The NorthEast Fabricare Association’s return to in-person educational events, Profitfest’22, brought attendees from throughout the U.S. to Wakefield, Massachusetts, October 29 & 30. Attendance was the largest in the 14-year history of NEFA’s Fall Conferences. The speaker lineup promised great infor- mation and delivered on every note.
PRESENTATIONS
Dave Coyle of Maverick Drycleaners kicked the educa- tional programs off to a great start.
NEFA then featured a terrific presentation by Sue Board- man of PuzzleHR and James Peuster of The Route Pros answering the biggest obstacle to economic growth: staffing.
Rechelle Balanzant of Juliette’s in New York City, NEFA’s Spotlight Drycleaner of the Year, highlighted the need to step beyond traditional marketing avenues shared points with her presentation, the “Art of the Soft Sell.”
The educational program wrapped with Cohen Wills of Cleaner Marketing. Willis explored ways to leverage lead generation opportunities.
Jason Loeb of Sudsies captivated the crowd for more than two hours drawing on all the lessons from the weekend. He drew attention to the need to upgrade the image of the industry as a whole as well as within each and every business. He spotlighted the need for constant education and professional development and stressed the need to build a team approach to customer service.
“It was a return of community. This has been missing from our industry for the past several years. People had with- drawn from social events. Less impor- tance has been given to sharing stories and challenges. I saw a fundamental change and I hope it continues because there is tremendous opportunity within our industry. I think ProfiFest delivered on its promise to help people make mon- ey in the laundry and drycleaning busi- ness, but it provided something else, too: a sense of pride for what we do and what we’ve overcome.”
– Peter Blake, NEFA Executive Vice President
