National Clothesline

It’s shaping up to be a busy holiday season for members of the Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning.

On Nov. 8, the association will host a board of directors meeting at the Courtyard by Marriott in East Lansing, MI.

Not long after that, MILD members will have an opportunity to celebrate the holidays with an annual Past President’s Holiday Party on Saturday, December 6. The event, which costs $30 per person, is open to all members and will be held at the Frankenmuth Brewery in Frankenmuth, MI. Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Cleaners needing another getaway in early 2004 with have the perfect opportunity on the weekend of January 23-35. MILD has planned a ski outing at Boyne Mountain Resort, which is also the same location for the association’s annual convention on July 23-25. The focus of the weekend will mostly be on family and fun, although there will be a member meeting on Saturday morning.

Then, in February, it will be time for MILD’s annual Mid-Winter Conference in Aruba. For details on any upcoming event, contact MILD at (517) 337-2909.

Roman Nalley of Reeder’s Cleaners in Jeffersonville, IN, was elected president of the Indiana Drycleaning & Laundry Association in September.

Other officers elected for next year include Steve Arthur of Bloomington Cleaners in Bloomington, vice president; Tony Milto of Milto Cleaners in Greenwood, secretary; and Joel Updike of Betty Brite Cleaners in Ft. Wayne, treasurer. Gary Maloney of Nu-Yale Cleaners in Jeffersonville serves as past president.

District directors were also elected as follows: District 1, Jodi Curry of Par-A-Dice Cleaners in Rising Sun; District 2, Bryan Schmitt of Don’s Cleaners in Evansville; District 3, Mike Corso of Corso’s Peerless Cleaners in Logansport; District 4, Linda Dygert of Mercury Cleaners in Valparaiso; District 5, Tim Day of Classic cleaners in Indianapolis; At-large, James Dortch of Mascari Cleaners in Greenwood; Allied Trades, Sam Doogs of E.J. Thomas Co. in Indianapolis and Tony Finch of Kay Equipment in South Bend.

A golf outing was also held at the Sept. 26 meeting at the Blue River Country Club in Shelbyville. After golfing and awards ceremonies, the group moved on to the Indian Downs Race Track for the annual meeting and banquet.

The Leather-Val Suede & Leather Cleaning & Refinishing School will be offering a weekend class from November 21-23 at its state-of-the-art training facilities located at 825 75th St., Suite H, in Willowbrook, IL.

Industry experts John Conway and Nat Kurtzman will outline all the latest techniques and skills for cleaning leather and suede.

The program will cover: skin identification and classification; the proper acceptance procedure for garments at the front counter; how to recognize and treat problem garments; how leather and suede garments are tanned; and safe and effective prespotting methods. Attendees will be taught about suede spraying and coloring, leather spraying and coloring, pressing and steam/air finishing methods and there will also be a discussion on selling your services and increasing your business.

All cleaning processes will be demonstrated on the latest equipment.

The class will begin on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 a.m. The final day’s session will conclude before noon on Sunday, Nov. 23.

Because it is a hands-on school, students will be expected to participate and are allowed to bring up to six garments for processing.

Registration for the three-day course costs $195 per plant; each plant may bring up to three attendees.

The fee covers class tuition, as well as breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday. Other costs, such as transportation and hotel expenses, are not included.

Hotel accommodations are available at the Holiday Inn at 7800 S. Kingery Highway on Route 83 in Willowbrook. Rooms are $74 per night, not including tax.

For reservations, call the Holiday Inn at (630) 325-6400. For more information on the Leather-Val course, call (800) 447-KIRK or 630) 323-1537, or e-mail leatherman@prodigy.net.