To say marketing has changed a lot since I joined the industry full-time in 1982 is an understatement. As the Kid Rock song goes, “We didn’t have no internet,” email and web sites were available on a very limited basis and email marketing and search-engine optimization (SEO) was yet to come.

As an emerging leader in the early ’80s, I joined the Institute of Industrial Launderer’s (IIL) Marketing Committee and served on the Marketing Research Subcommittee. I was fortunate to interact with true industry icons like Tony DiFillippo, Ron Croatti, Jerry Subar, Hilton Barrett and many others. Don Johnston was ...