Who are the
industry’s
best and brightest?
best and brightest?
The International Fabricare Institute is
looking for a few good men and women.
More specifically, IFI is looking to
reward a handful of individuals who have demonstrated exemplary
volunteer service benefitting the drycleaning industry.
IFI hopes to honor the industry’s
best and brightest at a special ceremony of its 3rd Meritorious
Service Awards during Clean ’03 in Las Vegas, NV, in
August. The awards, originally introduced in 1999, are
open to plant owners, educators, suppliers and other
individuals who have positively impacted the industry.
Nominations are not limited to IFI members.
The deadline for submissions is May 15,
2003. Nomination forms are located in current issues of
IFI’s Fabricare magazine and are also available at
www.ifi.org in the General Information section. Forms must be
completely filled out and signed in order to be valid. To
ensure fairness, nominators may recommend an individual or
organization in only one award category.
Straying from the format of past years,
IFI will not accept nominations for its top designation, the
Diamond Achievement Award. A special Awards Selection Committee
will sift through the candidates submitted for the other six
categories in search of someone who rises above the crop of
contenders.
The nomination categories include the
following:
• Industry Positive Recognition Award: Honoring an individual who has produced
outstanding results in securing favorable publicity for the
industry, this award was given to Barbara Harvey, owner of
Fabricare By Fran in Severna Park, MD, in 2001. Harvey has
worked since 1969 on promoting the image of drycleaners,
including work with the Operation Running Clean program and
over two decades of service with Coats for Kids.
In 1999, Ed Boorstein, CED, CPD, CPW,
owner of Prestige Exceptional Fabricare in Silver Spring, MD,
was chosen in this category for providing the industry with
positive publicity for several decades.
• Legislative-Regulatory Award: This award is given to an individual who
has actively worked on critical legislative or regulatory
issues that greatly affect the industry.
Past winners include Abraham Cho, who
previously owned Natural Cleaners in Middletown, NJ, and John
Neal, owner of Ineeda Cleaners in Hutchinson, KS.
In 1999, Cho was singled out for
personally organizing dozens of cleaners to travel from New
Jersey to Capital Hill where they spoke with representatives of
the Senate and the House on behalf of the Barton Bill. Neal was
selected in 2001 for his efforts founding and chairing the
regulatory-legislative program at TRSA for many years, in
addition to his part in writing and lobbying for the Kansas
Drycleaner Environmental Response Act and his term of service
for the Technical Advisory Committee of the Kansas Department
of Health and Environment.
• Technology Trailblazer Award: Recipients of this honor include
individuals who have conducted innovative research on industry
equipment or solvents that have resulted in a proven technology
that is currently usable and commercially proven.
The Exxon Chemical Company earned the
award in 1999 for its “DF-2000” solvent. No award
was given in 2001 as IFI felt that there had not been a
significant enough advancement to merit an award.
• Allied Trades Award: IFI awards
this honor to suppliers or individuals who have provided
long-term service of a substantial nature and have provided a
solid system of support for its member cleaners.
Ed Ustik of Phenix Supply Company in
Atlanta, GA, won in 1999. Henry and Jan Parker of Safety &
Environmental Compliance Consultants, Inc., were the recipients
of the award in 2001.
• Green Fields Award: This honor is presented to people or
organizations who have made a lasting contribution with concern
to an environmental-related issue or initiative.
Ann Hargrove of Lyons, IL, was recognized
in 1999 for her pioneering efforts in wetcleaning. Dr. Manfred
Wentz, president of TextileCare International, received the
award in 2001 for his industry work with the EPA and other
state and federal agencies, as well as his lifetime of research
dedicated to helping the industry better understand the science
of drycleaning.
• Commitment to Professionalism Award: As its name indicates, this award
celebrates an individual who has helped raise the
professionalism of the cleaning industry.
Carmelia Bernardi of Woonsocket, RI, was
selected in 1999 for her years of service in that area. Don
Desrosiers, owner of Tailwind Shirt Systems in Fall River, MA,
won in 2001 for striving to raise the industry’s
professionalism, specifically in the area of shirt finishing,
and volunteering his time offering free consultation and
assistance to the industry.
• Diamond Achievement Award: IFI’s top award is bestowed every
other year on an individual who has made an extraordinary
contribution that has improved the industry in a unique way.
Past winners include Barney Deden of
Omaha, NE, in 1999, who displayed a deep commitment to all
drycleaners through his tireless efforts on the Barton Bill,
and Stan Golomb, founder of the Golomb Group in Willowbrook,
IL, the 2001 winner. Golomb was chosen for his selfless
lifetime efforts in helping others in the industry succeed.
For more information on IFI’s
Meritorious Service Awards, contact Jay Calleja, vice president
of communications, at (800) 638-2627, ext. 122.
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