National Clothesline

The 58th annual meeting of the Varsity International Conference of Cleaners was held at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, CA, September 22-27.

Sixteen companies from the United States participated in the conference which followed the theme, “Renaissance, A New Perspective.”

The keynote speaker, Derek Woodgate from the Futures Lab, provided a new perspective for the industry’s future.

Topics for the other sessions included: A New Perspective on Marketing; Recruiting; Incentives; Changing Technology; Environmental Controls; and an open forum discussion.

Paul Brown of Jack Brown Cleaners, Austin, TX, was general chairman of the conference. Executive committee members included Dave Perry of Owen Cleaners, Paducah, KY, past chairman; Chris Edwards of A Cleaner World, High Point, NC, chairman elect; and Len Battiston of Battiston’s Cleaners, Hartford, CT, treasurer.

Varsity has no permanent membership. Executives of leading companies in the textile maintenance industry are invited to participate in each annual conference.

The attendees are graded on the effectiveness of their contributions to Varsity by fellow participants. Those with the lowest grades are not invited back to the next conference.

The system also provides for the infusion of new invitees to the conference.

Chairman Brown indicated that, while this policy may seem harsh and competitive, it has been effective in achieving a high standard of excellence in the organization.

“Everyone who attends a Varsity conference is prepared, no one is late or misses a session during the conference,” Brown said. “There is a spirit of enthusiasm and dedication that is difficult to describe unless you have attended a Varsity conference.”

Varsity was founded in 1944 by Paul Trimble, managing executive of the former National Cleaner and Dyer Magazine, who invited executives of 12 leading drycleaning companies in the United States to a conference in Cleveland, OH.

Realizing that the normal exchange of visits between drycleaners had been curtailed as a result of World War II, Trimble believed that an exchange of ideas and information between a small group of leading dry cleaners would benefit the industry in general, as well as the group itself.

Paul Trimble told the group at that time, “Grantland Rice and all those other fellows over the years have picked all-time, all-American football and baseball teams. You’re my all-time drycleaning team. You’re my Varsity, Gentlemen!”

The companies represented this year include:

A Cleaner World, High Point, NC; 57 plants including 21 franchise units in North Carolina.

Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners, Santa Barbara, CA; one main plant with four routes.

American Cleaners, St Louis, MO; 27 stores.

Battiston’s Cleaners, Hartford, CT; 16 package plants and seven routes.

Classic Cleaners, Indianapolis, IN; 12 stores, four routes, tanning centers.

Craig’s Cleaners, Houston, TX, 12 stores and 11 routes.

Dependable Cleaners, Boston, MA; 17 stores and coin laundries.

Fashion Fresh Dry Cleaners, Naples, FL; 15 stores and two routes.

Hallmark Cleaners, Jackson, MS: eight stores and six routes.

Jack Brown Cleaners, Austin and San Antonio, TX; 72 locations.

Meurice Garment Care, New York, NY; four stores and two routes, very high end.

Owen Cleaners, Paducah, KY; seven stores and one route, photo finishing, coin laundries.

Prestige Cleaners, Knoxville, TN; six stores and three routes.

Puritan Cleaners, Richmond, VA; 26 stores and four routes.

Sam Meyer’s Drycleaners, Louisville, KY; 15 stores, three routes, formal wear.

Tripp’s Fine Cleaners, Columbia, SC; 11 stores and two routes.