National Clothesline

The Neighborhood Cleaners Association plans to get the ball rolling early in 2003 with several educational offerings.

On Tuesday, January 16, a “Pricing For Profits” session at Finian’s Restaurant at 910 Washington Ave. in Dedham, MA.

On Thursday, February 27, Chris Baggot will offer a “Promotion and Marketing” seminar at the Capital District Century House on Route 9 in Latham, NY. Dinner will begin at 7 p.m., following by the meeting at 8 p.m. For pre-registration, call Bill Patanian at (518) 274-0981.

There will also be a few day-long classes at NCA’s New York School of Drycleaning located at 252 West 29th Street in New York, NY.

Class dates and subjects for the first half of the year include: Technical Training at the Counter on January 26; Machinery Maintenance on February 9; and Wetcleaning on May 4.

NCA will run a session of its 10-week “Principles and Practices of Drycleaning” course on Monday and Wednesday evenings starting on January 6 and its 4-week “Principles and Practices of Pressing” course on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting on January 7.

The 58th annual New England Sanitone Licensee Meeting will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, MA, on January 10 and 11.

Deborah Rechnitz of Methods For Management will be present to offer hands-on workshops for drycleaners and managers.

She will offer an educational workshop called “Building a Healthy Business” that is designed to help plant owners understand how to monitor and improve their businesses. Participants will be challenged to evaluate their own businesses and learn to maximize their profitability and build a solid foundation for the future.

She will also present a workshop on “Day to Day Management” that will help attendees focus on establishing strong business goals and strategies in order to reduce “fire fighting” and produce effective production results.

In an effort to gain access to more resources and grow its membership, the board of the Northeast Laundry Association voted to transfer the management of the association as of December 1, 2002.

In a press release, NELA stated: “We applaud the faithful and varied services provided by Marilee Rayner for the past 39 years and most recently as our executive director.”

Rayner will continue to assist the association through the transition.

As of December, 1, NELA’s new office will be at: 389 Main St., Ste. 202, Malden, MA 02148. New office contact Linda J. Guild may be reached at (781) 397-8870.