TRSA Annual Award Winners Announced
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TRSA recently named the recipients of several of the association’s annual awards, including the TRSA Operator Lifetime Achievement Award, the Maglin/Biggie Associate Lifetime Achievement Award and the SafeTRSA Innovation Award. These awards will be presented during TRSA’s Annual Conference & Executive Exchange, slated for Sept. 19-21 at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa, Chandler, AZ. The winners include:
TRSA Operator Lifetime Achievement Award
Steve Bryant, Wildman Business Group
Steve Bryant, a veteran textile services executive and current CEO Emeritus of Wildman Business Group, Warsaw, IN, will receive this year’s TRSA Operator Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his service at Wildman, Bryant has held executive posts at several laundries, including Initial USA, Atlanta; Service Control Corp., Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Apparelmaster, Harrison, OH; and others. He is renowned not only for his business accomplishments, but for his extensive and successful efforts to share his knowledge of industry best practices with other operators.
Maglin/Biggie Associate Lifetime Achievement Award
Ralph Howard, Kleen-Tex Industries Inc.
For more than 45 years, Kleen-Tex founder Ralph W. Howard Jr. has been an innovator and advocate for the industrial laundry industry. It was Howard’s early initiative to develop the first rubber-backed mat in 1970. That meant that industrial laundries finally had a mat that was truly washable. Howard moved quickly to offer washable mats abroad, first establishing a joint venture in the United Kingdom. He later became a success story in Japan by opening a manufacturing plant there. In subsequent years, he expanded to many other countries, including Brazil and South Africa. Howard has always backed TRSA by sending his staff to EMI, PMI, industry conventions and the Clean Show. In addition, he served on Government Affairs Committees of TRSA and UTSA to advocate on industry’s behalf.
SafeTRSA Innovation Award
Balvina Gonzalez, Alsco Inc.
Balvina Gonzalez, Alsco Inc., (San Jose, CA) was recognized for facilitating the implementation of a program that regularly brings an occupational therapist on-site to observe employees in job stations and recommend changes that can help prevent injuries related to physical strain. The program includes pre-shift stretching and has resulted in a significant reduction in injury frequency and severity. Gonzalez recently left the company, so General Manager Paul Johnson will accept the award on her behalf.
TRSA members are encouraged to attend the Annual Conference this Sept. 19-21 at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa, Chandler, AZ, so they can congratulate each of these winners in person! Click here or on the link shown above to learn more or to register.
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