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January 9, 2013
Plant Design Awards—Grand Prize: Rainbow Cleaners (Part 2 of 2)

OXFORD, Miss. — New plant invites customers to watch all of the activity inside

OXFORD, Miss. — Herron Rowland really didn’t want to sell the corner location his Rainbow Cleaners occupied. For months he politely declined the inquiries of a real estate developer representing a major drug store chain. The chain kept looking for a suitable site in Oxford but always came back to Rainbow’s corner. Eventually, Rowland agreed to sell the property and relocate his business.

He promptly set into motion a plan to build a better plant. Having seen his business operate out of what once had been a steakhouse, Rowland was excited to take advantage of the opportunity to build new.

He invested in excess of $1 million to design and develop a 5,000-square-foot “building that’s purpose was to function as a dry cleaning operation.” That high-visibility plant, located just seven blocks from Rainbow’s previous location, earned the Grand Prize for Best Plant Design in the 52nd Annual American Drycleaner Plant Design Awards.

January 8, 2013
Plant Design Awards—Grand Prize: Rainbow Cleaners (Part 1 of 2)

OXFORD, Miss. — New plant invites customers to watch all of the activity inside

OXFORD, Miss. — Herron Rowland really didn’t want to sell the corner location his Rainbow Cleaners occupied. For months he politely declined the inquiries of a real estate developer representing a major drug store chain. The chain kept looking for a suitable site in Oxford but always came back to Rainbow’s corner. Eventually, Rowland agreed to sell the property and relocate his business.

He promptly set into motion a plan to build a better plant. Having seen his business operate out of what once had been a steakhouse, Rowland was excited to take advantage of the opportunity to build new.

He invested in excess of $1 million to design and develop a 5,000-square-foot “building that’s purpose was to function as a dry cleaning operation.” That high-visibility plant, located just seven blocks from Rainbow’s previous location, earned the Grand Prize for Best Plant Design in the 52nd Annual American Drycleaner Plant Design Awards.

August 30, 2012
The Numbers: Signs of Slight Economic Expansion, but Consumer Confidence Slips

CHICAGO — Non-manufacturing sector shows growth for 31st consecutive month

CHICAGO — THE LATEST BEIGE BOOK REPORT, compiled by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System with data from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, shows that the U.S. economy continued to expand slightly in June and early July. Eleven districts noted expanding economic activity.

Early August brought news that the current administration had awarded $9 million in the multi-agency Rural Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. The program is designed to spur job and economic growth in rural regions. Economic development partnerships and initiatives in a dozen states—Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia—will receive awards. Last year’s winners generated millions in matching funds, and their projects are expected to create thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new businesses, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

April 4, 2012
Thum Elected President of Southwest Drycleaners Association

SAN ANTONIO — Richard Thum, co-founder and president of Five Star Cleaners, was recently elected president of The Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA)

SAN ANTONIO — Richard Thum, co-founder and president of Five Star Cleaners, was recently elected president of The Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA) at its annual convention.

The regional trade association, with more than 300 members, is an affiliate of the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI). The 96-year-old association serves the professional dry cleaners of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Thum served as first vice president of the organization last year, and has served on the SDA board in various capacities for 28 years.

He launched Comet Cleaners in San Antonio in 1981 along with his wife, Sharlene, and the name was changed to Five Star Cleaners in 2004. The Thums own 11 locations across San Antonio.

Thum holds a bachelor of science degree in real estate finance from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and has a real estate broker’s license in Texas.

June 18, 2010
Laundry CEO Organizes Towel-Collection Drive for Gulf Spill Clean-Up

Note: Revised 6/30/2010 to Correct Area Code

David Gross, CEO of Gulf Coast Laundry Services in Gulfport, Miss., is coordinating an effort to get much-needed towels to wildlife agencies racing to save birds, turtles, dolphins and other animals affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Government officials on Tuesday raised the estimate of the amount of oil spewing into the Gulf to 35,000 to 60,000 barrels per day.

June 5, 2009
Back to The Big Easy

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf shores downstream from New Orleans, its storm surge weakening and eventually breaking through the system of levees protecting the city. And slowly, New Orleans — built in a “bowl” two to 12 feet below sea level — began to fill with water.

June 5, 2009
Back to The Big Easy

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf shores downstream from New Orleans, its storm surge weakening and eventually breaking through the system of levees protecting the city. And slowly, New Orleans — built in a “bowl” two to 12 feet below sea level — began to fill with water.