Tennant Co. has announced the third round of three finalists for its fourth-annual Custodians Are Key recognition program. First launched in September 2019, the annual program recognizes the work K–12 custodians are doing in educational facilities across the United States. Parents, teachers, and school administrators were invited to nominate custodians for their efforts to provide students with a healthy and safe educational environment. Throughout the coming months, Tennant will choose a total of 12 finalists, who will each receive a US$500 gift card. The grand prize winner will be selected in May and receives a prize valued at $5,000 while his or her school receives $10,000. This year’s finalists were chosen from a field of nearly 1,400 nominations and can be viewed on Tennant’s website. The latest round of finalists includes Andrea Wallin of Northview Intermediate School in Kodak, Tennessee; Eric Cardinal of Pleasant Street School in Laconia, New Hampshire; and Rich Kinstetter of Kewaunee High School in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. “This third round of finalists—as with the first two—is full of amazing nominees who are so much more to their schools than their custodian role,” said Amanda Herbert, Tennant senior marketing manager. “These are true leaders in their communities who selflessly put their students and colleagues at the forefront, ensuring everyone’s needs are met. We continue to be impressed by the quality of character keeping our schools clean and safe.”
The U.S. House of Representatives, 15 states, and multiple municipalities all across the country proclaimed March 26-April 1, 2023 National Cleaning Week. National Cleaning Week celebrates the value of clean and the important, positive impact that cleaning has on public health, the environment, and our economy. This designated week represents a unique opportunity to raise public awareness about the value of clean and show appreciation for cleaning professionals. “National Cleaning Week is an important opportunity to highlight the hidden heroes who work behind the scenes to make sure our schools, hospitals, hotels, and workplaces and healthy and clean. It is great to have a record number of governors across the political spectrum all recognize the essential nature of the cleaning industry by officially proclaiming National Cleaning Week in their state,” said ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft. A total of 15 states including—Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and Vermont—all officially designated a week dedicated to the industry. Congressman Darin LaHood (R-IL-18), introduced a resolution to the U.S. House of Representatives stating, “That the House of Representatives—recognizes the commitment and essential services provided by the cleaning industry in maintaining clean and sanitary conditions; and supports the designation of ‘National Cleaning Week’ to continue to promote safe and clean environments at work, in schools, and at home.” The proclamation by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin stated that, “by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized: National Cleaning Week.” In the Texas proclamation, Governor Greg Abbott recognized that “Manufacturers and distributors produce and deliver crucial cleaning and hygiene products” and “Essential frontline cleaning professionals work tirelessly to keep our schools, hospitals, workplaces, and other spaces healthy and safe for us all.” According to the Illinois proclamation, Governor J.B. Pritzker said “The citizens of Illinois proudly support and join in this national celebration of the cleaning industry and bring attention to the importance of ensuring clean and sanitary conditions at work, in schools, and at home.” “ISSA thanks Representative Darin LaHood; Governors Greg Abbott, Mike DeWine, Kay Ivey, Laura Kelly, Brian Kemp, Brad Little, Henry McMaster, Kristi Noem, J.B. Pritzker, Tate Reeves, Phil Scott, Josh Shapiro, Kevin Stitt, Chris Sununu, and Glenn Youngkin for recognizing the value of clean with these Cleaning Week proclamations,” said Nothdurft. “It is important to recognize our frontline cleaning professionals, who’ve worked continuously to highlight the importance efforts to make sure buildings are healthy and safe for work, school, commerce, and play.” ISSA also thanks these individuals who assisted the association in successfully securing NATIONAL Cleaning Week proclamations: Amy Richardson (Alabama), Connor Waldron (Georgia), Grant Aslett (Idaho), Stacy Seiden (Illinois), Mike Anaya (Kansas), Belinda Dawkins (Mississippi), Bailey McNeil (New Hampshire), Jeff Cross (Ohio), Stephanie Ramsey (Oklahoma; Bartlesville, Oklahoma), Jody Carroll (Pennsylvania), Marlo McKelvey Kanipe (South Carolina), Cheri Fast (South Dakota), Heidi Avedician (Texas), Jarelle Flibotte (Vermont), David Beaudreau (Virginia), Ashmyr Lugo (Puerto Rico), Graeme Golucki (Chicago), Gavin Macgregor-Skinner (District of Columbia; Montgomery County, Maryland), and Kyler Franklin (Amarillo, Texas; Odessa, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; McKinney, Texas). “Our advocates’ efforts helping ISSA successfully secure state, city, territory, and county proclamations were critical to the success of this campaign and ISSA’s National Cleaning Week celebration,” Nothdurft continued. For more information about National Cleaning Week, please contact ISSA Government Affairs Manager Stacy Seiden.
UMF Corp. has named Marie Ferguson as the recipient of its 2022 Guest Room Attendant (GRA) Excellence Award. The award, now in its fourth year, highlights the contributions of GRAs at hotel companies across the country. Ferguson, a GRA at Element Orlando Universal Blvd, was recognized for her high level of energy and engagement along with her exceptional guest satisfaction ratings. As the GRA Excellence Award winner, she will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two, including airfare, to a location of her choice within the 48 contiguous states. “We are privileged to celebrate Marie for her dedication to ensuring a safe hotel environment during a year that presented its own unique industry challenges,” said George Clarke, UMF Corp. CEO. “Marie’s incredible results and positive attitude speak for themselves. The fact that she contributed so much to Element Orlando Universal Blvd while becoming a U.S. citizen made her stand out among our pool of talented GRA Award applicants.”
Cintas Corp. has announced the top 10 finalists in its 10th annual Cintas Custodian of the Year contest. From now through April 14, the public can vote for their favorite custodian at custodianoftheyear.com. “We received an abundance of nominations highlighting remarkable custodians across the country,” said Cintas marketing manager Christiny Betsch. “As always, it’s difficult to select the top 10, but this year’s finalists stood out for their commitment, kindness, and determination.” The greatest number of public votes will determine the winner of the Cintas Custodian of the Year contest. Cintas will award US$10,000 to the winning custodian and $5,000 in Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Cintas products and services to the winner’s school. The winner’s school 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. The other nine finalists will receive $1,000 each and complimentary tuition to one ISSA Cleaning Management Institute (CMI) virtual training event, valued at $1,500. The finalists’ schools will also receive a cleaning supply package from Rubbermaid. New this year, the top three finalists will receive an all-expense-paid trip for two to the ISSA Show North America in Las Vegas in November where they’ll be celebrated for their accomplishments. “We’re truly inspired by each of the finalists who do much more than clean schools,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “School custodians are beacons of light in their communities and students look up to them as positive role models who lead by example.” The finalists in the 2023 Cintas Custodian of the Year contest are as follows: Abdul Akeely – Burns Park Elementary School (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Paul “Mr. Paul” Baerenwald – Mapleview Intermediate School (Kimberly, Wisconsin) Rodney “Mr. Peanuts” Esser – Park Elementary School (Cross Plains, Wisconsin) Ramiro Hernandez Julia – Tohopekaliga High School (Kissimmee, Florida) Barbara “Mrs. Barbara” James – Yulee Primary School (Yulee, Florida) David “Mr. Dave” Jeffers – Brokaw Early Learning Center (Oswego, Illinois) Quan “Mr. Quan” Le – Friendswood Junior High (Friendswood, Texas) Doreen “Ms. Doreen” Merritt – Elms Elementary School (Jackson, New Jersey) Jessica Prado – Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas) Richard Toomey – Kelly Mill Elementary (Cumming, Georgia) “We’re proud to honor these incredible custodians for their hard work, talent and dedication, and we wish them all good luck in the contest,” said Robert Posthauer, Rubbermaid Commercial Products senior vice president and general manager of commercial sales. For more information on Cintas’ Custodian of the Year Contest and to cast your vote, visit custodianoftheyear.com.
Cintas Corp. is accepting nominations for its 14th-annual Canada’s Best Restroom Contest. The contest is open to any nonresidential restroom in Canada that is accessible to the general public. Entries will be judged on cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality, and unique design elements. The deadline for nominations is May 12. Cintas will announce up to five finalists on June 5, at which time public online voting for the winning restroom will commence on the company’s website through July 7. The winner and runner-up will be revealed in the fall, and the most popular nominees will be enshrined in Cintas’ Canada’s Best Restroom Contest Hall of Fame. The grand prize winner will also receive CAN$2,500 worth of services from Cintas. “For many patrons, washroom hygiene is a reflection of a business’ overall quality standards,” said Candice Raynsford, Cintas Canada marketing manager. “Washrooms with good reputations can bring big business. This contest gives businesses big and small the opportunity to earn national exposure and rewards finalists with the utmost recognition for investing in clean and memorable washrooms.” To learn more, visit www.bestrestroom.com/canada.
Tennant Co. has announced the second round of three finalists for its fourth-annual Custodians Are Key recognition program. First launched in September 2019, the annual program recognizes the work K–12 custodians are doing in educational facilities across the United States. Parents, teachers, and school administrators were invited to nominate custodians for their efforts to provide students with a healthy and safe educational environment. Throughout the coming months, Tennant will choose a total of 12 finalists, who will each receive a US$500 gift card. The grand prize winner will be selected in May and receives a prize valued at $5,000 while his or her school receives $10,000. This year’s finalists were chosen from a field of nearly 1,400 nominations and can be viewed on Tennant’s website. “With this second round of finalists, we were especially touched by both the nominees and the nominators,” said Amanda Herbert, Tennant senior marketing manager. “This year, we saw a lot of nominations from within the schools—the people who work side-by-side every day. To us, that not only shows the pride they have for their school, but also demonstrates the mutual care shared by everyone within the school community. We’re humbled by the nominators’ kindness, candor, and willingness to share these incredible stories.”
Registration is now open for two competitions taking place during ISSA PULIRE 2023. The annual event, Europe’s premier international trade show dedicated to the professional cleaning and sanitation industry, takes place at the Fiera Milano exhibition center in Rho, Italy, May 9 through 11. The ISSA PULIRE 2023 Product of the Year Award recognizes the research activity conducted by companies operating within the professional cleaning, hygiene and environmental sanitation, facility management, laundry services, and logistics sectors, and rewards the effectiveness of the products placed on the market and exhibited at the event. Participation is reserved exclusively for trade show exhibitors and co-exhibitors. The deadline for submissions is March 23 with online voting opening April 23. Winners will be revealed during a ceremony hosted at ISSA Pulire on May 9. Also this year, ISSA Pulire is hosting the world’s first live cleaning industry Hackathon, titled Smart Facility: Cleaning Connected to the Future. The competition calls for teams to demonstrate how cleaners, trained and equipped with digital tools, can achieve Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives and reach objectively measurable results. The winning team, decided by an international jury, will receive a prize of US$3,200. For further information on participation as a team or as a sponsor, contact hackathon@issapulire.com.
SC Johnson Professional has announced the finalists for its sixth-annual Happy Hands dispenser design contest. The contest called for K–12 students to design and submit original artwork for a soap dispenser that promotes proper hand hygiene. The public is invited to vote for its top pick from a group of five finalists in two grade categories (K–5 and 6–12) through February 28. The design with the most votes in each category will be announced later this year and will receive the top prize—a US$300 gift card, a $1,000 donation to the school, and up to 1,000 manual soap/sanitizer dispensers featuring the winning design. To view the finalists and cast your vote, visit https://happyhands.scjp.com/en-us/vote.
Sofidel America Corp. has extended the deadline to submit nominations for its 2022–2023 Sustainable Hygiene Heroes Awards to February 10. Sofidel’s awards program honors cleaning professionals who go above and beyond to provide clean and safe facilities, while implementing sustainable cleaning practices. A panel of judges will review nominations and select the winner and finalists based on the individual’s commitment to providing a clean, safe, and sustainable facility. The winning entry will be revealed in later this year and will receive US$4,000, along with $500 in Sofidel paper products for their facility. Two runners up will each receive $500. “We are extending the nomination period to give more individuals the opportunity to submit nominations. Our judging panel is ecstatic to review even more impeccable stories of hardworking individuals dedicated to sustainable cleaning practices,” said Fabio Vitali, Sofidel America vice president of marketing. For more information or to submit a nomination, visit www.sustainablehygieneheroes.com.
Tennant Co. has announced the first three finalists for its second annual Custodians Are Key recognition program. First launched in September 2019, the program recognizes the work K–12 custodians are doing in educational facilities across the United States. Parents, teachers, and school administrators were invited to nominate custodians for their efforts to provide students with a healthy and safe educational environment. Throughout the coming months, Tennant will choose a total of 12 finalists, who will each receive a US$500 gift card. The grand prize winner will be selected in May and receives a prize valued at $5,000 while his or her school receives $10,000. This year’s first three finalists can be viewed on Tennant’s website. “To say we were impressed by the amount of heartfelt nominations this year would be an understatement,” said Amanda Herbert, Tennant marketing manager. “Every year it gets harder to only choose our 12 finalists—and deservedly so—there are so many moving stories being shared by teachers, students, and communities in support of the custodians who make their schools better every day.”
Cintas Corp. is now accepting submissions for its annual Custodian of the Year contest. Now in its 10th year, the contest calls for elementary, middle, high-school, and college students, in addition to staff, to submit a short essay by February 17 describing why their school’s custodian deserves the award. Cintas will announce 10 finalists on March 14, at which time online voting for the winning custodian will commence on the company’s website through April 14. The finalist receiving the most votes will be named Custodian of the Year at the end of April. The winning custodian will receive US$10,000 and an additional $5,000 in Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Cintas products for his/her school. The winner’s school 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. The nine runners-up will each receive $1,000 and free tuition to one ISSA Cleaning Management Institute (CMI) training event, valued at up to $1,500. In addition, the top three finalists will receive an all-expense-paid trip for two to the ISSA Show North America in Las Vegas in November where they’ll be recognized for their accomplishments. “Despite long hours, custodians continue to show up for their students, faculty, and others in their communities,” said ISSA Executive Director John Barrett. “ISSA has been in awe of their commitment, and we’re proud to work with Cintas to celebrate the best custodians across the U.S.” For more information on Cintas’ Custodian of the Year Contest, visit www.custodianoftheyear.com.
Massachusetts was ranked the top state for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a green building certification developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The state, which moved up from third place in 2021, certified 3.7 square feet of building space per person under LEED in 2022. The top 10 states, plus the District of Columbia, certified 1,225 projects and more than 353 million gross square feet under LEED last year. Although Washington, D.C. does not appear in the official top 10 list because it is not a state, it consistently leads the nation in LEED-certified square footage per capita. In 2022, the nation’s capital certified 46.06 square feet of space per resident across 115 green building projects. The top 10 LEED states include: Massachusetts, 3.76 certified gross square footage per capital and 96 green building projects Illinois, 3.48 certified gross square footage and 91 projects New York, 3.17 certified gross square footage and 142 projects California, 2.44 certified gross square footage and 78 projects Maryland, 2.39 certified gross square footage and 80 projects Georgia, 2.25 certified gross square footage and 66 projects Colorado, 2.17 certified gross square footage and 59 projects Virginia, 1.89 certified gross square footage and 95 projects Texas, 1.67 certified gross square footage and 174 projects Oregon, 1.43 certified gross square footage and 36 projects. “It was a strong year for LEED certifications across the U.S. as companies and governments embrace LEED as a tool for meeting ESG goals and organizational commitments to climate action, occupant well-being, and resource efficiency,” said Peter Templeton, USGBC president and CEO. “LEED buildings are environmentally friendly, cutting their emissions and waste, and use less energy and water. At the same time, they also help reduce operational and maintenance costs, contributing to the bottom line.”
