National Clothesline

The National Cleaners Association will be hosting several educational classes for drycleaners at its New York School of Dry Cleaning, as well as a few seminar opportunities outside of the Big Apple.

First, however, the association will host a four-day conference in the Bahamas early in the year. NCA’s “Brainstorming With the Best” program will be at the Atlantis Resort & Casino on Paradise Island, Nassau.

The event will take place from Jan. 11-14.

Several illustrious guest speakers are scheduled to appear, including John DiJulius who will speak on “World Class Marketing Methods Just For You!” He will be joined by industry expert Jane Zellers and leadership trainers from Ritz-Carlton.

The cost to register is $595 for NCA members and $695 for non-members.

Later, NCA will open the doors to its New York School of Dry Cleaning for a pair of Department of Environmental Conservation certification courses. The school is located at 254 W. 29th St.

Two-day, 16-hour sessions are planned on Jan. 21 and 28 (in Korean) and Feb. 4 and 11 (in Spanish). The cost is $509 for each member and $975 for each non-member.

The association will also host two five-day, 40-hour courses on “Radical Drycleaning/Stain Removal.”

A Korean session will begin on Jan. 22 and an English session will start on Jan. 29. Both will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Tuition is $750 for members and $995 for non-members.

Also on tap at the New York School is a four-week session of NCA’s “Principles and Practices of Pressing,” which will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., Feb. 12 through March 12. Altogether, the class meets for 24 hours. The cost to attend is $380.

Rounding out the New York School’s schedule will be a one-day, eight-hour course on “Extreme Stain Removal” on Feb. 25. It will meet on Sunday from 8: 30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and cost $250 for members and $275 for non-members.

NCA will go outside of New York City to host seminars in other parts of the state.

First up is a one-day, eight-hour course on wetcleaning that will be hosted at Massaro’s Cleaners in Clarence, NY.

The session will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20.

After that, NCA will head to Cudney’s Cleaners in Albany for a one-day, eight-hour course on “Extreme Pressing Techniques.”

The program will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11.

The cost to attend either the Clarence or Albany seminar is $250 for members and $275 for non-members.

Cleaners don’t have to be anywhere near New York to take advantage of the last offerings on NCA’s schedule. The association is slated to host several webinars in the early part of 2007.

Cleaners can participate via phone or the computer on the Wednesday programs that start at 6 p.m. EST. The cost is $69 for telephone and Web-based participation.

Upcoming sessions include: “2006 Problem Garment Review” on Jan. 17; “Routes: Developing and Growing Them” on Feb. 7; and “Customer Service: Putting in the WOW Factor” on Feb. 21.

For more information on any of NCA’s upcoming programs, visit www.nca-i.com or call the association at (800) 888-1622.