LAS VEGAS — The International Carwash Association’s^® (ICA) The Car Wash Show™ 2015 wrapped up festivities April 25 and was hailed as a great success by most, if not all, attendees.

According to the association’s website, nearly 6,900 industry professionals participated last week in Las Vegas. The total attendance number represented a 22 percent increase over last year’s convention and was the event’s largest total since 2008.

Furthermore, stated carwash.org, “Participation in an expanded menu of educational offerings and networking events (more than 1,200) and the number of carwash locations represented at the show (more than 10,000) set all-time records. Also, the exhibition hall was the largest since 2010, with nearly 125,000 (net) square feet of product and service displays.”

“[Of course,] this has nothing to do with [ICA] — it is all about those of you washing the cars so thank you and congratulations,” asserted Eric Wulf, CEO of the ICA, at Friday’s Industry Update and Keynote Address session.

During Friday morning’s session, Wulf recognized the association’s Emerging Leaders Scholars and also provided an update on its WaterSavers program, which for the fifth year in a row saw a double-digit increase in the number of participating companies and carwashes. 

Wulf also noted some upcoming industry events at this session, including The Car Wash Show 2016, scheduled for Nashville, and Car Wash Show Europe™ 2015.  

ICA recognized industry leaders with several awards during its Industry Update session. For more information on this year’s honorees and their accomplishments, please visit http://www.carwash.org/thecarwashshow/news-landing/2015/04/24/the-international-carwash-association-honors-2015-award-recipients.

Following the state of the industry update from the association, famed NCAA basketball coach Rick Pitino provided this year's Keynote Address and challenged the audience to sign up for his “One-Day Contract.” According to Pitino, being positive in your personal life and business life pays off in the long term. He urged carwash professionals to maintain good attitudes regardless of the circumstances because “being critical takes no talent whatsoever and it breaks all of the rules of a one-day contract,” he said. “Problems don’t stay problems with upbeat people — they become solutions.”    

And The Car Wash Show 2015 had a lot of both: upbeat people and solutions.