RIPON, Wis. — Commercial laundry equipment brand Huebsch recently recognized Reginald Milton, owner of South Memphis Alliance (SMA) Laundromat and Resource Center, as its latest Store Owner of the Quarter.
The award recognizes Huebsch store owners who have “excelled in entrepreneurism, technology adoption, innovation and superior customer and community service,” Huebsch reports.
Founded in 2000 by Milton, SMA has made its mission to improve the health, knowledge and stability of community members through advocacy and mentoring, says Huebsch. When the Laundromat adjacent to the non-profit organization became available, the Memphis, Tenn., native took ownership of the facility.
“We noticed that many of the people who needed our support were also customers of the Laundromat,” Milton says. “Although the facility was very run-down, I could see the value in taking ownership and making it into a place where community members could do more than just laundry.”
Milton worked with distributor L&M Laundry Services in outfitting the store with new equipment, including 20 washer-extractors, four 20-pound top-loaders, a combination of 12 30- and 45-pound stack tumble dryers, and two 75-pound tumble dryers.
In addition to its Laundromat (which is on course to generate as much as $150,000 profit this year, according to Huebsch), the organization also provides customers with free social services, including literacy training, job search support, eye exams and HIV testing.
“Reginald’s store is evidence of how a Laundromat can empower a community and better the lives of its customers beyond clean clothes,” says Kathryn Q. Rowen, Huebsch North American sales manager. “Huebsch is honored to be part of the SMA success story, and we are proud to recognize Reginald as Store Owner of the Quarter.”
“The staffs of L&M Laundry Services and Huebsch are so knowledgeable, and I do not think the success of this project could have happened without them both,” says Milton.
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