Editor’s Note—May 2017

by Michael Hamline, Editor / Published May 2017

This past April marked 100 years since America entered into WWI. There were more than 53,000 American war deaths from April 1917 until the Armistice was signed in November 1918. Now we are in the month of May, and at the end of this month Americans will observe Memorial Day. This is a day for Americans to reflect and express their gratitude to those American men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives—from the American Civil War to the current War on Terror—so that we might have the freedoms we enjoy in this country. If you know a family who has lost a son, daughter, mother, and/or father to protect your freedoms, speak words of gratitude to these families this Memorial Day for their families’ sacrifices.

In the May issue of Cleaner Times, Beth Borrego writes on the importance of a company’s employee handbook. Starting on page 6, “Clean Up Your Employee Hand-book” states that the employee handbook “helps your company to effectively communicate payroll information and benefits as well as your company’s rules and policies.” The article deals with rules on final payment to a terminated employee, deduction on unreturned equipment, overtime pay, documentation on sick days, and more.

Terri Perrin’s article, “Committed to Business Excellence,” on page 32, details the business career of Jim O’Connell at Hotsy Pacific in Modesto, CA. The company has gone from grossing $250,000 a year when O’Connell took over in 1991 in a partnership to grossing more than $4 million annually with O’Connell and his wife as co-owners. Several important lessons learned in improving the business model are given throughout the article, and it is well worth your time to read it.

As always, we would love to hear from you if you have an article suggestion or a story to share of your time in the industry.

Michael Hamline
michael@adpub.com
(800) 525-7038