IDC to unveil fresh idas in Orlando
Before they attend this year’s
Clean Show in Florida, cleaners will have an opportunity to
learn about “Fresh Ideas for Challenging Times” at
the International Drycleaners Congress’s annual convention.
The event will be held at the Renaissance
Orlando Resort from June 19-22.
Sunday will be devoted to registration
and a welcome reception, as well as a meeting of the IDC board.
On the following morning, the convention will officially open
at 8 a.m. when guest speaker John Jordan, president of Fabritec
International and chairman of the convention, offers opening
remarks.
Afterward, the first educational session
will begin at 8:50 a.m. and run until 10:30 a.m. Three
different industry experts will focus on the topic of
“These Challenging Times,” offering their views of
the industry’s future and explain how some creative
thinking may give cleaners a competitive edge in the market.
IFI President-Elect Gary Dawson will
speak first with a seminar entitled “The Challenges
Facing Our Industry.” He will be joined by NCA Executive
Director Nora Nealis, who will address “Meeting the
Challenges From an Association Perspective.”
Darcy Moen, the “Supreme Commander
and Chief Digital Mechanic” of the Customer Loyalty
Network, will help cleaners with the “Creative
Thinking” portion of the program.
The day’s second educational
session will emphasize the importance of
“Diversification” from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Servicing wedding gowns has proven quite
profitable for speaker Sally Lorensen Conant, Ph.D., the
administrative coordinator of the Association of Wedding Gown
Specialists. A former museum professional, Conant now operates
the largest gown preservation service in New England, often
working as a consultant to museums and historical societies.
Other branching out options addressed
during the session will include leather and theatrical
cleaning, diversification in Japan, and fire restoration, which
will be presented by Malcolm MacGregor.
Later in the afternoon, Jim Parham will
take cleaners on a three-hour tour of various plants in the
local area.
On Tuesday, June 21, IDC’s third
educational session will examine “Implementing New
Marketing Initiatives Successfully” from 8:35 to 10:50
a.m.
Jim Parham will look at “Customer
Relationships” and Jack Barth will talk about
“Rewarding Customers Using Database Marketing.”
Barth is the president and manager of Barth’s Cleaning
Centre in Ontario, Canada. He is also the IDC regional
president of region 9.
David Hillary, president of Fraser
Hillarys Ltd. in Ontario, will draw on his 55 years of cleaning
industry experience to add his thoughts on the subject of
“The Personal Method of Marketing.”
Rounding out the speakers for the session
will be Sid Tuchman, president of Tuchman Training Systems in
Indianapolis, Indiana, who will speak on “How to Increase
the Value of Your Company.”
Following that session, Mark Rockcastle
will host the 2004-05 Fellowship reports. He is the IDC
Fellowship Chair and the vice president of R.R. Street &
Co., Inc.
Before attendees take a break for lunch,
IDC will offer a 70-minute program presenting reports on
international drycleaning developments, including the Far East,
Australasia and Europe. A report on the industry in the
Americas will also be provided by Trevor Holmes, national sales
manager of Seitz, Inc. and president of the Cleaners and
Launderers Allied Trades Association.
During lunch, attendees will have an
opportunity to learn about IDC’s early plans for its 2006
convention, and, in the afternoon, the association will host
its annual general meeting at 2:40 p.m.
The president’s reception will
begin the evening’s festivities at 6:30 p.m. and will be
hosted by Chris Tebbs, executive director of IDC. A banquet
emceed by Tom Hopkins, the retired CEO of Gibson Cleaners Co.,
Ltd. will follow at 7:30 p.m.
At 9:30 p.m., the IDC Awards will be
handed out and the new officers for the 2005-06 term will be
inducted into office.
On Wednesday, the day before Clean
’05 officially opens, IDC will head to the fairways for
its annual golf tournament.
Hotel accommodations at the Renaissance
Orlando Resort at Seaworld will be available for
convention-goers at a special rate of $129 per night plus taxes
for single/double occupancy.
All room reservations must be made
through Yamato Travel Bureau since IDC has guaranteed payment
on a number of rooms for the convention. Online registration is
available at www.idcnews.org.
Cleaners can also visit the site to
obtain full registration packages at a rate of $549 per person,
which includes admittance to the welcome cocktail party,
convention banquet and all business sessions. For non-members,
the same package costs $699 per person — which also
includes a one-year membership with IDC.
Those who want a relaxing getaway prior
to the hustle and bustle of the IDC and Clean Show programs can
capitalize on a pre-convention tour package.
IDC offers a week-long deep sea cruise
that begins on Sunday, June 12 on the Royal Caribbean
International’s “Mariner of the Seas” cruise
ship, which will depart from Port Canaveral.
The ship will pass through ports in
Nassau, Charlotte Amalie and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
It will also stop in Phillipsburg, St. Maarten.
Passengers will return to Port Canaveral
on Saturday in time for the convention. Rates for the cruise
vary, depending on the quality of room accommodations. Prices
range from $1,050 per guest for an inside stateroom on deck 9
to $1,960 per guest for a junior suite on decks 6-10.
For more information, contact IDC, (403)
685-4755.