On Oct. 5-7, the Northeast professional carwash community and more gathered in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for an event hosted by the Northeast Regional Carwash Convention (NRCC) — dubbed as being “Better. Bigger. Be There.” Exhibitors noted to Professional Carwashing & Detailing staff in attendance that traffic to their booths was steady and of high quality. And, attendees we spoke with verified the educational sessions surrounding the event were informative and well worth attending.
This year’s NRCC was held at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The reason, according to NRCC, was to accommodate organizers’ goal of growing the floor space to more than 300 exhibits. In addition to featuring more space, the venue also attracted NRCC organizers because of its meeting rooms for the event’s educational programs.
And, just as in previous years, NRCC took time to give back to the industry and community at the event’s Awards Luncheon, sponsored by Erie Brush. The presentation of the Hall of Fame award was one highlight. This year’s honoree was Walt Hartl of Hoffman Car Wash of Albany, New York.
David DuGoff, chair of NRCC 2015, co-presented the award saying, “This award is presented to a person that has given an enormous amount of his time, effort and heart to the NRCC.”
Mike Benmosche, who co-chaired last year’s NRCC and also presented the award to Hartl this year, read the award’s plaque which described what it stood for to the room full of attendees. But, Benmosche added, “What this [plaque] doesn’t describe is the essence of what makes the person worthy of this award. Not only has [this year’s recipient] had a tremendous impact on the association, but he also has a great commitment to the industry, his community and his family.”
Hartl humbly accepted the Hall of Fame recognition. “It’s an honor I’m not sure I’m worthy of,” he reflected. “I started in this industry a day after I graduated college. … I’m still having fun all of these years later. I love these shows, and I love the interaction.”
See below for some photos from the show, and if you couldn’t attend this year please be sure to save the date for next year’s event.
