Legislative Conference to Hail Exemplary Community Service
Five TRSA member companies will receive 2024 TRSA Community Service Awards for significant contributions to their communities. These awards will honor those who’ve volunteered their time, actions, talents and dedication outside the workplace. TRSA will present these awards during an April 10 dinner at the 14th Annual TRSA Legislative Conference in Washington, DC.
Presentation of this 2024 accolade will be among 10 award categories celebrated at the dinner at the conference, hosted by Washington’s Madison Hotel. The conference is the industry’s premier event for demonstrating its public impacts, as attendees will visit congressional offices April 11 to testify to the industry’s cleanliness, sustainability and safety records, and impact on jobs and local economies.
Attendees will prepare for these Capitol Hill visits on the afternoon of April 10, which will feature the keynote address by Bob Cusack, editor in chief, The Hill Newspaper. TRSA committee meetings will be conducted that day as well. A Supplier Partner Workshop takes place the day before the conference (April 9). Click here to register.
One linen, uniform and facility services operator – Unitex Healthcare Laundry Services (Elmsford, NY) – claimed Gold-level individual and corporate Community Service honors. CEO Robert Potack was feted for his work as president and board member of the Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon, NY. He’s fulfilled weekly commitments to meetings and fundraising initiatives.
The company has supported dozens of organizations and initiatives, such as recently donating 30 CPR kits for the American Heart Association to train school-aged children in the Bronx. Other beneficiaries have included the Ronald McDonald House in New Haven, CT, (naming grant for newest house) and serving on the board of the Newburgh, NY, Community Land Back, which aims to develop and enhance the city’s downtown waterfront area.
Also winning a Gold award in this category: City Uniforms and Linen, Findlay, OH. In 1987, City’s Paul Kramer developed and launched a service project to provide a warm coat to those who couldn’t afford one. He’s since donated his company’s services to clean and distribute those donated by schools, businesses, organizations and individuals. City has supported the United Way, and the Kramer family established a foundation in 2016 to honor the fight against cancer by Rich Kramer’s son, Braden, to direct funds to children and their families affected by pediatric cancer.
A Silver award has gone to Balfurd Linen & Uniform Service, Tipton, PA, which supports five community events each month, including at least two in-person events in which the team participates or volunteers for. Examples include a suicide-prevention walk, local parade, “paws in the park,” African-American heritage festival, Veteran’s Bike Run and a local breast cancer fundraiser. An employee-led Community Committee allocates funds to various local organizations.
Honorable mentions:
- Continental Linen Services (CLS), Kalamazoo, MI, Kurt and Wendy Vander Meer. The Ted Vander Meer Memorial Golf outing began in 2013 after losing Kurt’s father to cancer in 2009. This year’s outing hit a record $80,000.
- APPI Energy, Salisbury, MD. The company invites a select group of affinity partners to choose their charity of choice and donates on their behalf, supporting causes meaningful to business partners and clients.
- ImageFIRST, King of Prussia, PA. In 2023, ImageFIRST associates supported more than 100 U.S. nonprofit organizations. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital acknowledged the company as a $1-million lifetime contributor through companywide payroll deduction.