RICHMOND, Ky. — The Association for Linen Management (ALM) reports that it sold out its 2023 IMPACT Conference, held March 13-15 in Charleston, South Carolina, exceeding pre-pandemic attendance levels.
The association says the rapid event recovery reflects the conference’s reputation for high-level education in an intimate environment, which is ripe with opportunities for business development, problem-solving and strategic thinking.
“The energy and enthusiasm of attendees was off the charts,” shares James Mangini, ALM Board president and senior director of supply chain logistics for MaineHealth.
“The amount of networking that took place, business being conducted, and minds being challenged and enlightened with actionable takeaways from the educational programming was phenomenal.”
Featured presenters at the conference included Jerry Holl, author of the three-time international award-winning book, Downhills Don’t Come Free; Dan Lundergan, MHA, CEO of University of Utah Health, Hospitals and Clinics; and Jay Juffre, executive vice president of ImageFIRST.
This year’s conference premiered a new business-to-business forum, IMPACTful Connections, featuring one-on-one meetings between allied trades professionals and laundry and linen operators.
ALM says participants raved about the opportunity to learn about products and services.
“We’re always looking for new innovations and open to looking at new equipment in the laundry,” says Paul Jewison, president of Textile Care Services in Rochester, Minnesota. “Our company was able to meet with 11 companies representing equipment, textiles and laundry bags.
“This was an efficient way to learn about a lot of new products and technology in a short period of time. We’ll definitely participate next year.”
Working to make the new IMPACTful Connections beneficial for both the operators and the vendors was a key focus for ALM staff in planning the new event, according to the association.
The success of that effort was seen by the comments from those who exhibited as well.
“ALM’s foresight to create meaningful ways to connect with our customers, such as IMPACTful Connections, is why our organization chooses to participate as a top-tier sponsor,” shares Nicole Grubich, vice president U.S.-business unit, MIP Inc.
MIP returned for the sixth time as an exclusive sponsor of IMPACT’s most popular evening event, which was held at Charleston’s highest rooftop venue, The Pour Taproom.
During the event, attendees and ALM’s Board and staff bid their final farewells to retiring executive director, Linda Fairbanks, who was honored with a champagne toast and poignant speeches from long-time colleagues.
“We’re already strategizing for an even bigger conference in 2024!” says Sarah Brobeck, ALM’s executive director. This is just the beginning of many great things to come for ALM and its members.
“We’re also working on new avenues to continue providing valuable resources and innovative ways for members to connect throughout the year.”
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