Joel Libava
A Goldfish Swim School franchisee just received a major industry honor. And the story behind the award is worth knowing.
BHB Group, led by partners Katie Lee, Brian Bayer, and Hope Bayer, was named the 2026 Most Valuable Performer (MVP) Single Brand Leadership Award winner by Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine. The award was presented at the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in late March.
Here’s what makes this recognition stand out.
BHB Franchisee Group Wins Goldfish Swim School Award
In case you didn’t know, the BHB Group was Goldfish Swim School’s very first franchise group. They signed on in 2009. That was 17 years ago.
Since then, they’ve grown to 33 schools across nine states and now employ more than 2,000 people.
In my view, that’s not luck. That’s execution.
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The MVP Single Brand Leadership Award recognizes franchisees who demonstrate outstanding leadership, scalable multi-unit growth, and a strong commitment to brand standards and community impact — all within a single franchise system. BHB Group checked every box.
From a recent Press Release:
Goldfish Swim School CEO and Co-Founder Chris McCuiston said the award reflects the dedication of the BHB leadership team. He pointed to their commitment to people, quality, and the brand’s water safety mission as the driving forces behind their success.
Katie Lee put it simply. “Growth never changes our standards.”
That line says a lot. Scaling a franchise operation from one location to 33 is a serious challenge. Maintaining quality across all of them is even harder. BHB Group appears to have figured out how to do both. hence, their MVP franchisee award.
Goldfish Swim School Continues to Add Franchisees
Goldfish Swim School (which I listed as a top franchise opportunity), now has more than 200 locations across North America. The brand focuses on swim lessons for children, built around what the company calls the Golden Experience.
If you’re evaluating multi-unit franchise opportunities, pay attention to stories like this one.
Experience shows me that the franchisees who win long-term tend to share a few traits.
They choose a brand they believe in.
They lead with people.
And they treat brand standards as non-negotiable, no matter how large they grow.
BHB Group seems to have been doing exactly that since 2009.
Check out the Goldfish Swim School franchising website.
About the Author
Joel Libava is The Franchise King® — an independent franchise advisor with 25+ years in the industry, two published books on franchising, and his writing has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, CNBC, Entrepreneur® Magazine and others. In addition, he wrote exclusively for the U.S. Small Business Administration blog for eight years. He doesn't sell franchises. Instead, Joel helps you figure out if franchise ownership is actually right for you — and if it is, teaches you his powerful, proven-to-work franchise research techniques, so you can make a smart, informed decision on a franchise to own and be your own boss.
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