National Clothesline

Cleaners who plan on attending the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute’s fall conference in Wisconsin Dells from Sept. 15-17 will want to make a point of registering soon.

The early bird registration deadline is Sept. 7. Attendees who sign up for a full registration package for everything except the Saturday golf outing pay only $145 each prior to that date. Afterwards, however, the price goes up $25. The price for full registration packages for spouses is $120, not including golf.

WFI is also selling individual registration packages. The cost is $35 for either a Saturday or Sunday package that includes the days’s breakfast, breaks and the business sessions.

Signing up for just the Saturday’s Fiesta South of the Border buffet and hospitality is $45. To attend Friday’s All-American Sports buffet and hospitality, cleaners must pay $45 each.

This year’s program will be held at the Great Wolf Lodge at 1400 Great Wolf Drive.

On Friday, WFI will host a board of directors meeting. That evening, they will also offer a sports-themed dinner and hospitality. Jim McIlvaine, former Marquette University and NBA basketball player, will be the featured speaker .

The golf outing will take place on Saturday at the Reedsburg Country Club. The cost is $60, which includes 18 holes, cart, lunch and prizes.

Also on Saturday, WFI will present educational seminars on “Affordable Health Insurance” and “Who Will Buy Your Business When You Are Ready to Sell?”

Later in the evening, attendees can enjoy a Mexican food buffet and hospitality.

Sunday will feature a general membership meeting which will provide a brief update on the state’s Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Fund.

WFI will also present a panel discussion that day covering problem garments, including trims and buttons, fabrics and labeling, chemical and dyes, and customer service. Cleaners can even bring in their own problem garments. Sue Doolin of Packard Way Claners will be the moderator.

The conference will conclude with a closing lunch buffet.

For information on registering, call WFI, (414) 529-4707.

Advantage Equipment will host the Akron Ohio Equipment Show and Coin Open House on Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Coin laundry owners/investors who are located in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia are invited to attend the event at Advantage Equipment’s new Akron, OH, location. The open house will feature product demonstrations, door prizes, giveaways, food and fun, according to Scott Vlahos, Advantage Equipment president.

“This is our fourth open house and it’s getting bigger and better,” said Vlahos. “Not only will equipment prices be lower during the open house than any other time of the year, but we are featuring a 125-pound capacity PowerLoad Plus Continental Washer-Extractor, the largest washer in the industry, and giving away an American Changers bill counter.” Additionally, a $50 gift will be awarded to all pre-registered attendees.

Coin laundry investors and owners will view the latest equipment by Continental Girbau, Card Concepts, Lochinvar, American Changer and Vend-Rite.

“It’s a one-day opportunity to get great deals on coin laundry equipment,” Vlahos said. “Our pricing structure combined with factory rebates will make for outstanding buys.”

Attendees will view a display of Continental coin laundry equipment. The event will include informational sessions regarding equipment tax write-offs, ADA write-offs and opportunities, reinvestment regulations and service tips, as well. Seminars on water heating savings and converting coin to card will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

The open house will be held at Advantage’s new location, 1660 Scenic Way in Akron. Those who pre-register by September 27 will receive an “Advantage Giveaway,” according to Vlahos.

A drycleaning show and open house will be held on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 10 to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 8, from 11 to 5 p.m. For more information, or to pre-register, call (888) 676-5079.

Advantage Equipment is a full-service laundry and drycleaning equipment distributor serving Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and areas of West Virginia. The company’s web site is www.advantage equipment.net.

The Minnesota Cleaners Association will hold the first of three “problem-solver roundtables” and the association’s allied trades members will sponsor a golf and boat outing this month.

The first of the problem-solver roundtables will cover customer issues and will be held Tuesday Sept. 12 at Applebees in Brooklyn Park, 7901 Brooklyn Blvd. MCA will provide appetizers for the group. No registration is needed — just show up.

The roundtables are being held every other month. A November 14 session will cover employee issues and will be held at Applebees in Eden Prairie.

The allied trades boat and golf outing will be Saturday, Sept. 9. Golf begins in the morning at the Tartan Park course at Lake Elmo. After the 8:30 a.m. check-in there will be a putting cost before the tee times which begin at 9:28 a.m.

The dinner cruise will be aboard The Avalon paddle boat, departing from 525 Main Street in Stillwater at 5 p.m. The cruise includes a buffet dinner; a cash bar will be available.

The events are open to MCA members and non-members alike. The combined cost for both golf and the dinner cruise is $60; golf only is $30 and the cruise only is $25.

For more information call MCA, (952) 736-2627 or visit the association’s web site, www.minnesotadrycleaners.org.

The Ohio Cleaners Association is hoping for fair weather on the fairways when they host an allied trades/member golf outing on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

The event will be held at the Dornoch Country Club, located at 3329 Columbus Pike in Delaware, OH.

Registration and lunch will begin at 11: 30 a.m. A shotgun start follows at 1:30 p.m. After golf, OCA will host a dinner and announce prize winners at 6 p.m.

The cost to participate in the day’s events is $60 for allied trades members and $80 for OCA members. Non-members can also attend for a cost of $125.

Because Dornoch requires an accurate count of golfers, those who plan on attending must make advance reservations by Wednesday, Sept. 13.

For questions, call Bekah McCurdy at the OCA office at (614) 221-1900 ext. 212.

For a downloadable registration form, visit OCA’s site online at www.ohiocleaners.org and click on “Calendar of Events” and “2006 Golf Outing.”