National Clothesline

During its annual convention at the Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort on Oct. 5-6, the Oregon Dry Cleaners Association named Brian Olson as the winner of its prestigious Tom Mosher Drycleaner of the Year Award.

It wasn’t the first time the association honored Olson with the designation. In addition to being the 2007 winner, he first won the award back in 2000.

The award annually celebrates former ODCA President Tom Mosher, who passed away in 1966. The criteria to be nominated includes participation in the association, the cleaning industry, and the local community.

Certainly, Olson fits that bill, perhaps even more so than he did seven years ago. As owner of 45th Avenue Cleaners in Portland, he has garnered more than his share of positive attention for his efforts and accomplishments.

He is one of only 15 cleaners in the nation to be recognized with the National Waste Prevention Coalition ’s Model Cleaner Award.

Olson, a Certified Environmental Drycleaner, has also been decorated with an EPA Evergreen Award and a Mayor ’s Spirit of Portland Award.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality also issued to him a Certificate of Exemplary Public Service, and, more recently, he was given the National Cleaners Association ’s Circle of Merit Award for Customer Service for his idea to hand out “Don’t Hang Up” pads in his plant.

The tags allow for people to drop off their clothes while conveniently jotting down any special cleaning instructions without interrupting any important calls.

During the ODCA convention, Olson handed out complementary “Don’t Hang Up” pads to attendees in their registration packets.

In addition to chairing the convention committee, Olson currently serves as ODCA’s Director of District 1. He also works as the association’s newsletter editor.

Kathey Butters, the previous winner of the Tom Mosher Award, had only positive things to say about Olsen in a recent message to ODCA members.

“One of the traits I admire most about Brian — if he takes on a project, you can count on it being done, not just completed, but done above expectations, ” she noted. “Most of the tasks Brian took on this year were behind the scenes so members most often didn ’t have a clue how much effort Brian gave to ODCA.”

One of those behind-the-scenes projects was a fact sheet for drycleaners to be handed out to customers or media members who might have any concerns about the drycleaning process.

Olson wrote the document, along with ODCA President Scott McClure, in response to an unfavorable news piece that had run on KATU-TV earlier this year.

Currently, it is available in downloadable PDF format on ODCA’s site, located at www.oregondrycleaners.org.

In addition to helping ODCA and the drycleaning industry, Olson has a soft spot for local causes. He participated in Project Bundle Up and provides free cleaning for two non-profit artistic organizations: the Pacific Festival Ballet and Triangle Productions.

He also chairs the Cemetery Committee for his congregation, Beit Haverim, and regularly meets with families to counsel and advice them following the loss of a loved one.

Two investors from Seattle — Mark Callaghan and Andrew Johnston — recently purchased a controlling interest in Blue Sky Cleaners of San Francisco.

The plant, which uses both liquid carbon dioxide and wetcleaning technologies, is co-owned and operated by Frank Shaghafi, who brings a quarter century of cleaning experience to the business he originally founded.

“The drycleaning industry has for years gotten used to dumping chemicals into its machines, thinking there was no viable alternative, ” noted Shaghafi. “But with our CO2 drycleaning, there’s not one drop of chemical present, leaving the clothes cleaner, longer-lasting and virtually risk-free from an environmental and health perspective. ”

The three co-owners plan to expand their cleaning operations into other regions, beginning with the launch of a Blue Sky plant in Seattle early next year.

“We’re excited about the prospect of bringing earth-friendly cleaning to Seattle,” said Callaghan. “Blue Sky Cleaners is such a strong brand in the Bay Area, and we’re confident that it will be welcomed in other areas in which people have embraced sustainability and clean technologies. ”