Learning Opportunities

1. Wednesday, April 29th
1. Registration
2. Welcome Cocktail Reception: Lobby Lounge
3. Dinner on your own
2. Thursday, April 30th
1. Annual Board Meeting
2. CRS Presentation
3. Keynote Presentation: Zar Toolan with Wells Fargo Financial Services.
4. Morning Medical Insurance Trends: Tim Wells with the Crane Agency
5. How to develop a Safety Culture: Jeff Hummel, Safety Manager with Woodard
6. 4 Generations in the Workforce: Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, and Y: Cali Beeman with Gallagher
7. 10 year Anniversary Presentation: Ellen Amirkhan and Jennifer Colaco
8. Dinner @ Kemoll’s Chop House (Hosted by ARCS in honor of our founding members)
3. Friday, May 1st
1. Woodard Rug Plant Tour
2. St. Louis Art Museum
1. James F. Ballard Rug Exhibit
4. Saturday, May 2nd
1. St. Louis Arch Tour (optional)

Zar Toolan

Zar leads a team of over 70 advice professionals who help WFA’s financial advisors deliver better client outcomes. Zar oversees WFA’s advice-delivery & research platforms, portfolio construction & analytics, market & advice commentary, equity & fixed income research, and capital markets guidance. Zar is a published author and keynote speaker. He has appeared on Bloomberg, CNBC, and Fox Business, and has been quoted in Fortune, US News & World Report, Business Week, On Wall Street, and other wealth management publications on investor behaviors, markets, and goals-based investing. Zar is the architect of the Plan to Pie® and RAPTRSM suite of portfolio management and risk analytic applications.
Earlier in his career, Zar worked as a Nuclear Engineer and Operations Manager for the U.S. Navy, overseeing reactor refueling of nuclear-powered submarines. Zar holds an MBA in Finance from the College of William & Mary and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University, where he was an All-Ivy League rower. Zar loves seeing the country on foot and has completed over 50 marathons and ultra-marathons, as well as many other endurance events. An active member of the Saint Louis community, Zar serves on the Board of Trustees for several non-profits, including the Saint Louis Science Center and Gateway Greening. He lives with his wife, Liz, and two children, Maeve and Finn.

Tim Wells

Tim Wells has over fifteen (15) years of experience in the insurance business assisting employer groups to drive efficiencies in their health and wellness programs. Prior to joining Crane, Tim worked with a large national brokerage firm along with one of the leading providers of Life & Disability coverage. Having spent time on both the carrier and brokerage side has afforded Tim the opportunity to become an expert in such areas as:

• Self-Funding;
• Health Care Reform;
• Pharmacy Management;
• Ancillary Benefit Coordination;
• Recruitment, Retention and Training;
• Marketing/Sales;
• Legal & Compliance.

Tim obtained his B.A. in Finance and MIS at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio after graduating from St. Louis University High School.

Jeff Hummel - Bio coming soon!

Cali Beeman

Cali joined the Gallagher Benefit Services team in 2013 servicing large accounts and currently serves as Benefits Consultant from the San Antonio office. She is a certified Human Resources Professional with benefits administration and compliance experience. Her past employers include the San Antonio Spurs as a Benefits & Staffing Specialist and Calvert Memorial Hospital in Southern Maryland as a HR Projects & Compliance Specialist.

As the spouse of a US Air Force member, she has had the privilege of working in various industries and company cultures. Her previous involvement with corporate strategic planning provides her the ability to find a balance between business and employee needs in regards to cost-control for budget planning and value for employee satisfaction.

Her background in Benefits Account Management and previous Human Resources experience gives her the unique ability to provide client insight for tying their Benefits and Human Capital Strategies together most effectively.

Although Cali and her husband are originally from the East Coast and have traveled the U.S. for the past 20 years, their dedication to the USAF came to a close, and they have finally “settled down” in New Braunfels, Texas with their two children.

Meg Walker

Meg Walker is Vice President of Aladdin Cleaning & Restoration in San Antonio, Texas. Upon graduation from Texas Christian University in 2004, Meg began her career at Aladdin in accounting, marketing and HR. In 2016 she graduated from the Master Rug Cleaner Program. Meg is the current President of the Board for the Association of Rug Care Specialists.

Jennifer Vickery

Jennifer joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flothe Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

Ellen Amirkhan

Since 1980, Ellen Amirkhan has served as president of Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. in Dallas, Texas, a business started by her grandfather in 1911 that specializes in cleaning, repairing, appraising and selling oriental rugs. A Past President of RIA, Ellen holds the designations of Certified Rug Specialist and Certified Oriental Rug Appraiser through the International Society of Appraisers. She is a co-developer of the Master Rug Cleaner Program, co-author of A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning and serves as an expert witness for the legal profession.

Marc Braun

Marc joined the Cambridge family in April 2008 as the VP of Operations, has served as Executive VP of Sales and Marketing and most recently been promoted to President in January 2017. Through Marc’s leadership, Cambridge has been able to set strategy that works on the internal and external growth of the organization. Organizational health is everything and Marc’s goals for the organization are to double sales in 5 years through healthy and sustainable growth by holding our employees to the highest of expectations and to love them unconditionally.

Woodard Cleaning & Restoration

Woodard began in 1946 when Earl and Nancy Woodard began to offer their customers in-home rug cleaning door-to-door — an innovation at the time. Today, the Woodard family adheres to that same dedication to quality, customer service and innovation. Justin Woodard — grandson to Earl and Nancy, and son of Charlie Woodard — continues the family legacy as he owns and oversees Woodard’s operations.

Justin and the Woodard family attribute the company’s success to the superior knowledge and expertise of their team, the dedication to providing high-caliber cleaning, their 100% satisfaction guarantee and the many loyal customers they’ve been honored to serve for the past 70+ years.

Sheraton Westport Chalet - $129/night!
191 W Port Plaza Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63146
Phone: 314-878-1500

Follow this link to book your group rate for the Association of Rug Care Specialists!

1. Wednesday, April 29th
1. Registration
2. Welcome Cocktail Reception: Lobby Lounge
3. Dinner on your own
2. Thursday, April 30th
1. Annual Board Meeting
2. CRS Presentation
3. Keynote Presentation: Zar Toolan with Wells Fargo Financial Services.
4. Morning Medical Insurance Trends: Tim Wells with the Crane Agency
5. How to develop a Safety Culture: Jeff Hummel, Safety Manager with Woodard
6. 4 Generations in the Workforce: Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, and Y: Cali Beeman with Gallagher
7. 10 year Anniversary Presentation: Ellen Amirkhan and Jennifer Colaco
8. Dinner @ Kemoll’s Chop House (Hosted by ARCS in honor of our founding members)
3. Friday, May 1st
1. Woodard Rug Plant Tour
2. St. Louis Art Museum
1. James F. Ballard Rug Exhibit
4. Saturday, May 2nd
1. St. Louis Arch Tour (optional)

Zar Toolan

Zar leads a team of over 70 advice professionals who help WFA’s financial advisors deliver better client outcomes. Zar oversees WFA’s advice-delivery & research platforms, portfolio construction & analytics, market & advice commentary, equity & fixed income research, and capital markets guidance. Zar is a published author and keynote speaker. He has appeared on Bloomberg, CNBC, and Fox Business, and has been quoted in Fortune, US News & World Report, Business Week, On Wall Street, and other wealth management publications on investor behaviors, markets, and goals-based investing. Zar is the architect of the Plan to Pie® and RAPTRSM suite of portfolio management and risk analytic applications.
Earlier in his career, Zar worked as a Nuclear Engineer and Operations Manager for the U.S. Navy, overseeing reactor refueling of nuclear-powered submarines. Zar holds an MBA in Finance from the College of William & Mary and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University, where he was an All-Ivy League rower. Zar loves seeing the country on foot and has completed over 50 marathons and ultra-marathons, as well as many other endurance events. An active member of the Saint Louis community, Zar serves on the Board of Trustees for several non-profits, including the Saint Louis Science Center and Gateway Greening. He lives with his wife, Liz, and two children, Maeve and Finn.

Tim Wells

Tim Wells has over fifteen (15) years of experience in the insurance business assisting employer groups to drive efficiencies in their health and wellness programs. Prior to joining Crane, Tim worked with a large national brokerage firm along with one of the leading providers of Life & Disability coverage. Having spent time on both the carrier and brokerage side has afforded Tim the opportunity to become an expert in such areas as:

• Self-Funding;
• Health Care Reform;
• Pharmacy Management;
• Ancillary Benefit Coordination;
• Recruitment, Retention and Training;
• Marketing/Sales;
• Legal & Compliance.

Tim obtained his B.A. in Finance and MIS at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio after graduating from St. Louis University High School.

Jeff Hummel - Bio coming soon!

Cali Beeman

Cali joined the Gallagher Benefit Services team in 2013 servicing large accounts and currently serves as Benefits Consultant from the San Antonio office. She is a certified Human Resources Professional with benefits administration and compliance experience. Her past employers include the San Antonio Spurs as a Benefits & Staffing Specialist and Calvert Memorial Hospital in Southern Maryland as a HR Projects & Compliance Specialist.

As the spouse of a US Air Force member, she has had the privilege of working in various industries and company cultures. Her previous involvement with corporate strategic planning provides her the ability to find a balance between business and employee needs in regards to cost-control for budget planning and value for employee satisfaction.

Her background in Benefits Account Management and previous Human Resources experience gives her the unique ability to provide client insight for tying their Benefits and Human Capital Strategies together most effectively.

Although Cali and her husband are originally from the East Coast and have traveled the U.S. for the past 20 years, their dedication to the USAF came to a close, and they have finally “settled down” in New Braunfels, Texas with their two children.

Meg Walker

Meg Walker is Vice President of Aladdin Cleaning & Restoration in San Antonio, Texas. Upon graduation from Texas Christian University in 2004, Meg began her career at Aladdin in accounting, marketing and HR. In 2016 she graduated from the Master Rug Cleaner Program. Meg is the current President of the Board for the Association of Rug Care Specialists.

Jennifer Vickery

Jennifer joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flothe Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

Ellen Amirkhan

Since 1980, Ellen Amirkhan has served as president of Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. in Dallas, Texas, a business started by her grandfather in 1911 that specializes in cleaning, repairing, appraising and selling oriental rugs. A Past President of RIA, Ellen holds the designations of Certified Rug Specialist and Certified Oriental Rug Appraiser through the International Society of Appraisers. She is a co-developer of the Master Rug Cleaner Program, co-author of A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning and serves as an expert witness for the legal profession.

Marc Braun

Marc joined the Cambridge family in April 2008 as the VP of Operations, has served as Executive VP of Sales and Marketing and most recently been promoted to President in January 2017. Through Marc’s leadership, Cambridge has been able to set strategy that works on the internal and external growth of the organization. Organizational health is everything and Marc’s goals for the organization are to double sales in 5 years through healthy and sustainable growth by holding our employees to the highest of expectations and to love them unconditionally.

Woodard Cleaning & Restoration

Woodard began in 1946 when Earl and Nancy Woodard began to offer their customers in-home rug cleaning door-to-door — an innovation at the time. Today, the Woodard family adheres to that same dedication to quality, customer service and innovation. Justin Woodard — grandson to Earl and Nancy, and son of Charlie Woodard — continues the family legacy as he owns and oversees Woodard’s operations.

Justin and the Woodard family attribute the company’s success to the superior knowledge and expertise of their team, the dedication to providing high-caliber cleaning, their 100% satisfaction guarantee and the many loyal customers they’ve been honored to serve for the past 70+ years.

Sheraton Westport Chalet - $129/night!
191 W Port Plaza Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63146
Phone: 314-878-1500

Follow this link to book your group rate for the Association of Rug Care Specialists!

This class consists of two 2-hour sessions and will cover all of the important steps that can make or break your customer experience:

• Learn about your company and what you offer 
• Elevator Pitch 
• Common Pre-Inspection Conditions 
• Terminology: How to Convey Technical Explanations in Layman’s Terms 
• Help new customers navigate the rug cleaning process 
• How to Make Repeat Customers Continue to Feel Valued 
• THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION 
• Managing Customer Expectations 
• Dealing with Complaints 
• Proper Phone Etiquette 
• Proper In-Person Etiquette 
• Inter-Office Communication

Jennifer Colaco: joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flooring business. Prior to this, she worked in textile project management. Jennifer is Vice-President on the Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

This class consists of two 2-hour sessions and will cover all of the important steps that can make or break your customer experience:

• Learn about your company and what you offer 
• Elevator Pitch 
• Common Pre-Inspection Conditions 
• Terminology: How to Convey Technical Explanations in Layman’s Terms 
• Help new customers navigate the rug cleaning process 
• How to Make Repeat Customers Continue to Feel Valued 
• THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION 
• Managing Customer Expectations 
• Dealing with Complaints 
• Proper Phone Etiquette 
• Proper In-Person Etiquette 
• Inter-Office Communication

Jennifer Colaco: joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flooring business. Prior to this, she worked in textile project management. Jennifer is Vice-President on the Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

Session One – The Cleaning Process

Reviews the basic steps in a “best-practice” rug cleaning, why we do them and some of the most common prevailing methods in application today. While pros and cons of each method are discussed, editorial content is kept out.

• Pre-cleaning Inspection – Why some consider it the most important step in rug cleaning and some of the most common conditions encountered in area rugs.
• Dry soil removal – Why it’s important and ways to do it.
• Washing – From dry cleaning methods to full saturation washing. Each method is discussed covering the why and how as well as the pros and cons.
• Drying – Surveying the most common methods in use today
• Finishing processes – Grooming, browning correction, color correction, etc.

Session Two – Fibers and Chemistry

Covers the basics of the most common fibers and chemicals encountered in area rug care. Topics are discussed generically, avoiding favoritism and bias.

Fibers

• Wool – Why it is the most common rug fiber. How we go from sheep to rug yarn.
• Cotton – Production and application
• Silk – It’s advantages, disadvantages and production
• Bast Fibers – production and uses
• Plastics – Nylon, Olefin, etc.
• Rayon – production and it’s many other names

Chemistry

• Soil – most common types, how they accumulate and implications for cleaning
• Solvents – Polar and Non-polar, volatile and non-volatile and applications for cleaning
• Detergents – what they are and how they work
• The PH scale – What it is, why it’s important and the general PH of specific substances
• Sinner circle

Session Three – Rug ID – Tufted Rugs

A general discussion of tufted rugs and their specific cleaning needs and concerns is followed by a survey of the most common types of tufted rugs encountered, how to identify them and their specific cleaning needs and concerns.

• Tufted rugs – What they are and how they differ from other area rugs
• Tufted rugs made in China
• Tufted rugs made in India
• Custom-tufted rugs
• Machine-tufted rugs

Session Four – Rug ID – Non-tufted rugs

Picks up where we left off. We start with Machine-made rugs and cover how to tell them from hand-made rugs. While hand-made rug ID is not discussed, students are introduced to the basics of where they are made, different construction techniques and the terminology used, building a foundation for future classes. We wrap up with a discussion of some of the most common specialty rugs you will encounter.

• Wilton construction – both traditional and face-to-face variants
• Axminster – both tradition and the Karastan® variants
• Hand-made – piled and non-piled construction, terminology and how to tell them from machine-made rugs
• Specialty rugs – Skins, Shags, craft rugs, etc.

Armen Dohanian: A fourth-generation rug cleaner, Armen's family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice­-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full­-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.

Session One – The Cleaning Process

Reviews the basic steps in a “best-practice” rug cleaning, why we do them and some of the most common prevailing methods in application today. While pros and cons of each method are discussed, editorial content is kept out.

• Pre-cleaning Inspection – Why some consider it the most important step in rug cleaning and some of the most common conditions encountered in area rugs.
• Dry soil removal – Why it’s important and ways to do it.
• Washing – From dry cleaning methods to full saturation washing. Each method is discussed covering the why and how as well as the pros and cons.
• Drying – Surveying the most common methods in use today
• Finishing processes – Grooming, browning correction, color correction, etc.

Session Two – Fibers and Chemistry

Covers the basics of the most common fibers and chemicals encountered in area rug care. Topics are discussed generically, avoiding favoritism and bias.

Fibers

• Wool – Why it is the most common rug fiber. How we go from sheep to rug yarn.
• Cotton – Production and application
• Silk – It’s advantages, disadvantages and production
• Bast Fibers – production and uses
• Plastics – Nylon, Olefin, etc.
• Rayon – production and it’s many other names

Chemistry

• Soil – most common types, how they accumulate and implications for cleaning
• Solvents – Polar and Non-polar, volatile and non-volatile and applications for cleaning
• Detergents – what they are and how they work
• The PH scale – What it is, why it’s important and the general PH of specific substances
• Sinner circle

Session Three – Rug ID – Tufted Rugs

A general discussion of tufted rugs and their specific cleaning needs and concerns is followed by a survey of the most common types of tufted rugs encountered, how to identify them and their specific cleaning needs and concerns.

• Tufted rugs – What they are and how they differ from other area rugs
• Tufted rugs made in China
• Tufted rugs made in India
• Custom-tufted rugs
• Machine-tufted rugs

Session Four – Rug ID – Non-tufted rugs

Picks up where we left off. We start with Machine-made rugs and cover how to tell them from hand-made rugs. While hand-made rug ID is not discussed, students are introduced to the basics of where they are made, different construction techniques and the terminology used, building a foundation for future classes. We wrap up with a discussion of some of the most common specialty rugs you will encounter.

• Wilton construction – both traditional and face-to-face variants
• Axminster – both tradition and the Karastan® variants
• Hand-made – piled and non-piled construction, terminology and how to tell them from machine-made rugs
• Specialty rugs – Skins, Shags, craft rugs, etc.

Armen Dohanian: A fourth-generation rug cleaner, Armen's family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice­-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full­-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.