National Clothesline

With the new year comes a few changes and announcements for the MidAtlantic Association of Cleaners.

Several board members and officers for the 2004-05 term were elected during the association’s end-of-the-year meeting, including MAC’s new president — Charles R. Smith, owner of Village Square Cleaners and Cleaners 2 U in Reston, VA.

Smith will be joined by incoming vice president Michael McKay, who owns LaVale Dryclean of Cumberland, MD. Karen Garner Gross, owner of Fashion Flair Cleaners in Potomac, MD, will serve as treasurer and former president, Gene Moorefield will assist MAC under the title of immediate past president.

Also during the annual meeting, many new directors joined the association’s board, including

Mike Garman of Glyndon Laundry in Glyndon, MD, who will head the Maryland Harbor District, and Russ Kaplan of Zips Drycleaners in College Park, MD, who will oversee the DC/MD Atlantic District.

Representing West Virginia with an At-Large position will be Charles Young of Peter Pan Cleaners in Charleston, WV. In Virginia, Kyung Cha who operates Cascades Cleaners in Sterling will be a director for the Potomac District. Finally, James Crowder of Edmondson Cleaners in South Boston, VA, will cover the Blue Ridge District.

All directors will serve two-year terms.

In addition to recently ushering in new officers and directors, MAC also noted that a special VIP reception was placed on the agenda for its CleaningExpo Showcase.

The event will take place from October 28-30, 2005 at the Dulles Expo and Conference Center in Chantilly, VA.

The VIP reception will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on the evening of Friday, Oct. 28.

“We’re going all out to make this an outstanding tradeshow opportunity for the entire MidAtlantic region to see the newest and best,” CleaningExpo Showcase Chairman Buddy Gritz said. “Free admission, non-union move-in and move-out, and an outstanding location, are just part of what will make this the best show in a long time.”

“As great as the Clean Show is, there are still a lot of people that cannot make the trip to Orlando,” Gritz added. “For many, an easy and closer to home location offers good economy of money and time. Plus, since CleaningExpo Showcase is after the Clean Show, companies will display the newest products and services which they typically release at the Clean Show.”

Showcase hours for CleaningExpo will be 4 to 8 pm, Friday, October 28; 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday, October 29 and 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday, October 30.

The Dulles Conference Center is located in the heart of Northern Virginia on Route 28 between I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road in Fairfax County, VA. It is approximately six miles from Dulles International Airport and 26 miles from downtown Washington, DC.

For more information, call Dave Norford at (540) 775-2525.

In Delaware, drycleaner Joe Booth (R) recently ran for a second term in the 37th District of the House of Representatives and defeated opponent Nicholas J. Mirro (D). Booth, who owns and operates Thoro-Kleen in Georgetown, won the race by grabbing over 73% of the vote.

“The people in the district were able to look and see that my roots ran deeper,” Rep. Booth said.”

Prior to serving as a House member in Sussex County, Booth was the mayor of Georgetown from 1988 to 1994 and was a board member of the Indian River School District between 2001 and 2003.

During Booth’s first go-round in the House, he didn’t waste any time. He was quickly selected as the new vice-chair of the House Natural Resources and Environmental Management Committee. He also participated on seven other House committees as a freshman legislator.

While serving his first term, he met with DNREC officials and a delegation of drycleaners to discuss possible changes in the state’s licensing fees.

During his recent bid for re-election, most district voters were concerned about the fast rate of development in the area. Booth made controlling growth and improving education the two main themes of his campaign.

Another focus for Booth was reducing the state’s gross receipts tax. “I just think taxing business on the money they make with no concern whether they’re making a profit or not, is not good,” he said. “It’s a hidden sales tax.”