DLI takes Five-Star Management Conference to the Big Easy
While some regions around New Orleans are still recovering from the devastating
effects of Hurricane Katrina that occurred over two years ago, the French
Quarter seems to be louder and brighter than ever.
In January, the city will play host to the college football Bowl Championship
Series title game in the same Louisiana Superdome that served as a temporary
shelter for almost 30,000 displaced evacuees who sought relief from the floods.
Few events can compare to the magnitude of the BCS Championship, yet Bourbon
Street businesses will likely be happy to see out-of-town guests attending the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute’s Five-Star Management Conference Feb. 22-23 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in the
French Quarter.
DLI has enlisted a bevy of championship-caliber speakers who will offer insight
and ideas designed to keep cleaners on a successful path.
Leading off the program on Friday will be executives from R.R. Street & Co. Inc. who will give their forecast for the drycleaning industry and discuss
why they have introduced the Solvair system even though it had already invested
in perc and hydrocarbon.
Then Ray Keating, an economist with the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council will give his economic forecast for small business,
telling where he believes the economy is heading and how it will impact small
businesses.
The final educational program of the first day will feature a panel addressing “Intelligent Innovations Equal Increased Productivity.“ Panelists will include Lenny Gershater of DCCS on RFID and bar coding; Michael
Euliss of PhoneTree on voice and e-messaging systems; Mark Jones of SPOT
Business Systems on information technology; and Chad Boucher of Wesvic on
production management tools.
The afternoon will bring a roundtable discussion with all participants asked to
contribute their thoughts on where they see the industry going. A panel
discussion moderated by Carol Memberg, publisher of National Clothesline, will
feature speakers Bill Fisher of DLI, Sid Tuchman of Tuchman Training Services
and John Tipps of Clean Concepts. They will discuss solvent options, equipment
and machinery concepts and other topics related to the industry’s future.
Sessions will resume on Saturday morning with a presentation by Mitch Stringer,
managing partner of Select Benefits Communications Group, on how to make
insurance affordable.
He will be followed by Peter Saucier from Kollman & Saucier, who will examine the hows and whys of offering insurance benefits to
employees in “The Top Ten Costly Employee Mistakes.” Saucier, who is a law partner with Frank Kollman, columnist for National
Clothesline, will also discuss the ins and outs of immigration laws.
DLI has scheduled plenty of opportunities for participant interaction, including
a welcome cocktail reception on Thursday evening.
The Royal Sonesta Hotel, located on Bourbon Street, has a special room rate of
$179 nightly for attendees for the evenings of Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
For hotel reservations, call (800) SONESTA or 504-586-0300.
Registration for DLI’s Five-Star Management Conference is only open to DLI members. The cost is $479
for Five-Star members and $579 for all other members.
Additional attendees from the same company may attend for a $50 discount from
the regular price.
To register, contact DLI at (800) 638-2627.
