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David Perry, president of Owen Cleaners in
Paducah, KY, served as the Varsity 2001 conference chairman. “It
was a true test of Varsity’s strength and long-standing
tradition that we decided to hold the conference as planned in
the wake of recent political and economic events,” Perry
said. “Our returning Varsity alumni added historical
perspective to the current situation, and we were able to focus
much of our attention on the future of our industry despite
these uncertain times.”
The five new companies this year were
Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners of Santa Barbara, CA; Fashion
Fresh Drycleaning of Naples, FL; Meurice Garment Care of
Manhasset, NY; Prestige Cleaners of Knoxville, TN; and Tripp’s
Fine Cleaners of Columbia, SC.
“We were particularly pleased with
the geographical and operational diversity of these five new
companies,” Perry said. “All five are very
progressive and creative, leaders within their local markets
and recognized nationally in the drycleaning industry.”
Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners was
represented by Neil and Sue Ablitt and Joe Babine. Ablitt’s
has shown dramatic growth in the Santa Barbara area since the
purchase of the company by the Ablitts in the mid-1980s. Neil’s
father originally started the company. Much of Ablitt’s
growth has come from home delivery routes. It currently
operates a 12,000-sq.-ft. central plant.
Fashion Fresh Drycleaning was started by
Nick and Paula Shirghio, and in 14 years has grown to 13
locations throughout the Naples, FL area. Jeff Rhea, general
manager and son-in-law to the Shirghios, also attended the
conference. A new central drycleaning plant and shirt laundry
was recently recognized by the American Drycleaner as the “Most
Productive Plant” in 2000.
Meurice Garment Care was represented by
Wayne Edelman, president and owner. Wayne originally joined his
father’s Manhattan-based business in the mid-1980s. Since
then Wayne has added several dry stores and routes in the New
York city area and opened a new central plant on Long Island.
Wayne has often been recognized in the New York media, and has
been featured on Martha Stewart’s TV show.
Eddie Mannis of Prestige Cleaners in
Knoxville, TN, returned to Varsity after a hiatus of several
years. Eddie was in his mid-twenties when he first entered the
drycleaning business with no experience. Since then he has
built his company into a market leader with an award-winning
14,000-sq-ft. central plant, five dry stores, and three home
valet routes. He is also active in the Tennessee Fabricare
Association.
Tripp’s Fine Cleaners also returned
after prior experience in Varsity. Chet Penninger and his son,
Tripp, represented the company this year. Tripp’s Fine
Cleaners has long been the market leader in Columbia, SC, with
four package plants, eight dry stores and several home pick-up
and delivery routes. Tripp’s is known for excellent
customer amenities and personal attention at all of its
locations.
The other returning companies included: A
Cleaner World of High Point, NC; Battiston’s of Hartford,
CT; Burke Cleaners of Davenport, IA; Craig’s Cleaners of
Houston, TX; Dependable Cleaners of Quincy, MA; Hallmark
Cleaners of Jackson, MS; Jack Brown Cleaners of Austin, TX; Jim
Massey’s Cleaners of Montgomery, AL; Owen Cleaners of
Paducah, KY; Porter’s Cleaners of Shreveport, LA; Puritan
Cleaners of Richmond, VA; and Sam Meyer’s Drycleaners of
Louisville, KY.
This year 13 former Varsity members and
their spouses returned for a reunion during the last two days
of the conference. The reunion attendees included: Mr. and Mrs.
Brooksher Banks of Little Rock, AR; Mr. and Mrs. Jim Barry of
Kansas City, MO; Mr. and Mrs. Jack Brown of Austin, TX; Mr. and
Mrs. Andy Clayton of Evansville, IN; Mr. and Mrs. Don Frye of
Scottsdale, AZ; Mr. and Mrs. Ed Glover of Arlington, Virginia;
Mr. and Mrs. Gene Katterjohn, Jr. of Paducah, KY; Mr. and Mrs.
Amiss Kean of Baton Rouge, LA; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kean of Baton
Rouge, LA; Mr. and Mrs. Nick Moufarrige of Canberra,
Queanbeyan, Australia; Mr. and Mrs. Bill Pulley of Oxford, OH;
Mr. and Mrs. Mel Shapiro of Las Vegas, NV; and Mr. and Mrs.
Bretney Smith of Asheville, NC.
Bill Pulley, one of the reunion
participants, was the keynote speaker for the conference. He
spoke on the four key legacies that Varsity has meant to him
during his 25 years with the conference: leadership, sharing,
commitment and friendship.
He cited the many industry innovations
that have been developed by Varsity companies over the past 57
years. These industry firsts included the “Steaming Susie”,
steam tunnels, package plants, “Coats for Kids”
drives, express bags, Apparelmaster, and hanger caddies.
He also mentioned the long legacy of
leadership of Varsity members throughout the drycleaning
industry. Varsity has been represented by seven IFI and NID
presidents, two Australian national presidents, four IDC
presidents, two Prime Wardens of the Dyers Guild in England,
and numerous state and national directors. Don Fawcett, a
current Varsity participant, will be the IFI President in 2004.
Like many of the alumni that attended,
Pulley was a former chairman of Varsity. He has the unique
distinction of having served as conference chairman twice —
in 1970 and 1988.
In all, 19 former and future Varsity
chairmen attended the final night awards dinner.
Varsity is an annual week-long conference
of drycleaners who meet to discuss innovative management,
marketing and operational strategies for their companies.
Participation is by invitation only and each company comes
prepared to share its best ideas for improvement. All
information is confidential and the executive committee is
careful to invite only companies from non-competitive markets.
Each year all companies are graded by
their peers and invited back the following year only if they
are judged to have contributed substantially to the overall
success of the conference.
Paul Trimble, who was the managing
executive of the National Cleaner and Dyer Magazine, formed
Varsity in 1944. When World War II curtailed the normal
exchange of visits between drycleaners, he decided to form a
conference that would bring together outstanding companies to
exchange ideas and advance industry knowledge.
The first conference was held in Cleveland
where Trimble, alluding to Grantland Rice and other
sportswriters who selected all-star teams for various sports,
told the group, “You are my all-time, all-star
drycleaning team. You are Varsity, gentlemen.” Since then
Varsity has grown in its international representation, and in
past years has included companies from Australia, Canada,
Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
During the conference officers were
elected to serve on the 2002 Varsity Executive Committee. Paul
Brown of Jack Brown Cleaners will serve as next year’s
conference chairman. He will be assisted by Chris Edwards of A
Cleaner World as secretary, Len Battiston of Battiston’s
as treasurer and David Perry of Owen Cleaners as past chairman.
Retiring from the Executive Committee is Harry Craig, who
served as the conference chairman in 2000.