ARCS's Fourth Quarter Newsletter 2018

A Note from ARCS President, Meg Walker & Board of Directors

2018 has been a memorable & busy year for  ARCS ! From events & classes to trade shows and the once in a lifetime event, Rug-A-Palooza, we have done our best to provide the best education on the art and science of proper rug care!
We are beyond thrilled to announce that ARCS has over 30 new members this year, including a new classification of membership, the  Journeyman  (click to learn more) along with several new associate members including, Master Rug Cleaner & Paul Shaper Productions. In addition to new members, we also have a new education class, Effective Communication for Rug Cleaners, focusing on the business and customer service side of rug care.
Be sure to check the calendar for the next class date (to be posted soon)! We can't thank each and every one of you enough for your commitment and dedication to this organization, we look forward to an exciting 2019!
ARCS 2018 New Members:  See Full List At Bottom

ARCS @ The Experience

ARCS was given the opportunity to participate in an education track centered on Rug Cleaning and Repair at The Experience in Las Vegas September 4-7th. We began the week with our annual Skills Day, broken into sessions of repair and educational classes, taught by industry experts including, Robert Mann, Randy Hyde, Scott Ring & Jill Schuller. Throughout the remainder of the event we gave lectures on everything rug related, including repairs, color stripping and dyeing, inventory systems, documentation, rug ID and customer service. We had several fun filled panel discussions about how to set up a wash plant and marketing for rug cleaners. We also had several booths on the Trade Show floor and hands on demonstrations for washing and repairs. It was definitely an Experience never to forget!

The Experience

Rug-A-Palooza, A Look Into the Week-long Rug Cleaning Event

By: Brian Benzel, Serafian's Oriental Rugs- Albuquerque, NM
After the city of Denver forced Robert Mann to move through Eminent Domain, he made the decision to create an even more impressive wash plant. Armed with the latest tools by Centrum Force and other upgrades that virtually every other cleaning operation can only dream of, it was only natural that Centrum Force was going to pick Mann's new plant for its annual Rug Summit. The Rug Summit is always a big draw, and what would be bigger than the opening of Robert Mann's state of the art wash facility? ARCS recognized this as a perfect educational opportunity and worked in conjunction with Centrum Force to bring on the ambitious Rug-A-Palooza.
Rug-A-Palooza was a week-long event composed of two days of the ARCS Intermediate Wash Class, two days of the Centrum Force Rug Summit, an ARCS Skills Day on Friday, and finished up by ARCS BYOB (Bring Your Own Boots) on Saturday. Each day offered a wide variety of educational and networking opportunities. Over a hundred attendees would be in and out of Robert's place over the course of the week, and with the presence of individual from Australia, Canada, and England it certainly was an international event.
ARCS Intermediate Wash Class (Monday-Tuesday)
The Intermediate Wash Class was had a little change from the norm this time around. Armen Dohanian had to cancel as the normal instructor; I guess having a beautiful baby girl gets him a pass. Instead of Armen, ARCS supplied four instructors to fill in. Adam Dohanian, Randy Hyde, Ben Knause, and myself, all current or former ARCS Board members. With a full class of over thirty students, the instructors had their hands full. Class space was ample for the larger than normal class, and the size of Robert's plant allowed plenty of room for the hands on demonstrations and rug inspections. Robert gave the class a tour of his new facility, and his staff was more than helpful and didn't hesitate to answer any and all questions.

Rug Summit 12 (Wednesday-Thursday)
Rug Summit began on Wednesday and that is when the real scope of the event was beginning to be realized. Robert's building had ample room to host the now hundred people present. Tom and Greg lined up speakers for two days to discuss various topics in the business part of our industry, and for those who wanted some hands on education, there was plenty to see. Robert Mann Oriental Rugs' business didn't slow down for the event, and for those that attended, you were able to observe how a masterfully run operation like Robert Mann Rugs can handle such a large volume while also maintaining an unparalleled attention to detail. Big thanks to Masterblend/AdCo Pro for hosting an open house for their new location after Wednesday's affairs.

ARCS Skills Day (Friday)
ARCS decided to plan a strictly educational and hands-on day. This was an opportunity for the attendees to watch Robert's staff and the ARCS Board Members demonstrate a variety of rug wash related skills, including shearing, color stripping, blocking, dusting, securing damage pre-cleaning, and even getting to learn some basic rug repair skills. Groups were rotated through stations, so everyone got a chance to participate in each offering. ARCS Associate Members (Master Rug Cleaner, Centrum Force, Rug Pad Wizard, and Wool Safe) were on hand to show what products/services they offered and discuss the discounts they give to ARCS Members. Robert even had boxes and boxes of authentic repair yarns to sift through and old rugs for sale. ARCS held a raffle for a couple items, and we held a couple panel discussions to take questions from the crowd on marketing and cleaning. The day was packed with information and all attendees were able to take away something to benefit their operation.


ARCS BYOB (Saturday-Bring Your Own Boots)
BYOB was a day intended to allow whoever wanted to get on the floor and wash with Robert and his staff to do so. Everyone got to watch Robert firsthand tackle some of the most difficult jobs from strip washing a large bled out silk to real fine detailing of the color run on a very fine Isphahan to washing viscose and other problem rugs. It was clear that Robert is the best in the business. This day turned into a great casual event for more networking and learning with a barbeque lunch sponsored by Jon Don to finish the day.

BYOB day with gracious host Robert Mann.
 
Rug-A-Palooza was a great success and ARCS hopes to add more content to other complementary events, like Rug Summit or the Experience in Vegas, in the future. ARCS' mission to educate and network together like minded individuals could not be on better display than it was at Robert Mann Rugs. ARCS would like to thank Tom and Greg of Centrum Force for allowing ARCS to (I don't like this word, but can't find a suitable substitute either) onto their event, our Associate Members for all the sponsorship and swag, and we would most certainly like to thank Robert Mann and his most gracious staff for allowing over a hundred people to intrude on his operation for a week.

SAVE THE DATE

(Click each class title for more specific details)
Date:  February 18-23, 2019
Location:  Dallas, TX. Class & test will be given at Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. 
Price:  Member Price $3200; Nonmember Price: N/A
IICRC Continuing Education:  12 credit hours

The CRS class is for students with a good foundation of experience in cleaning and rug identification, the ability to readily identify commonly encountered rugs and looking for a program to take their skills to the next level. Participants must be ARCS members in good standing. No specific prerequisites are required, but all applicants for the class are encouraged to speak with the head of the Educational Committee, Robert Mann, or the class instructor, Ellen Amirkhan, for final approval.
Date:  February 26, 28 and March 5, 7 2019
Location:  ONLINE 
Price:  Member $150; Nonmember Price: $225
IICRC Continuing Education:  6 credit hours

ARCS's Introduction to Rug Care course is designed to increase student's knowledge at a fraction of the cost of other formal education programs. Geared towards employees and those new to the industry, the Introduction to Rug Care course gives students the information they need to make informed cleaning decisions and speak confidently with customers about the cleaning process.
Date:  April 2-4 2019
Location:  DC - ACS-Ayoub Cleaning Service 
Price:  Member $975; Nonmember Price: $1800 
IICRC Continuing Education:  12 credit hours

Armen Dohanian teaches this three day course that blends classroom theory with hands-on practice. Covering the full wash process from check-in to finishing, students will learn universally applicable cleaning strategies and get hands-on experience on everything from rug ID and cleaning strategies to finishing and spotting techniques.

ARCS 2018 New Members:   Cont'd from above

  1. All Aces Cleaning & Restoration-Queensland, Austrailia- Michelle Fitzpatrick
  2. Armel Enterprises- Virginia Beach, VA- Heath Losick 
  3. Bear Oriental Rug Cleaning- Albuquerque, NM- Jeff Koonce
  4. CBM Carpet Cleaning- Billings, MT- Duane House
  5. Certified Clean Care- Watkinsville, GA- Jared Reeves/Aaron Glazier
  6. Chet's Cleaning- Madison Heights, MI- Chet Sadowski
  7. Denver Rug Cleaning & Repair- Englewood, CO- Stephan Moran
  8. Gentle Genie Rug Care- Wildomar, CA- Paul Schleuniger
  9. Glyndon Lord Baltimore Cleaners- Glyndon, MD-John & Janet Garman
  10. Greenspring Rug Care- Lutherville, MD - Blake Balog
  11. Kites Cleaners- Ft. Worth, TX- Gary Kite
  12. Lagenwalter- Carmel, Indiana-Mitch & Jennifer Mauck
  13. McCartin's Service's- Wycombe, PA- Brian McCartin
  14. Megerian Rug Cleaners- Brooklyn, NY- Raffi & Tommy Megerian
  15. Pinnacle Eco Clean, Inc.- Rochester, NY- Kevin Kluth 
  16. Porter's Carpet Cleaners- Shrevport, LA- Jarrod Horton
  17. Rug Masters Of Durango- Durango, CO- Richard Carpenter
  18. Rustigian Rugs- Providence, RI- Roz Rustigian
  19. S&S Rug Cleaners- Atlanta, GA- Stoney Green & Steve Arroll
  20. Sierra Clean Care- Vernon, BC Canada- Jeff Twerdun
  21. Springer Professional Home Service- Des Moines, IA- Jeff Springer & Monika Morales
  22. Steamatic of Canberra- Mitchell, AU- David Campbell
  23. Superior Carpet & Rug Cleaning- Knoxville, TN- Kerry McDuffie
  24. The Best Restoration L.L.C.- Gainesville, FL- Todd Hurlburt
  25. The Persian Rug Cleaning Company- London- Dasos & Nick Gonnella
  26. The Rug Salon- Palm Desert, CA- Joshua & Connie Klopfenstein
  27. Tinney Rug Cleaners- St. Petersburg, FL- Preston Van Gorder
  28. Tudor Services- Valparaiso, IN- James Tudor
  29. Tuft Aide- Springfield, MO- Buddy McClelland
  30. Vermont Rug Cleaning- Shelburne, VT- Clint West

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