When the team at Trinity Pools offers their take on what constitutes “success,” it would be wise to consider what they have to say. Stephanie, a master’s-degreed graduate of Washington University, and Chris, a business owner for more than 40 years, are a husband-and-wife team committed to their family, clients and community. Chris and the couple’s son-in-law, Joey Elliott, run Trinity Pools, a luxury pool company serving St. Charles and St. Louis counties. Stephanie works with them and runs Helping Hand-Me-Downs, a nonprofit whose mission is to help single mothers and their children by providing car seats, diapers, clothing and baby gear to those in need.
“Helping Hand-Me-Downs works with social workers to fill orders. We have a warehouse similar to nonprofit thrift stores, but at no cost,” Stephanie says with excitement.
Stephanie started Helping Hand-Me-Downs after working in the corporate world. She works at the nonprofit six days a week. On weekends, she and Chris do outreach in St. Louis City. “God has blessed us greatly, so we give back,” Chris says.
Giving back is a pledge the Suljaks take seriously — Helping Hand-Me-Downs has been providing necessities to St. Louis children for almost 15 years.
When she’s not at Helping Hand-Me-Downs, Stephanie can be found on job sites and behind a desk helping Chris, Joey and their family plan and install entire outdoor living scapes at Trinity Pools.
“Stephanie keeps us going; without her, we couldn’t do what we do,” Chris laughs. “When we got married, business tripled because of her. She keeps me in line.”
At Trinity Pools, the Suljaks and their son-in-law Joey are with their clients every step of the way from planning, to digging, to installation and hardscape. What sets Trinity apart from other pool companies is that clients do not need to deal with multiple sub-contractors; at Trinity, they do every step of the process themselves.
“There’s one contact, and that’s us,” Stephanie says, “we do it all.”
Chris began working in the outdoor living space at age 12, mowing the lawns of Taylor-Morley properties. As a teen, Chris built retaining walls after school until he made it a business of his own, eventually becoming the largest union retaining wall company in the Midwest. It was after that achievement, however, that Chris says he decided that he wanted to serve residential clients rather than commercial ones.
“With commercial projects, you have less control; I wanted to control my projects,” Chris explained. “When I started working in the residential space, I saw so many homeowners who were scammed by pool companies. They had a giant hole in their yard and no pool. I knew we could do better.”
Trinity Pools made one client so happy, in fact, that he now wants to sell pools for them. This client-turned-friend had a hole in his yard for more than four years. The couple had all but given up on their outdoor space; they had a yard that was ruined, they lost tens of thousands of dollars, and there was still no pool to show for it. Finally, Trinity Pools made the homeowners’ dreams a reality. They now have a beautiful swimming pool and outdoor space they love.
"We build everyone’s dream outdoor space but without making them find multiple contractors,” Chris states proudly. “We work with our kids, and we’re setting our family up for future success. We love working with our family, we know we are the best out there, and because everyone has a stake in the company, we each go the extra mile.”
Joey and the rest of the family laugh about various “Chris-isms,” as they like to call it. One such “Chris-ism” is “Build your own dream! Why build someone else’s dream?” Although the family finds humor in it, that particular “Chris-ism” seems to be exactly what Joey Elliott and the Suljaks are doing, but with the ultimate purpose of giving back.
“At the end of the day,“ Chris says, “we just want to be a light to people. It’s about faith. You can preach, but it’s actions that really show people who God is. Actions are what people remember, because it’s not about what you say. It’s about what you do.”
So how exactly does the team at Trinity Pools measure success? Chris states, “in Proverbs, it states a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. By running successful businesses, we achieve that, but that passage isn’t really about money. It’s about the relationship with God. That’s the real prosperity, the real inheritance and legacy we’re leaving behind. That’s success in my book.”