National Clothesline

GreenEarth Cleaning has promoted Timothy Maxwell to president. Maxwell has been with GreenEarth Cleaning for almost four years, beginning as a field representative for Canada and the Midwestern U.S. and most recently serving as vice president of operations.

He is a second-generation drycleaner whose family has operated a wholesale leather and specialty item cleaning company in Toronto, Canada, for over 25 years. He is recognized as a stakeholder representative by Environment Canada in its Strategic Options Process for the Reduction of Perchloroethylene in the Drycleaning Sector. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Ontario Fabricare Association.

As president of GreenEarth Solutions, he will report directly to the board of directors and will be responsible for directing sales, marketing, and operations for GreenEarth Cleaning throughout the United States and Canada. He will also be available to present information to any interested group about the use of silicone solvent in the drycleaning process.

Jim Barry, Ron Benjamin and Jim Douglas will continue in their current roles, with primary focus on long-term strategic planning and international markets.

Maxwell has a degree in economics from the University of Windsor. He and his wife, Karen, currently reside in Thornhill, Ontario, with their two children, Kelsey and Kolin.

Acme Cleaners of Orlando, FL, received the 2003 Small Wonder Award from the Orlando Sentinel in the newspaper’s annual judging of the area’s top 100 companies for working families.

The Small Wonder Award is chosen from the top 100 winners that have fewer than 50 employees. Each year the newspaper selects the top 100 companies based on “family-friendly” benefits offered by the individual companies. Five key areas are evaluated: core benefits like health and life insurance and 401(k) programs; family-related benefits like child care, and family leave; work environment policies related to flex time, employee rewards and dress policy; communication within the company; and training and planning.

Winning companies were featured in a special Top 100 section published by the newspaper.

In the newspaper article on Acme Cleaners, owners Jim and Sarah Parham were praised by employees “for their consistent flexibility and fairness and for the open door policy.” The company offers hospitalization, dental and eyeglass insurance, a 401(k) and a Christmas Club.

“To be a cleaners of choice, you need employees of choice,” Jim Parham told the newspaper. “We’ve worked hard to have employees of choice. To do that, you have to be a business they want to work for.”

Nicole Just, an Acme counter manager, related that she was a teenage single mother when she started working at Acme. Now 27, she says, “Sarah and Jim have been like parents to me.” When she had to miss a week of work recently to care for her daughter who had an appendectomy, Sarah “checked in with me, cooked meals and came to the hospital. They’d do that for anyone. If something goes wrong, they’re there to help out.”

The company also offers weekly visits from a trained nutritionist, an annual picnic, lunch-and-learn parenting seminars, a 100-percent tuition reimbursement for college or business related courses and a children’s activity center where employees can bring their kids when emergencies arise.

“Most small businesses aren’t able to offer benefits because of their costs,” Sarah Parham told the newspaper. “Our employees may not make the per-hour that others make, but when you add in the benefits, it’s almost like golden handcuffs.”

“I'll work here until I retire, and I won’t retire any time soon,” Sherryl Shorter said. “I enjoy coming to work. We have air conditioning. Not many drycleaners have that.”

Craig Kirchner has been named general manager of Maytag’s commercial laundry division, replacing Ron Fey who retired earlier this year after 35 years with the company.

Kirchner began with Maytag in 1986 as a branch service supervisor in Maytag’s Northwest region. From 1987 to 1998, he held district sales management assignments in Texas, Washington, Utah and California. In 1998, he moved to Maytag headquarters in Newton, IA, as director, buying groups. He was named director, business development, in 2000, a position he held until 2001, when he was named region manager/Minneapolis. In late 2001, he was again promoted to director of sales services, the position he held until most recently.

Kirchner holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Iowa.

UNITEC, in affiliation with Tri-State Services, both of Waycross, GA, and Orlando, FL, announce the appointment of Don DeLaVergna as area sales representative for south Georgia and north Florida.

DeLaVergna has an extensive sales background and has won several awards. UNITEC has a multiple line of equipment sales, and Tri-State offers services and parts, both operating extensively in the coin laundry and drycleaning industries. UNITEC is also a distributor of heavy duty laundry machinery to hospitals, institutions, cruise lines and correctional facilities.