The Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Midwest Dry-cleaning and Laundry Association November—December 2012 (765) 939-6630 Volume 4, Issue 4

January 3-6, 2013 CLAE Annual Meetings

Tampa, FL

February 7, 2013 MWDLA

Board of Directors Meeting Dakota Ridge CC

Seymour, IN

May 13, 2013 Dennis Vogt Memorial

Golf Outing Polo Fields

Louisville, KY

June 20-22, 2013 The Clean Show New Orleans, LA

August 9-10, 2013

MWDLA Annual Convention French Lick, IN

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they never quit.” Conrad Hilton—Hotel Executive

Presidents Message By Bill Rogers

Best wishes for the new year! I hope you have been enjoying the holidays and the time with families and friends. Now it is time to get back to work. We probably all have some extra clean-ing with the tablecloths, tree skirts, stock-ings and holiday dresses, ties and special clothes that only come out at party times. Membership and involvement with the MWDLA will keep you in contact with other drycleaners who are trying to get the spots out of all these garments. Maybe you can exchange some spotting ideas. You aren’t all competing for the same business. We have cleaners all over the two state area and we all do the same work day in and day out. The secret is getting the customer to know that we are the “professional and through our association with other cleaners we can learn new and successful ways to safely clean and protect their garments. The Board of Directors met recently to plan for 2013. We want to make our asso-ciation actually your association. There

are several committees within the association and drycleaners and allied members serve on these committees. We put together the 2013 committees, but we need at least 2 non board members to also serve on each committee. There is a committee for environmental and legislative issues that will affect the dry-cleaner. There is a committee to plan the an-nual golf outing. We need to select speakers, location and plan some fun for our annual meeting. We are always looking for new ideas that will interest new drycleaners and increase our membership so that we can have better attendance at our activities and we will be planning things that you feel will better benefit your business. We want to plan fun times and educational Someone may be calling you soon, please consider participation. If you want to work on a particular committee call Rick and Dixie at the office. They will get with the Chair-mans and get you started. The committees will only be meeting a few times during the year, but the friendships and “professional association” will be a lifetime.

PRESIDENT BILL ROGERS Parrot Cleaners 1133 Ellison Rd Louisville, KY 40204 502-634-8771 502-637-6234 Fax E-mail parrotcleaners@bellsouth.net Term expires 2013 VICE PRESIDENT JB CARRICO Springfield Laundry 207 E. High Springfield, KY 40069 859-336-3526 859-336-9080 Fax E-mail jbcarrico@bellsouth.net Term expires 2013 SECRETARY - TREASURER TONY ELLIS Morellis Cleaners 6404 Rucker Rd. Suite 101 Indianapolis, IN 46220 317-803-2644 317-803-2645 Fax E-mail tony@morellisdrycleaners.com Term expires 2013

TIM DAY Classic Cleaners 8629 Bash Street Indianapolis, IN 46256 317-845-0361 317-578-1638 Fax E-mail timd@classiccleaners.net Term expires 2013 MIKE FOTHERGILL Holiday Cleaners 3301 Barbour Lane Louisville, KY 40241 502-425-6183 502-228-4558 Fax E-mail mikefothergill8@aol.com Term expires 2013 ROBIN KRAMER Notre Dame 100 St. Michael’s Laundry Notre Dame, IN 46556 574-632-7802 574-631-5662 Fax E-mail Kramer.4@nd.edu Term expires 2013

ALLIED TRADES LIAISON SAM DOOGS E.J. Thomas Company 1240 Brookville Way Ste. J Indianapolis, IN 46239 800-895-5018 317-359-7035 Fax E-mail SD.EJT@comcast.net DAVID DOERR O’Dell Equipment P.O. Box 3366 Louisville, KY 40201 800-333-0355 E-mail david@odellequipment.com EDDIE FOSTER Sesco 1426 W. 29th Street Indianapolis, IN 46208 888-872-1307 317-347-9591 Fax E-mail efoster@sescogroup.com

ROGER STEVENSON RR Streets 1320 Pine Meadow Drive Lawrenceburg, KY 40342 502-839-8796 502-523-3635 Cell E-mail rstevenson@4streets.com NANCY SHIELDS EnviroForensics 602 N Capitol Ave Suite 210 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-972-7870 317-972-7875 Fax E-mail nshields@enviroforensics.com

MWDLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

FOR MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION OR CONVENTION AND SEMINAR REGISTRATION CONTACT THE MWDLA OFFICE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RICK ARMSTRONG ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT DIXIE ARMSTRONG MWDLA Office 651 N.W. 5th Street Richmond, IN 47374 765-939-6630 765-935-3473 Fax E-mail MWDLAOffice@aol.com

“Believe that problems do have answers, that they can be overcome, and that we can solve them.” —Norman Vincent Peale

PLEASE SUPPORT MWDLA’s ALLIED MEMBERS

MARBLE LEVEL

ENVIROFORENSICS (317) 972-7870 Steve Henshaw

EZPRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL INC

(877) 906-1818 Dave Brown

www.EzProductsInc.com

GRANITE LEVEL THE E. J. THOMAS CO.

(800) 895-5018 www.EJThomasCompany.com

SESCO GROUP (888) 872-1307

LEATHER RICH INC (800) 236-6996

Ron Kantor

MACHINEX (513) 771-4020

Jeff Dunn

THE MARKETING SHOP USA (317) 387-9277

Howard Kaschyk

O’DELL EQUIPMENT & SUPPLY (800) 333-0355

OPOC.US

(866) 676-2871 George Evans

PATRIOT ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL

(317) 576-8058 Richard Kraft

AMERICAN DRYCLEANING TRAINING (800) 821-7556

Gary Knight

COMPMANAGEMENT INC (514) 760-2406 Dominic Potina

HAIGES MACHINERY INC

(317) 298-8900 (800) 382-4253

KAY EQUIPMENT

(800) 552-2037 Greg Schroff

KERAMIDA

(800) 508-8034 Patrick Brady

PHENIX SUPPLY CO. (615) 254-5192

John Holt

R R STREET & CO (502) 523-3635

Roger Stevenson

TOUCH STAIN (877) 904-5550

Mark Payne

VANTIV (877) 652-4348 Ext 2705

Amanda Holt

VOGT CHEMICAL COMPANY (502) 267-5700

David Vogt

NEW AND RENEWED MEMBERS

Band Box Cleaners

Batesville, IN

Bestway Cleaners Anderson, IN

Bloomington Cleaners

Bloomington, IN

Boone Cleaners Radcliff, KY

Crestwood Coin Laundry

Louisville, KY

Dons Cleaners Evansville, IN

Dress Well Cleaners

Portage, IN

Evergreen Dry Cleaning Inc

Fort Wayne, IN

Highland Cleaners Inc Louisville, KY

Mascari Cleaners Indianapolis, IN

Merri-Kleen Drycleaners

Merrillville, IN

Milto Cleaners Greenwood, IN

Peerless Cleaners Fort Wayne, IN

Prices Laundry Inc

Lagrange, IN

  What’s the difference between a “good” manager and a “great” one?   According to Joseph Grenny—co‐author of the books “Crucial Conversations,” “Crucial Confronta‐tions,” “Change Anything” and “Influencer” — it’s how they communicate under pressure.     “Are there moments in our day that matter far more than others—when the way we behave has a profound and disproportionate effect on many things that follow? “he asks.  “Three decades ago, my co‐authors and I embarked on a study to discover these crucial moments.   We began this search by asking leaders to give us a list of 25 of their stellar managers and 25 ‘good‐but‐not‐great’ ones.   While we set aside six months for the study, the crucial mo‐ments were obvious to us within hours.  The moments that made the biggest difference in a manager’s effective‐ness were situations where they had to address an issue with another person or group of people.”    

According to Grenny, “communication” in general was not a crucial moment.  Instead, it was communication about a topic that had: 1) high stakes, 2) opposing opinions, and 3) strong emotions.    “The differences between merely ‘good’ and ‘great’ managers were striking, “he continues.   “The ‘good’ managers tended to procrastinate, and sidestep or sugarcoat the real issues.   When things got really tense, they occasionally spoke up—but they did it in a way that damaged relationships.  The ‘great’ ones tended to speak up more quickly and were far more direct—but they did it in a way that was remarkably unifying, calming, and respectful.”     If you want to be a great manager, therefore, start by focusing on your communication style.  Be honest, direct and quick to respond—but also sensitive and sympathetic.  

How to Be a Great Manager

Executive Director Report

By Rick Armstrong

As we celebrate the reason for the season, we are blessed by each relationship that makes our association possible from our valued allied members, drycleaner mem-bers, office staff, DLI and others working and benefitting together for each other to accomplish what can’t be done by ourselves.

May you slow down during this hurried holiday season to smell, see, and appreciate all the wonders that come at this time of year. Did you ever think what would happen if we took a small fraction of the time, en-ergy, and money spent on the holidays to benefit others who were less fortunate? Give to those who need a hug or special touch, perhaps kind words or attention. Sometimes it is just a few minutes with a neighbor whose family can’t be with them for Christmas. Why can’t the Christmas spirit last all year long? Imagine how different our communities would be if Christmas was all the time. We as drycleaners and small business operators depend on our communities for their support, growth, and stability. Think about ways to help oth-ers in your communities to spread good cheer, spirit, and the feeling of togetherness that ties us all together. The small little things you do for your communities will come back in rewards beyond your imagination. In thinking about those small things put your USP (unique selling position) and niche marketing ideas to-gether to help your communities. The spark and energy you give to your customers, neighbors, and employ-ees can multiply to change the attitude and outlook for the whole community. Remember together you can accomplish more than you can on your own. Going forward in 2013 start looking for new ways to serve your customers needs, give them benefits and so-lutions to their problems that they can’t do for themselves. Remember we are the professionals they depend upon so try to handle the stains, press jobs, donated time, and items in a professional way so that you will be known throughout your community as their “professional drycleaner”. Make use of the many benefits avail-able to you from DLI/MWDLA. Have you used Hot Press, Problem Garment Notices, Monday Morning Marketing Tips, free web site set up, the local educational events, Fabricare, “Clean Briefs” , discounts on credit card processing, or group health insurance programs? Try attending convention or area meetings or just networking with other drycleaners who are experiencing the same problems, and other business stress to learn how they are coping and putting out the daily fires. Hope you have a Wonderful Holiday and a most Successful 2013!

1426 West 29th Street Indianapolis, IN 46208 317.347.9590 sescogroup.com

IMAGE SESCO Group understands image and customer service are extremely important for running a successful dry cleaning business. We want to help strengthen your image by resolving any unaddressed environmental issues you may have. If expenses are a concern ask us about insurance recovery. We can help you obtain funding so you can focus on your business and not have to worry about the cost of the clean-up.

ENVIRONMENTAL

Introducing

Kentucky Division of

Compliance Assistance By Mary Jo Harrod

Kentucky members of the Midwest Drycleaning & Laundry Association will want to take advantage of the free ser-vices offered by the Kentucky Division of Compliance As-sistance (DCA) and its programs. Part of the Department of Environmental Protection, DCA’s free programs are available to assist businesses and citizens of the Com-monwealth. Our Environmental Compliance Assistance Program (ECAP) is ready to help any business understand its environmental obligations and how to meet them. Need permits? We can help you navigate through the process for more timely permit issuance. Our division also offers workshops on a variety of topics and will make on-site vis-its when requested. KY EXCEL is the state’s free environmental leadership program. Anyone in Kentucky can join. Members are not only doing projects of their choosing that protect the envi-ronment, but they are noticing substantial monetary sav-ings. We can also suggest ways to go green.

Our Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program is here to help communities, nonprofits and prospective purchas-ers with their brownfield projects. Brownfields are proper-ties that are contaminated or perceived to be and may in-clude old gas stations, mine-scarred lands, factories and other sites. We offer a variety of services, at no charge, to those who are interested in turning problem properties into economic and community development opportunities. Our services include assessments, tax incentives and the ser-vices of the Help Desk, which include serving as a liaison, ombudsman and interagency coordinator for a project; pro-viding information about financial resources; answering questions about statutes, regulations and policies; and much more. Since receiving a revolving loan fund grant this year from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we will be able to offer even more financial assistance in the near future. Give us a call at 800-926-8111, e-mail at envhelp@ky.gov or visit our website at http://dca.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx, but get to know us. We are here to help you! The 2013-14 Dry Cleaning Facilities Calendar is available On the website at: http://dca.ky.gov/Pages/ResourceDocuments.aspx. This is in the Resource sec-tion under Program: Compliance Assistance.

These days, suede and leather garments are available in a broad spectrum of vibrant colors. Maintaining that original look and feel makes your customers look good and we want you to look even better. Leather-Rich can help. Our high quality professional cleaning processes – including a state-of-the-art colormatching system – assure garments consistently maintain their original color and vibrancy, and dyes don’t wander off where they’re not supposed to.

When you want to be known as The King of cleaning – Leave it to Leather-Rich. Offer your customers extended services without adding overhead by taking advantage of our full line of high quality, Professional garment cleaning services.

• Leather & Suede Cleaning and Repair • Fur Cleaning and Storage • Repairs and Alterations • Area Rugs and Carpets Cleaned • Hats Blocked and Cleaned • Pillow Sanitizing and Reticking • Reweaving • Wedding Gown Cleaning and Preservation • Love & Cherish™ Wedding Gown Storage Boxes • Ozone Treatment

Leather-Rich Full Line Services

Steve Henshaw of FnviroForensics and Brent Huber of Ice Miller, LLP met with drycleaners from Kentucky. A discussion on contamination and clean up of drycleaning properties in Kentucky was pre-sented to interested property owners. A very infor-mative evening was held with the knowledgeable staff of EnviroForensics and open discussion was held among those in attendance.

Help for Kentucky Dry Cleaners

Drycleaners met at the Best Western Louisville East on November 13, 2012 to discuss contamination on, under, or around their current or former business properties. Possible options for turning their po-tential liability into assets designed spe-cifically for Kentucky drycleaners were presented to the drycleaners in atten-dance.

This is a great opportunity for the Kentucky drycleaners. If you were not able to be there and want to know how this can help you, contact the MWDLA Office or give President Bill Rogers a call to see how you can participate!

Best Management Practices for Dry-cleaning Facilities Reduce the risk of ground and groundwater contamination

• Maintain the integrity of all equipment. Ensure that all equipment is up-to-date. • Seal floor drains and use solvent-resistant floor coatings in areas where spills are most likely to occur. Perchloroethylene

(Perc. Also known as Tetrachloroethylene) can easily pass through concrete. • Use secondary containment to store your raw and waste materials to prevent the leakage of Perc. • Remove muck, used carbon filters, and other waste from your equipment using a solvent resistant material to collect it. It

then can be readily placed in the appropriate storage drum. • Consider alternatives to the discharge of Pec-containing material to the sanitary sewer. Many sanitary sewers crack,

break, or misalign over time, increasing the chance of a leak to the environment. • Inspect containers frequently to prevent the risk of leaks and spills. They should be closed and labeled. • Store all raw and waste materials indoors under controlled conditions. • Apply rags, towels, or other absorbent material at the first sign of a spill or leak. Place the used material in a drum for

disposal. It is possible they may be cleaned and reused. • Evaporate water. If this option is considered, the wastewater treatment unit must be operated and maintained under cer-

tain conditions. ¤ Treat separator water using activated carbon or equivalent media to reduce the Perc concentration to less than 0.7 ppm prior to evaporation. ¤ Obtain documentation from the manufacturer to verify a concentration less than 0.7 ppm. ¤ Close the unit after pouring a certain amount of separator water into the unit. ¤ Maintain an operating log to serve as a reminder when to replace the media (gallons or time). Neglecting filter replacement increases the risk of contaminating air, soil & groundwater. ¤ Review and maintain a copy of the operating and maintenance instructions provided by the manufacturer. ¤ Any media removed from the unit is hazardous waste and should be placed in a storage drum. ¤ Consider using a unit with a high level Perc sensor. Separator water triggering a high level alarm can be introduced into the still to reclaim Perc. • For more information: ¤ http://epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/perchloroethylene fact sheet.html ¤ http://www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/perc.html White Paper on Perchloroethylene, Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, November 2008. Evaporation of Separator Water, International Fabricare Institute. Regulatory & Legislative Bulletin, 1994.

Help the Board Plan 2013 At the last board of directors meeting several committee assignments were made and discussions were held on how to get more drycleaners involved in this year’s MWDLA activities. Board members from both drycleaners and allied trades were picked for the com-mittees and they will be contacting many other allieds and drycleaners for help with their committees. Please help them when they call. You will get more in re-turn than the efforts you put into just your committee. The committee assignments are as follows: Membership Tim Day and Nancy Shields; Legislation Tony Ellis and Mike Fothergill; Annual Convention Robin Kramer and a representative from SESCO; Golf Outings J.B. Carrico and Sam Doogs; Education Roger Stevenson and David Doerr. If anyone would like to volunteer please contact one of these board members, Presi-dent Bill or Rick Armstrong. We really do want your participation, ideas, and sug-gestions. The committees will only be meeting a few times during the year, some committee meetings may only be conference calls.

Save Money on Workers’ Compensation Insurance Now!

Is your business trying to find a way to reduce costs? Save money now by being reviewed for the Midwest Drycleaning and Laundry Association’s workers’ compensation group rating discount program sponsored by the Professional Insurance Agents Association of Ohio. Workers’ compensation premiums can be costly in today’s economy and group rating is still one of the BEST options available to reduce that expense upfront. You owe it to yourself to explore the options and savings an Ohio membership entitles you to receive. If you participate in another group rating program, you may not be saving as much as possible and you may be paying extra dues to belong to another group. If you are reviewing savings quotes from other group administrators, please make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. Our group administrator, ComManagement, Inc takes great pride in the accuracy and consistency of our saving forecast, while others may tend to promote inflated savings figures in an effort to secure additional business. It should also be mentioned that not all group administrators offer the same level of service (not all service companies are capable of pro-viding your business with the full array of discount programs currently available as well as services related to claims man-agement, cost containment, safety and loss control, rating and hearing representation). Therefore, it is critical that you align yourself with a program that has a group administrator that is able to meet all of your current, as well as future needs. Please review other quotes thoroughly to ensure that you are comparing similar discounts and service offerings. CompManagement is currently in the process of reviewing employers for our group discount program for the 2013 rate year. To receive a free, no obligation savings quote contact CompManagement’s Customer Support Unit at (800) 825-6755, Op-tion 3 to request an analysis. As a service to our Ohio members, CompManagement will not only evaluate your business for participation in group rating, but all alternative rating programs that would be beneficial to your business’s bottom line. We urge you to take advantage of this tremendous Ohio member benefit!

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TAX RECORDS; WHAT TO KEEP, WHAT TO TOSS As each tax filing deadline passes, you may be in the mood to throw out some tax records. But be careful not to discard essential receipts that could help you fend off an IRS audit — or toss out im-portant documents that could enable you to collect a future refund by filing an amended tax return. Here are some guidelines on what you need to keep for federal tax purposes and what you can safely get rid of. Completed tax returns Many tax advisors recommend that you hold onto copies of your finished tax returns forever. Why? So you can prove to the IRS that you actually filed. And, because those returns may contain infor-mation that may be needed in a future filing year. Even if you don’t keep the returns indefinitely, it is recommended that you hang onto them for at least six years after they are due or filed, whichever is later. Substantiating paperwork Retain all receipts, canceled checks, and other records that support the items on your tax return for the same six-year period. The reason you must keep these items has to do with the “statute of limita-tions.” In most cases, the IRS can audit your return for three years. You can also file an amended return on Form 1040X within three years if you missed a deduction, overlooked a credit or misre-ported your income. In some cases, the statute of limitations is longer than three years. The IRS has up to six years to conduct an audit if you understate your income by more than 5 percent. And the tax agency can come after you anytime if fraud is involved or you don’t file a tax return at all. But there are also cases when taxpayers get more than the usual three years. You have up to seven years to amend a return and take deductions for bad debts or worthless securities, so don’t toss out any records that could result in refund claims from those items. Investment statements Save information about stocks, bonds and other investments for as long as you own them, plus the six year statute of limitations. In order to calculate capital gains or losses, you need figures from these statements that show the purchase date, price, commission and dividend reinvestment. If you invest in limited partnerships or “passive” activities, you should also retain related records through the year of sale, plus six.

ADAMSON ACCOUNTANTS & ADVISORS

LIFE QUOTE LESSON BY: Gregory J. Colosi

Individual accounts The IRS requires you to keep copies of Forms 8606, 5498 and 1099-R until all the money is with-drawn from your IRAs. With the introductions of Roth IRAs, it’s more important than ever to hold onto all IRA records pertaining to cotributions and withdrawals in case you’re ever questioned. Real estate Save records that enable you to compute the basis or adjusted basis of your home. You’ll need this information to determine depreciation for home office or rental purposes, as well as any tax-able gain if you sell. Also, keep records related to your purchase price, refinancing a mortgage, settlement or closing costs, the cost of improvements, casualty loss deductions and insurance re-imbursements for casualty losses. Generally, you should retain this information for as long as you own the property and, after you sell it, for the six year statute of limitations period. Multiple-year write-offs Save proof of deductions that are taken over more than one year. When you “carryover” excess write-offs because they can’t be deducted right away, you need to hold onto the related records longer. And, when you are disposing of documents, don’t forget to shred them.

“Remember That Silence Is Sometimes The Best Answer.” Dalai Lama

Silence is the best answer in a lot of areas of your life. Instead of listening to the TV, music or anything, just sitting in silence and peace and quiet is nice. I often drive my car without the radio or CD on. The tranquility of driving and looking at the scenery is meditative and peaceful. Try it. When you are looking for answers to the challenges you have, try just sitting still and waiting for the answers to pre-sent themselves. Your mind will work on the solution. You just need to get it to a peaceful place so that it can work its wonders. Silence will produce the results you are looking for. In these busy lifestyles that we have, it’s difficult to find silence. You have to dedicate time to finding silence every day in your life. Silence produces the real you. Silence will create the person you want to be. Sitting silent will re-veal things to you that will make the rest of your life get into sync with harmony. Let’s look at using silence in your communicating with others. Sometimes saying nothing is saying something. You just have to look at your kids without saying a word and it’s sometimes more powerful than saying anything at all. Silence is a very powerful tool to use in your everyday life. Use it to your advantage and you’ll see things blossom.

MWDLA 651 N W 5th Street Richmond, IN 47374

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Members wanting to sell equip-ment, purchase equipment or trade equipment may do a free listing in Clean Briefs. Contact the office about submit-ting articles for the newsletter. MWDLA Office 651 N W 5th Street Richmond, IN 47374 (765) 939-6630

TRADING POST

Encyclopedia Britannica Halts the presses after 244 years Say goodbye to the bound volumes of the Ency-clopedia Britannica. The reference book publisher says it will discontinue its print version and go solely online. The current edition, which costs $1395 for 32 volumes, will be the last. Encyclo-pedia Britannica was founded in 1768 in Edin-burgh with a three volume first edition, according to its website. It published the first digital version in 1981 and now updates the Britannica.com website daily, competing with newer players such as crowd-sourced Wikipedia.