“An Absolute Must Attend Event!” 74th Annual New England Sanitone Licensee Meeting in Boston, MA

The 74th Annual Meeting of New England Sanitone Licensees was held January 24-25 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, MA. With five-star accommodations and unseasonably fair weather, Sanitone Licensees from across the country met to network, discuss the latest industry updates, attend informative presentations, and enjoy some of the finest restaurants in the world. We thank the board for their hard work and commitment to putting on this meeting every year.

After a Sanitone update from President John Jordan and Vice President Jeff Jordan, Sean Abbas delighted the crowd with his story about updating the culture of his former company. Currently the president of Threads Inc (threadsculture.com), Mr. Abbas pointed out some of the absurd policies we put in place as business owners that fail to create strong culture. He challenged the attendees to think outside the box when evaluating the value an employee brings to your business and warned that many companies are using “culture” as a marketing strategy and not actually developing a rich workplace.

Following the break, Stephen Graham of AEI Consultants shared some of the latest news and trends for environmental cleanup. Mr. Graham brought over 30 years of experience conducting investigations and audits to the meeting. He showed fascinating maps of the width and depth of contamination you might find at a typical site he has consulted on.

Dr. John Denninger followed with his talk “Why Stress is Good For You” and quipped that environmental updates would probably make any drycleaner stress a little. Dr. Denninger gave a fantastic summary of the evolutionary need for stress in survival but remarked how modern humans are overly stimulated into unnecessary stress responses. His key takeaways? Get more sleep and meditate often. Simple advice but difficult to be disciplined about!

After lunch, Sanitone Licensee Paul White (Lifestyle Garment Care) declared that “It’s Time to Think!” Mr. White shared his experience of looking out the window and watching potential customers walking by and realizing the industry needs to adapt and overcome. Paul shared the process of converting his company from Roth Cleaners to Lifestyle Garment Care and offered some sage advice on how to avoid some pitfalls along the way. 

Closing out the meeting was Lou D’Autorio, director of operations for Tampa Laundry Company. Lou echoed the sentiments of the opening speaker, Sean Abbas, on the importance of creating a strong culture, specifically around coaching. Tampa Laundry Company recently won the 2018 Tampa Small Business of the year as a first-year startup under his direction. Mr. D’Autorio gave tips on how to engage your staff through mentoring, learning, and personal growth.

The meeting was book-ended by two social events at the Boston Four Seasons that allowed Sanitone Licensees and special guests to network and share insights. Keep your calendar open for next January as we will be celebrating the 75th meeting of New England Sanitone Licensees!

For additional photos from the Show, go to the Fabritec Facebook or Linkedin pages.