feel like just another stop on the route.
If you see me cleaning with an earbud in, there’s a good chance I’m listening to a Mariners game, catching up on football, or playing a podcast. I’m a big sports guy, easy to talk to, and usually the calmer one between Samantha and me—which, honestly, works pretty well for us.
Samantha and I are very different, but it works. We each bring something the other doesn’t, and we’re excited to build Grace-n-Grit together.
The Story Behind Grace-n-Grit
Our paths into pool care looked completely different.
I’ve been around water for most of my life. There are pictures of me as a little girl attached to a floaty while my dad fished from his kayak. After I blew out my knee and was told basketball and volleyball were no longer options, I turned to swimming.
That led to lifeguarding on a commercial pool deck, teaching swim lessons, and eventually becoming a USA Swimming coach. Water had already been part of my life for years before it became our business.
Joe’s background was in customer service and leadership. He started in retail at Kohl’s and later became the vice president of a lube shop. When the shop closed and his brother bought a pool company in the Valley, Joe stepped into the pool industry, and I found my way back to it.
Over time, we became deeply involved in the business. We learned the pools, the customers, the equipment, the chemistry, and everything happening behind the scenes. We also learned a lot about the kind of company we wanted to build someday and the kind we didn’t.
Grace-n-Grit came from all of it: my history around water, Joe’s ability to take care of people, years of hands-on experience, and plenty of lessons learned the hard way.
We wanted a business that could support our family without forgetting about the families it serves. A company that takes the work seriously, communicates honestly, and still treats people like people.
That’s what we’re building together.
What Grace-n-Grit Means
Grace-n-Grit was built on the belief that strength and kindness aren’t opposites.
Grace is kindness, compassion, and understanding. It’s listening, treating people like people, and remembering that we never know everything someone else may be carrying. It’s also being honest—even when the conversation isn’t easy.
Grit is hard work, dirty hands, and staying on top of what needs to be done. It’s showing up, taking responsibility, continuing to learn, and finding a way to have some fun while we do it.
To me, Grace-n-Grit means being kind without being a pushover, strong without becoming hard, and successful without losing sight of what matters.
My faith is at the center of Grace-n-Grit. John 4:14 is included on our logo because we work around water every day, but it points to something far greater than the water in a pool: the living water only Jesus can give. It’s a simple, visible reminder of who I belong to and who stands at the center of everything I’m building.
Grace in how we treat people. Grit in how we do the work.