Articles

Welcome to 2023!

Categories: ISSA 100th Anniversary, ISSA Insights

By now, 2022 is in the rearview mirror. With budgets and goals completed for 2023, we are off and running. It is my extreme privilege to serve as president in 2023 as we celebrate ISSA’s 100th anniversary. As we do this, we thank Harry Dochelli for his leadership and friendship this past year. We have all learned much from Harry during his tenure as ISSA president.

Most of my adult career has been in the cleaning industry. My grandfather, Bob Vonachen, started a cleaning distribution business, Vonachen Industrial Supplies. My father, Jay Vonachen, joined him after college and ran the distribution business for 40 years before selling it to AmSan. In the late 1960s, my father started a contract cleaning business in the back of the distribution warehouse to service the distribution customers, and in 2008, I purchased the service business from him.

My experience as a manufacturer representative, family distribution business, and now as a building service contractor (BSC) has allowed me the opportunity to see our industry from three different sides.

Most leaders have had a mentor in their life that truly impacted their career, whereas I have been truly fortunate to have my father as my mentor and my greatest cheerleader every step of the way. His guidance and support have been meaningful to me and our business. Over the years, he would say, “We aren’t a business of brick and mortar. Our greatest asset is our people. We work for the employees and have the responsibility to them and their families.” This has always been ingrained in the Vonachen family culture.

Being the first BSC to lead the association is an honor. In my early years in the industry, BSCs weren’t allowed to be members or attend the trade show, and now BSCs are ISSA’s largest member segment.

Let me share a little history. Approximately 20 years ago, the board of directors and membership approved a change to the bylaws allowing BSCs and in-house service providers (ISPs) to become members, even creating a BSC director position on the board. In 2018, BSC members were approved to serve as both vice president and president-elect. This meant that a BSC would now be put into the rotation with manufacturers and distributors and would be elected president every three years.

I genuinely believe the loop was closed when BSCs and ISPs were added to the membership. The manufacturers build the products, distributors handle the logistics and training, and the BSCs and ISPs are the principal users. BSCs are vital in helping launch products for the marketplace, being the expert end users. I see the future with a strong collaboration between all three segment channels in delivering environmentally friendly buildings for people to work. BSCs/ISPs bring an enhanced view of the end users’ cleaning needs. They are responsible for the unique cleaning challenges that will influence innovation with the manufacturers on what products the marketplace will require.

In 2023, the board will embark on a strategic planning process to create the association’s road map of the future to support membership.

ISSA will remain committed to our Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division that has grown significantly in just over three years and helped navigate many of us through the COVID-19 pandemic. GBAC programs, such as GBAC^® STAR accreditation, help companies and facilities to be clean, safe, and healthy through scientific protocols and expert advice on cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention. In addition, the ISSA advocacy and government affairs initiatives continue to make a meaningful impact for our members and the cleaning industry overall. I encourage you to get involved in our advocacy summit and fly-in taking place in Washington, DC, March 28-29.

As we go through 2023, you will see acelebration of ISSA’s 100 years. You are part of it. And it all culminates in a special celebration at ISSA Show North America 2023 in Las Vegas November 13-16. Join me there and be part of the history of ISSA.

Thank you for your support and all you do to make ISSA what it is.

About the Author.

Matt Vonachen is president of ISSA and the CEO of Vonachen Group, a commercial and industrial service provider based in Peoria, Illinois.