Former Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Passes On

Jim Vaudreuil, CEO, Huebsch Services, Eau Claire, WI, and 2023 TRSA Operator Lifetime Achievement Award winner, passed away on March 2 at home surrounded by his wife, Christine; daughter, Isabel; and many other loved ones.

In a statement, the Vaudreuil family noted that, “Following a reoccurrence of esophageal cancer, (Jim) spent his remaining time sharing love, experiences and memories with the many people who have filled his life with adventure, fun, love and purpose. He led a serendipitous life, blessed with good luck, friends, adventure, love and fun. He will be dearly missed by so many.”

Vaudreuil, who served as Huebsch president and CEO since 1980, received the TRSA Lifetime Achievement Award on Oct. 12, 2023.

“One of my biggest honors as chairman of TRSA was presenting Jim Vaudreuil the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual Conference in October 2023 in Naples, FL,” said Jim Kearns, COO, Alsco Uniforms, Salt Lake City, and current TRSA chair who served with Vaudreuil on the TRSA Board for six years. “I recounted many of Jim’s accomplishments at the awards ceremony. He generously shared his knowledge and insights with me and the TRSA Board. What I liked about Jim was his sense of adventure. He was an avid skier, sailor and pilot. Jim was a great operator. He will be missed by all of us at TRSA.”

An innovative leader of an independent family-owned business that recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, he was instrumental in the development of the uniform rental industry’s initial integrated barcode tracking system and the industry’s first integrated mat tracking system utilizing RFID technology.

“The industry lost a great innovator,” said Jim Buik, CEO, Roscoe Co., Chicago, and former TRSA chair. “Carl-Johan Björkman (CEO of Hr Björkmans Entrémattor AB, Arlöv, Sweden) said it best at the celebration Jim and Chris hosted at their home, describing Jim Vaudreuil with one word … ‘curious.’ Jim was always looking at life and business in an unconventional but brilliant way. I will miss his dry wit, adventurous spirit and gentle demeanor.”

Vaudreuil served on the TRSA Board of Directors from 2016 to 2022 and served as its founding liaison to the TRSA Industrial, Uniform & Workwear Committee. He also served on the Uniform & Textile Service Association (UTSA) Board of Directors from 1998 to 2000 and secretary/treasurer from 2000 to 2006. Additionally, he was a founding member of the Wisconsin Association of Textile Services (WATS). Other milestones in his career, many involving Huebsch team members, included:

• Pioneered in 2016 the installation of solar panels on his plant. This earned Huebsch a TRSA Clean Green Award for sustainability in 2019. The solar power installation underscored the company’s commitment to technological innovation, coupled with corporate social responsibility.
• Earned a 2019 TRSA Community Service Award for charitable work including raising $18,700 in employee donations to the United Way, floor mats and towel donations, and volunteer work for the Wisconsin Special Olympics Polar Plunge. The company donated toys, hats and mittens to the Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Chippewa Valley during the holidays, among other efforts.
• Implemented a mask rule to protect staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, among the first companies to do so. Borrowing a page from their forebearers during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-’20, the Huebsch team sewed and distributed thousands of masks for customers and other organizations in need. A mass sewing effort (the public was invited to participate) ultimately donated nearly 20,000 masks to healthcare providers.
• Worked with overseas suppliers to obtain (via air freight) and donate 10,000 hard-to-get K-95 protective masks for area healthcare providers and emergency first responders.
• Tapped ideas from a Swedish operator and worked with staff to establish a “cellular system” for laundering that separated flatwork, mats, garments and other textiles in distinct lanes for processing.
• Earned several awards for Huebsch’s positive impact on Eau Claire, including a 2022 Paragon Award from the Area Economic Development Corp. for its economic contributions, a 2018 Sustainability Award from the City Council and a Business of the Year Award in 2022 from the Chamber of Commerce.

Huebsch Services issued a statement that read, “Jim loved working with people and worked almost five decades in the family business applying his intellectual curiosity for innovation, dedication to environmental stewardship, and then his outstanding leadership skills that transformed the company into a locally and nationally recognized industry leader. He will be dearly missed by so many. Huebsch Services values the long-standing relationships we have built with our customers, vendors and community partners. We remain committed to serving our co-workers, customers and communities as an independent, local, family-owned business dedicated to excellence. Any questions can be directed to communications@huebsch-services.com.”

Donations in Vaudreuil’s honor can be sent to Mount Ashwabay, 32525 Ski Hill Road, Bayfield, WI, 54814.