Natonal Clothesline

The Neighborhood Cleaners Association will be straying a little from the formats of past years for its TexCare biennial trade show and exhibit.

No longer will the event take place in Edison, NJ, as it has since 1997. TexCare 2003 will be presented at the Meadowlands Convention Center in Secaucus, NJ. And, no longer will TexCare take place in the fall months of September or October as it customarily does. This year, the event is scheduled for April 5-6.

However, the association still plans to offer a weekend of informative educational sessions and an exhibit hall packed with the latest industry equipment and products.

Exhibit hours will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. This year’s guest speakers will include Alan Spielvogel, director of the NCA Garment Analysis Laboratory. He will present: “Clothing Care Crisis: Are There More Problem Garments on the Market?” at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. He has 30 years of industry experience and formal training at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

He will be followed by Rex Carrigan of Carrigan Consulting at 10 a.m. Carrigan is an industry consultant and lecturer who formerly served as the general manager of White Way Cleaners in Nashville, TN. He will discuss “Developing a Profitable Route: How to Do It and What Results You Can Expect!” On Sunday morning at 9 a.m., TexCare attendees will have the opportunity to catch a seminar on “E-Mail Marketing: What’s the Point and How Do You Measure Success?” Exact Target Marketing Manager Jay Gromex will present the hour-long session.

At 10 a.m. on the same day, ABC 20/20 News Correspondent John Stossel will focus his seminar on the media and how it affects us. Stossel has been with the ABC newsmagazine “20/20” since 1981 and began doing prime-time specials in 1994. His first special, “Are We Scaring Ourselves To Death?,” examined exaggerated fears over risks such as crime and pollution. It was followed by “The Blame Game,” which looked at Americans’ growing tendency to blame their misfortunes on others.

In his “Give Me a Break” segments for “20/20,” Stossel takes skeptical looks at people who want to censor cartoons, regulate flagpoles, and have Congress rule on what prices are “fair.”

Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Among his other awards are the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award.

Attendees will have an opportunity to spend Saturday evening at the Meadowlands Race Track’s Pegasus East restaurant, which offers live horse racing and a panoramic view of the New York City skyline. For a $45 ticket price, guests will receive a gourmet buffet, track and club admission, a program, desert and coffee. A cash bar will also be available.

Reservations are required. Call Carol Perez at NCA (212) 967-3002. Payment can be made by check or credit card.

Several nearby hotels within walking distance of the convention center have secured discounted room rates for show attendees. Reservations can be made by calling: Embassy Suites, (201) 864-7300; Holiday Inn, Harmon Meadow, (201) 348-2000; and the Hampton Inn, (201) 867-4400. For more information on TexCare ’03, contact the NCA office by calling (212) 967-3002.

Exhibitors planning to attend Clean ’03 in Las Vegas, NV, will have an early opportunity to have their questions answered at a two-day exhibitor meeting scheduled for April 1-2.

A reception for exhibitors will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1, in the LeMontrachet Room at the Las Vegas Hilton.

The following day, from 9 a.m. to noon, exhibitors will meet with Clean Show sponsors and managers who will address their concerns. It will take place in Room N264 of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Those planning to participate can take advantage of a $75 special room rate offered at the Las Vegas Hilton. For reservations, call (702) 732-511 or (800) 732-7117 and mention the Clean ’03 exhibitor meeting.

The deadline for hotel reservations is March 18.

Dates for this year’s Clean Show are Monday through Thursday, August 11-14. Pre-registration is $45 per person through July 10 and will include entrance to the exhibit hall and all educational sessions.

After that date, the cost goes up to $70. On-site registration will commence at 7 a.m. on the first day of the show and at 7:30 a.m. on subsequent days.

The exhibit floor will be open to everyone at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 11 until 5 p.m. Distributors will have the floor to themselves earlier from 8 to 10 a.m.

Exhibit hours on the following days will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday; and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Educational sessions are scheduled to run between 8 and 10 a.m. from Monday through Wednesday, and between 8 and 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Clean ’03 is cosponsored by the Coin Laundry Association; the International Fabricare Institute; the National Association of Institutional Linen Management; the Textile Care Allied Trades Association, the Textile Rental Services Association of America; and the Uniform and Textile Service Association.

For more information, contact Riddle & Associates, the show’s management company, Suite 360-C, 1874 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30324; phone (404) 876-1988; fax (404) 876-5121; e-mail info@cleanshow.com; or visit the show’s website at www.cleanshow.com.

DCCS will hold its seventh biannual conference in conjunction with Clean ’03 on Sunday, Aug. 10 at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Beginning at 11 a.m., the conference will present two speakers, Sid Tuchman and Rex Carrigan.

Tuchman will address two crucial issues: the behaviors, discipline and actions all effective managers have in common; and the systems all effective managers and executives have in common for customer satisfaction, low employee turnover, marketing, team building, improved productivity and innovation that makes them consistently successful and competent.

Carrigan, the former route manager of White Way Cleaners, will share his expertise in selling and managing routes. He has developed easy ways to sell customers and build volume with existing customers. He will show how hiring people who like talking to people can turn conversation into customers.

Attendees will also learn new and innovative things related to DCCS, meet the DCCS staff and other DCCS users and gain business management insights.

For more information on the conference, call Ellen Markman or Christine Charles, (800) 451-8431.

The Korean American Dry Cleaner Association (KADA) has scheduled its first ever trade show from May 3-4, 2003.

The association plans to host the show at the Donald A. Stephens Convention Center (formerly known as the Rosemont Convention Center) located in Rosemont, IL, approximately ten miles away from O’Hare Airport.

The two-day event will be a Korean-focused show with attendees from all over the US and more than 150 vendors expected to participate. It will coincide with the Federation of Korean Dry Cleaners Associations’ annual convention.

KADA will provide translators on request to assist with sales transactions. A financing company will also be readily available for those wishing to make large equipment purchases.

The exhibit hours will run from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

KADA has also planned other activities for the weekend, including two top Korean singers, a special dinner and prize giveaways.

For more information on the KADA Trade Show: Chicago 2003, contact Seung Lee at (773) 620-6612.