Cintas Names 2023 Custodian of the Year

Cintas Corp. has named Richard “Rich” Toomey the 2023 Cintas Custodian of the Year.

The contest, now in its 10th year, called for elementary, middle, high-school, and college students, in addition to staff, to submit a short essay describing why their school’s custodian deserves the award. Ten finalists were selected from a pool of hundreds of submissions. The public then voted on the winner, casting more than 200,000 votes overall. Toomey, a custodian from Kelly Mill Elementary in Cumming, Georgia, was the top vote getter.

“It’s so important to recognize the dedication and often thankless hard work that custodians provide to schools,” said Christiny Betsch, Cintas marketing manager. “It’s evident that Rich is a deeply valued member of his school and looked up to by students, staff, and the community. It was an honor to be a part of giving him the recognition he deserves.”

Toomey was honored in a surprise ceremony at his school by students, teachers, administration, and his family–including his son, a second grader at Kelly Mill Elementary. As the winning custodian, Toomey will receive US$10,000 and $5,000 in Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Cintas products and services for his school. Kelly Mill Elementary will also receive a facility assessment and consulting package from ISSA valued at $30,000 and enrollment in the GBAC Fundamentals Online Course, provided by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a Division of ISSA.

“Custodians are essential to providing a safe and healthy place for children to learn,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “At ISSA, we’re dedicated to providing custodians and other cleaning professionals with certification programs to further their skills and help them toward leadership opportunities. This is why we are again offering our training services to this year’s finalists.”

To learn more about Toomey and the other top finalists, check out the Straight Talk! video and/or podcast below. For more information about the Cintas Custodian of the Year contest, visit www.custodianoftheyear.com.