WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — During the recent 2022 Annual Educational & Management Conference of the Textile Care Allied Trades Association (TCATA), outgoing TCATA President Fred Schwarzmann, Jr. of A. L. Wilson Chemical Company received the prestigious J. Morry Friedlander Award. The Award is the organization’s highest honor and has only been awarded six times since it was introduced in 1994.
“Tonight, it is my distinct honor to recognize someone who has made enormous contributions to TCATA. This year’s recipient is certainly most deserving of this award. He has been a leader both within TCATA and in the industry for many years,” said association CEO Leslie Schaeffer during the event, which took place on April 3-6, was held at the Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, South Carolina.
Schwarzmann served on the TCATA Board of Directors in various positions from 2005 to 2011 and most recently as president of the board beginning in January 2020.
“I was certainly touched by the recognition I received, but I know that my contribution would not have been nearly enough in a vacuum,” Schwarzmann says. “Only by pulling together were we able to protect TCATA through the dark days and re-launch it into a bright future.”
TCATA established the J. Morry Friedlander Award to honor outstanding dedication and service to the association, naming it to acknowledge the unrivaled enthusiasm, dedication and goodwill Friedlander generated in his more than 40 years of service
Incoming President
Also during the Conference, John Silverman, president of Tschopp Supply Company of Buffalo, New York, was installed as TCATA’s incoming president.
Silverman previously served on TCATA’s Board of Directors, representing distributors and in the role of treasurer.
Silverman began his career at Tschopp in 1989, and by 1999 had become corporate vice president and general manager. In 2005, when James Tschopp retired, Silverman assumed the role of corporate president.
When asked what being a member of TCATA has meant to him, Silverman says, “The relationships and connections I’ve made through TCATA have helped Tschopp Supply grow as a company.”
Anniversary Members
Also recognized at the conference were TCATA Anniversary Members. Celebrating 75 years of membership are Pellerin Milnor, Gardner Supply and Laun-Dry Supply Company. SEITZ The Fresher Company is celebrating 25 years as a TCATA member.
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