Three seeking two seats on IFI board
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In the meantime, outgoing Directors Gary
Campbell of District 7 and Harvey Gershenson of District 8 will
maintain their seats until IFI’s summer board meeting in
Boston, which takes place July 16-17.
Brad Ewing and Dave Silliman will compete
for the upcoming opening in District 7, which covers the
territory of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon,
Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Alaska.
Ewing, who owns Nu-Way Cleaners in
Greeley, CO, has been active in the Rocky Mountain Fabricare
Association since the early 1990s, including a three-year stint
as president.
“I have always felt that
associations provided a very important service to their
members,” he said. “Their primary purpose, in my
opinion, is to provide educational opportunities to the
membership, not only through the programs and services they
provide but also through the opportunities to learn from others
in the industry.”
Fostering a sense of obligation to
contribute back to the industry that supports his business,
Ewing previously served as IFI District Committee Member for
District 7.
“We as an industry have many issues
to face,” he said. “IFI has always taken the lead,
not only as an advocate for us when needed, but also as a
provider of information.”
If elected, Ewing plans to tackle issues
facing IFI and the industry.
“One of the main priorities of any
board member is to ensure the financial viability of the
organization,” he noted. “The invaluable services
and opportunities that an association provides mean nothing if
the organization provides these services at a loss and
ultimately has to close their doors. However, when the
association is a ‘not for profit’ it results in a
delicate balancing act.
“Another key priority has to be
determining and meeting the needs of the membership. You can
offer tremendous programs and services, but if they don’t
fit in with the needs of your members, they do not provide
value. Therefore, communication with the membership is very
important.”
Ewing plans on communicating to members in
a variety of ways.
“Whether that information comes in
the form of a finishing seminar or the ability to dial an 800
number for the answer to a technical problem, or a reference CD
that provides information at your fingertips, the development
and continuation of these programs that provide value to the
membership has to be a priority.”
The other candidate for District 7
Director is Dave Silliman, who operates Uptowne
Drycleaning, Inc. in
Phoenix, AZ.
Known throughout the industry as
“Dryclean Dave,” Silliman has provided assistance
to hundreds of cleaners through an on-line website he maintains
at www.drycleandave.com.
“I used to get so many calls that I
had the website put up so I could direct people to the most
common information people would ask about. I get calls from all
over the place, and I return every call,” Silliman
explained. “If I don't know the answer, I tell them
I’ll find out, but I always get back to them
and help them the best I can because it
helps the whole industry whenever a single cleaner out there
gets better at something or learns a new technique.”
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Such efforts earned Silliman IFI’s
Commitment to Professionalism award at Clean ’03 in Las
Vegas.
He has also served the industry by serving
two terms on the board of directors for the Western States
Drycleaners & Launders Association, as well as two terms on
its executive committee as corporate secretary.
Currently, he is IFI’s District 7
Committee Member. He chose to run because he wants to continue
serving the industry that has supported his family for 84
years. Silliman believes he is a good choice because he has the
perspective of an every day, hard working drycleaner.
“I can be the worker’s voice.
I am in my plant cleaning, inspecting, and spotting 50-60 hours
a week, every week. I’m side by side with my employees,
and I’m accessible to my customers. I open up and start
the boiler, and I blow down the boiler when we’re
finished.”
If elected, Silliman plans to focus on
making sure fair agreements are reached on local and national
regulatory issues that target the industry.
“I would also encourage the
formation of your local triumvirate, a liaison between IFI
member drycleaners, IFI retailers, and the Better Business
Bureau, for the purpose of promoting business, customer
service, and ease of problem resolution among our members. This
is what I would call the IFI Pipeline.”
District 8
In District 8, which oversees California
and Hawaii, there will be a less difficult choice to make.
The only candidate is Barry Gershenson,
the brother of outgoing Director Harvey Gershenson who filled
in for the remainder of Perry Pulos’s term after he
passed away in November of 2002.
Still, Gershenson is eminently qualified.
He is owner of Sterling Westwood,
Inc. in Los Angeles, CA,
and would bring 41 years of industry experience to the post.
He also has spent 15 years of active duty
on the board for the California Cleaners Association. Now, he
serves as a board member and treasurer for the Greater Los
Angeles Dry Cleaner Association. Prior to that, he tended to
the association as its president for 22 years.
Gershenson believes the key to being a
district director is to “ensure the success and viability
of IFI through membership growth, meeting budgetary goals, and
creativity of membership benefits.”
He summarized his campaign in three
reasons why members should vote for him: “1) Industry and
association experience; 2) Knowledge of how to get the job
done, while building trust and alliance with my board; and 3)
service to all areas of the ‘fabric cleaning’
industry without allegiance to business size, ownership gender
or ethnicity, or companies that provide non-traditional methods
of cleaning.”
If members choose to vote him into the
opening, Gershenson pledges to communicate often with
associations and District 8 members so he can identify the
chief concerns of members and subsequently address them at
board meetings.
IFI will mail ballots on March 25 to
members in good standing who reside in the respective
territories of Districts 7 and 8. Ballots must be postmarked no
later than April 15.
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