Carrying the torch
An official Olympic Torch for the 2002
Winter Games is held by Andra Gelpi Gillum, vice president of
Swan Cleaners, and Anthony Gelpi, Swan Cleaners’ district
manager. They are joined by two members of the Olympic Torch
Relay team, which had its garments cared for by Operation
Running Clean participants during its two-month cross-country
trek to Salt Lake City.
On the road for two months in a 16-city
cross country tour, the runners and support staff charged with
bringing the Olympic Torch to Salt Lake City got a big helping
hand from dozens of cleaners along the way through Operation
Running Clean. Organized by the International Fabricare
Institute, Running Clean saw to it that the 1,500 items of
clothing and gear used by the torch-bearers were cleaned and
ready to go on a short turn-around at each of the major stops
along the way.
The torch caravan came to rest on the day
after New Year’s in Columbus, OH, where Swan Cleaners
answered the call for cleaning.
“When Swan Cleaners learned that
Operation Running Clean was looking for a cleaner in Columbus,
we were thrilled to volunteer,” said Paul Gelpi,
president of Swan. “What an exciting opportunity to show
our support for the Olympic spirit.”
The Olympic truck dropped off 150 bags of
laundry at Swan’s Upper Arlington store at about 1 p.m.
on Jan. 2. Everything — black pants, fleece shirts,
jackets, vests, knit hats, golf shirts, socks pajamas and
undergarments — had to be ready to go that night. About
10 members of Swan’s own “Olympic Team”
drycleaned and pressed the pants and washed and folded the
piles of laundry. Rows of washers and dryers at the
company’s Reed and Henderson coin-op store were pressed
into service to help get the job done. And done it was —
in about four hours. Record time, according to a member of the
Olympic Relay staff.
When they came to pick up their clothes,
the Torch relay team brought along an official Olympic Torch
for photo opportunities. Swan will also receive a framed
commemorative Olympic Torch Relay t-shirt and certificate of
appreciation for its efforts.
IFI estimates that participating cleaners
donated more than $100,000 in free cleaning in Operation
Running Clean. The journey began in Atlanta, site of the 1996
Olympic games, on Dec. 1, and wound its way across the country
to reach Salt Lake City Feb. 4 in time for the opening of this
year’s winter games.
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