I loved the HBO show, The Sopranos. I’m a bit of a Mafia aficionado; I’ve been fascinated with that culture ever since my grandmother (!) gave me a book by Jimmy “The Weasel” Fratianno to read when I was 16. In an early episode of The Sopranos, James Gandolfini, playing Tony Soprano (the main character and the leader or “don” of the Soprano mob) was hosting a barbecue in his back yard for other mobsters. Tony manned the grill while wearing Bermuda shorts, and this prompted a visit the next week.

Among the roughly 215 linen, uniform and facility services operator and supplier partners who attended five, 90-minute online TRSA Regional Town Hall sessions on March 30, 31 and April 1, pretty much everyone could agree on two things. First, they’re relieved that the economy in most parts of the U.S. has begun to emerge from last year’s COVID-19-related shutdowns. However, there also were widespread concerns expressed that a severe labor shortage could stymie the recovery.

TRSA supplier partner Venus Group, Foothill Ranch, CA, recently announced that Steve Crow will take over the role of vice president, sales, for the company’s institutional division, according to a news release.

Leonard Automatics Inc., Denver, NC, recently added Robert Spradley to its North American sales team. Spradley has provided sales and service as well as engineering support to the textile, garment manufacturing and laundry industries for more than 30 years, according to a news release.

TRSA recently held a webinar titled, “Applying Experience Driven Design® to Drive Revenue and Profit Growth.” The hour-long webinar was hosted by Barbara Lawrence, co-founder and managing partner of Lubin Lawrence Inc., a growth strategy consultancy based in New York.

TRSA recently hosted its annual Marketing & Sales Summit for executives in the linen, uniform and facility services industry. This year’s event, held exclusively online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saw more than 100 marketing and sales professionals attend the two-day program.

Before COVID-19 hit, presenting to prospects via Zoom, Microsoft Teams or similar programs such as Skype, was a relatively rare but growing phenomenon. No longer. The pandemic put limits on face-to-face meetings. That, in turn, has spurred a boom in the use of online technology both for internal communications, as well as outreach by salespeople to customers and prospects.