Upper Mississippi Valley Chapter Celebrates 40th Anniversary
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On Wednesday October 11th, the Upper Mississippi Valley chapter of ALM came together for their annual fall conference in Red Wing Minnesota. 2023 is a very special year for the chapter as it marks the 40th anniversary of its founding. While the main focus of the event was the educational presentations and networking opportunities, there was also an historical display which included the chapter’s original charter, a vintage NAILM newsletter announcing the chapter’s formation, and a picture of early members. One of those early members, Don Kotek, retired Linen Services Supervisor at Mayo Clinic’s La Crosse Wisconsin campus, was on hand to speak about how the idea for a local chapter was developed in the early 1980s and what he felt were the key attributes that helped this chapter stand the test of time.
ALM Executive Director Sarah Brobeck delivered an inspirational message about the power of participation in industry organizations, and celebrated the success and longevity of the group. Michelle McNeil, Director of Safety with Healthcare Linen Services Group (HLSG), identified potential hazards in linen handling and outlined mitigation strategies. Innovation Engineer for Mayo Clinic Environmental Services Josh Humpal presented findings from robotics trials at their Rochester, MN campuses. Chris Tourney, Strategic Management Consultant for Mayo Clinic, fielded questions from the attendees about the challenges of managing a mixed fleet of AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots). Paul Jewison, General Manager of Textile Care Services and Vice President of Healthcare Linen Services Group (HLSG), shared best practices for marketing a world-class laundry. A panel of experts from the audience was assembled to wrap things up with a Q&A session that covered everything from Pounds Per Operator Hour, Scrub Management, and post-COVID linen loss trends, to potential Artificial Intelligence applications.
Chapter President Vicky Vessey, Director of Sales and Customer Service at Textile Care Services, thanked Charlie Dotto, EVS Director at CentraCare, for his years of service as chapter Vice President, and welcomed Gabe Nowicki, Linen Services Director at Mayo Clinic, into the role. Detrik Scruggs, Quality Management Coordinator for Linen Services at Mayo, was unanimously voted into the role of chapter Treasurer.
After a long day of networking and learning (and cake!), the group took the celebration onto Lake Pepin for an evening cruise aboard the Spirit of the Water in the brisk Minnesota weather. Perhaps in 2063 a chapter member will scour the ALM archives and put this article on display at the 80th anniversary celebration…?
