Valessares elected treasurer of IFI
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The owner of M.K. Cleaners in Chicago and
a Certified Garment Care Professional, Valessares will serve as
treasurer-elect during IFI’s Finance Committee meeting,
which gathers prior to the spring board meeting to review the
proposed budget prepared by IFI staff for the fiscal year that
begins April 1. By moving the officer election process forward,
the treasurer-elect is able to guide the budget that will be in
place during his or her one-year term.
He will officially relieve Barbara
Harvey, the first female to serve as IFI Treasurer, at the July
2006 Summer Board Meeting in Toronto. Harvey will become
president-elect at the meeting.
TCATA replaces Hickman on board
Bill Odorizzi, president of the Textile
Care Allied Trades Association, recently announced two appointments:
Dwayne Gwaltney of M & B Hangers as vice president of
the Supply Manufacturers Group to replace the recently retired
Janet Hickman of Dow Chemical; and Heather Jimkoski of Dow
Chemical to the association’s Government Affairs
Committee.
Hickman had served on TCATA’s board
of directors since 2000, and as vice-president of the Supply
Manufacturers Group since 2004. She represented the allied
trades before government officials on a host of drycleaning
issues and served as Government Affairs Chair since 2000. She
also chaired the General Conference of the 2004 TCATA Annual
Conference on Hilton Head and, in 2002, was the first woman to
receive the Young Timer of the Year Award.
Westgate selects New Zealand company
After two years evaluating sales
potential in the New Zealand and Australian market, Westgate Software has selected a group based in Auckland, New
Zealand, to sell and support SPOT. The new company, called SPOT
Computer Services of Australasia, was founded by Richard
Beechey and Darryn Kendal (sales) and John Beechey
(installation/training/support).
Richard Beechey and his wife, Rachel, own
and operate the 40-employee, 14-year-old Rose’s
Alterations, a specialty clothing alteration and repair company
in New Zealand.
Darryn Kendal is a majority shareholder
in the 30-employee Regal Drycleaners and has sales, marketing,
and finance knowledge in addition to his drycleaning
experience. Under his direction, Regal Drycleaners was selected
as an affiliate of the “World’s Best
Drycleaners” organization.
John Beechey owns and operates the
10-year-old Easy Net Computers & Training in Auckland and
has a technical background in computers, networking, and
integrated system solutions.
Several SPOT installations are now
operating in the Auckland area with more to follow. Interested
parties can find address and contact information for SPOT
Computer Services of Australasia and Mark Reynolds &
Associates (UK) on the company’s web site,
www.WestgateSoftware.com.
EPA honors Colorado cleaner
Colorado Mountain Cleaners of
Silverthorne, CO, has received an Environmental
Achievement Award from
EPA Region 8.
The award recognizes significant
achievements in protection of public health or the environment
or in advancing the EPA’s current strategic goals.
Among the criteria is an outstanding
contribution to environmental protection through a single
action, or by an ongoing action over an appreciable period of
time.
Colorado Mountain Cleaners earned the
award through its use of the GreenEarth cleaning process.
Robert E. Roberts, the Region 8
administrator, said, “It is a pleasure to recognize the
initiative undertaken by Tom Rowland, a Colorado entrepreneur,
who, with his partner Don Parks, chose to invest in their
company in a way that would be profitable and help protect
human health and the environment. Their actions at Colorado
Mountain Cleaners have set the standard for others to
follow.”
Rowland and his partner’s use of
the GreenEarth Cleaning process apply directly to the Pollution
Prevention Act because pollution is prevented through their
conversion of a machine that normally uses perchloroethylene,
the EPA office said.
In 2004, Colorado Mountain Cleaners was
awarded a Colorado Environmental Leadership Program silver
award from the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment “for making decisions that result in
significant benefits to the environment and to the citizens of
Colorado.”
In April 2005, Colorado Mountain Cleaners
received the Drycleaner of the Year Award for 2005 from the
Rocky Mountain Fabricare Association.
The EPA office noted that GreenEarth uses
a modified liquid silicone similar to the base ingredients used
in underarm deodorant, shaving creams and cosmetics. It
degrades to sand, water and carbon dioxide and is listed by EPA
as a substitute for ozone-depleting chemicals.
The office also noted that GreenEarth has
no known health issues to workers and requires no special
handling or special permits. Colorado Mountain Cleaners is
permitted to place the byproduct of the process in containers
and take it to a landfill.
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