National Clothesline

H. Steven Poulos, owner and president of Blair’s Cleaners/Elmest Inc, received the Ohio Cleaners Association 2002 Tom Kimmel Clean Award at the association’s summer meeting.

The award, established in 1980, recognizes outstanding association members for contributions to the

drycleaning industry.

Poulos, a member of OCA since 1980 and a lifetime trustee, served as president for the 1998-99 terms. He also served as an advisor to the Fabricare Technology Center at Cuyahoga Community College and now serves on the International Fabricare Institute board of directors as District 4 director, representing cleaners in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Poulos is the president and sole owner of Blair’s Cleaners/Elmest Inc, a chain of stores that services the northern portion of Stark county, recognized as an IFI certified environmental Drycleaner and as a Sanitone Master Drycleaner chain.

A member of St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church, he serves as chairman of the Church Audit Committee and has held various offices in the church since 1993, including the Board Presidency while participating actively on the archdiocesan and diocesan levels.

His company actively participate in Coats for Christmas, Hoops for Healing and other benevolent endeavors.

He and his wife, Francine, reside in Canton, OH, with their three children.

The recipient of the Kimmel Award, which is named for long-time Ohio cleaner and former IFI president Tom Kimmel, is selected by a committee chaired by the immediate past president of OCA and the winner is not told of the selection until the presentation on the night of the annual banquet at the summer meeting.

For the third year in a row, Dependable Cleaners will donate 10 percent of all September retail sales from its Dorchester store to the Colonel Daniel Marr Boys & Girls Club.

“We are excited to continue to collaborate with the Colonel Daniel Marr Boys & Girls Club,” said Christa Hagearty, president of Dependable Cleaners. “As our neighbor in Dorchester, we can see first-hand all the great work they do for the young people of this community. It’s an honor to contribute to their development and success. Our entire Dependable Cleaners team looks forward to working with the organization this September and throughout the coming years.”

Dependable Cleaners, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, is a three-generation, family company, which was founded in 1944. Presently there are 17 retail locations in Massachusetts, nine of which have fully-equipped cleaning plants and three having laundromats.

Bryan Schmitt receives scholarship

The Laidlaw Corp. has announced that Bryan Schmitt of Don’s Cleaners in Evansville, IN, is the first recipient of the Larry Howard-IFI Scholarship. Laidlaw awards the scholarship annually in memory of Larry Howard, a 40-year employee-owner of Laidlaw Corp. who passed away in 2001.

Schmitt, a third generation drycleaner, is the son of Steve and Mary Schmitt.

Information about the scholarship is available through IFI.

Environmental Forensic Investigations, Inc., a member of the Henshaw Group, has opened an Indianapolis office. The firm also has offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago. The address of the new office is 1060 N. Capitol, Suite E230, Indianapolis, IN 46204; phone (317) 972-7870.

EFI specializes in legal and forensic support, insurance archeology, insurance coverage matters, PRP identification and environmental claims management.

Ernie Kassoff has joined Wascomat Laundry Equipment as director of OPL Sales for North America. As a 20-year industry veteran, he has held various management positions with laundry equipment dealers and manufacturers in North America and internationally.

Kassoff is based in Cincinnati, OH, where he resides with his wife, Kim, and two daughters. He can be reached at (800) 645-2204.

Continental Girbau, Inc. said Phase II of a multiple phase expansion plan for its current facility headquarters in Oshkosh, WI, is taking place ahead of schedule.

The current facility, located on 13-acres of land purchased from the city of Oshkosh in 1996 and 2000, is Continental’s headquarters for the company’s marketing, sales, warehousing, and customer support efforts.

The new addition, to the rear of the current facility, will bring the total size of the building to 67,500 square feet of which 37,500 is the current space and 30,000 is the new addition. The additional space will be used for day-to-day operations and will provide space for additional inventory.