National Clothesline

Members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists will meet March 2-5 in Omaha, NE, to hear presentations by industry experts and participate in panel discussion and workshops.

The three-day conference will also feature a plant tour, according to Marty Wade, president of the association.

“We always meet in a city where we have an association member, and this year we are all looking forward to visiting Kermit Engh, a very progressive owner who operates Fashion Cleaners and Omaha Lace,” Wade said.

The featured speaker, A. Newbold Richardson, a textile conservator and co-owner of The Costume and Textile Specialists, specializes in historic wedding gowns and textiles. She also serves as a consultant on collection management and conservation. Among her private clients are historical societies. universities and museums, such as the Maryland Historical Society, Mount Holyoke College, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Virginia Association of Museums and the Costume Society of America.

Gary Gellman, CEO of Gellman Images, will discuss the creation of effective marketing imagery for the bridal market. He covers events for Fortune 500 companies, professional sports figures and political leaders and has appeared in national network television.

Also speaking will be e-book author and software designer Jason Hogrefe, an expert on wedding planners and the wedding market.

Several association members will also speak at the conference. They include Sharlene Thum of Five Star Wedding Gown Specialists in San Antonio, TX; Surendra Kumar of The Oakwood Cleaners in Nashville, TN; Cynthia Schilling of Clothing Care in Gahanna, OH; Darlene Robinson of Classic Cleaners in Temple, TX; and Linda Stokes Barth of Barth’s Cleaning Centre in Orangeville, ON.

The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists has members in the United States, Canada, Australia and South America. Each member honors the guarantee of other members, which includes taking the gown out of the container and pressing it at no charge when it is to be worn again.

For brides outside the market areas of members, the association offers a courier service that makes the group’s trademarked MuseumCare gown preservations available via both telephone and the internet.

More than 70 specialty gown manufacturers currently recommend MuseumCare preservations.

For more information on the association, call (800) 501-5005.

Cleaners planning on attending the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute’s annual convention and tabletops still have time left to secure plans for the weekend.

The event will be held from Feb. 10-12 at The American Club in Kohler, WI.

The deadline has passed for the block of rooms with a special rate offered. The $130 single or double occupancy price is now up to the discretion of the American Club for cleaners who call for reservations and mention their affiliation with WFI.

The phone number is (800) 344-2838.

As for the convention itself, registration for “all events” is still available at a price of $165 per person. Cleaners who plan on signing up can either call (414) 529-4707 or download a registration form that is available on WFI’s web site located at www.wiscleaners.com.

Spouse packages and partial events packages are also available for purchase.

It bodes to be a busy weekend for attendees as WFI plans to offer a tabletop exhibit on Saturday, followed by an evening of fun activities including a banquet.

The association will take the opportunity to honor several successful cleaners, including the Fitzgerald Scholarship winners, a new WFI Hall of Fame inductee, and the state’s Five Star program participants

The weekend will also feature several educational sessions, including two by IFI Vice President Jon Meijer.

His first discussion will focus on the topic of“Obtaining and Retaining Customers on a Limited Budget.”

He will also examine how cleaners can find and attract their core customer group in a second session.

Another guest on WFI’s list of speakers is Scott Silvestri, the Kohler Company’s director of destination marketing and communications.

A former member of the 2004 PGA Championship Executive Committee, Silvestri was responsible for publicity and marketing for the event.

He will speak in depth on the subject of customer service standards and training.

Lastly, Joseph Bossi of Strategic Wealth Management Group, LLC, a Mass Mutual Financial Group that provides an array of financial products and services for its clients, will also be on hand. He will deliver a seminar on “Sure Ways to Kill Your Business.”

For information on the convention or to register, call the WFI office at (414) 529-4707.

Whether it’s spotting or finishing, or simply managing your plant more effectively, the Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning will be offering programs in the coming months that will prove to be quite useful for cleaners.

The association has several educational events lined up for the first half of 2006 designed to help industry members in all aspects of their business.

First up is a four-part Management Education series offered by MILD that will run on the following dates: Feb. 3, March 10, April 7 and May 5.

Industry experts Jan Barlow and Mary Beth Bolen will be on hand to conduct the informative training series.

Attendees will meet from 9 a.m. until 3: 30 p.m. on the appropriate Friday at the MILD office, which is located at 3225 W. St. Joseph in Lansing, MI.

The cost is $200 per person per session; or $600 for all four sessions.

In March, MILD will present two days of Spot-Right training seminars at Curtis Clears in Lowell, MI.

Dennis Schmitt and Tom Swink will be in town to teach the hands-on spotting workshops, which will consist of three separate sessions, each lasting four hours.

The programs will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 17 and 18.

Registration fees are $85 per person session, or $250 per person to attend all three.

Finally, cleaners wanting to learn more about finishing will have a perfect opportunity from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 27 at Lemon Fresh Cleaners in Holland, MI.

Gary Knight, formally of American Cleaners, will demonstrate finishing techniques for attendees. The cost is $25 for MILD members and $35 for non-members.

For more information on any of the upcoming programs or to register, contact Allison Buhs in the MILD office by calling (517) 327-9207.