Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009 - (Page 6)

frugal housekeeper Lessons from a Rainbow: There is Hope After the Storm! We were driving through the countryside of County Wicklow in Ireland, a location so beautiful that it is often called the “Garden of Ireland.” As my father was driving along, the scenery was unfocused due to the heavy rain that was taking much of the joy out of an afternoon drive through the country. One could get quite depressed with this scene and with Irish weather, which can provide its fair share of rainy and gloomy days. However, complaining aside, the country was alive with greens—some may say forty shades of green! The rain brings blessings to the countryside, and when it passes and the sun shines, Ireland comes alive with natural beauty that can take one’s breath away! As we were driving, there was a break in the dark clouds and a brilliant shaft of sunlight illuminated the droplets of rain, and within seconds, we saw the most vivid rainbow that we had ever seen. As we looked closer, we noticed there was not just one rainbow, there was an array of three rainbows—it was truly amazing. Being young, I became quite excited and asked my parents if we could find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbows—our chances seemed higher since there were three rainbows, one right behind the other. I was even hoping to find a leprechaun or maybe even King Brian, the king of leprechauns. Even though we found neither the mythical pot of w by Alan S. Bigger and Linda B. Bigger gold nor the leprechauns, the beautiful array of rainbows provided us hopes of the rain ceasing even on the gloomiest of days. Soon, the rain stopped and the sun burst through the clouds. During the last few months, we have been barraged with gloomy news about the economy, jobs, and mortgages. These have been gathering like storm clouds on the horizon and some of the gloomy news has begun to rain on many lives and right into our workplaces, touching most industries. Some examples of recent articles and headlines: • In an article titled “How the Economic Downturn Is Affecting Colleges: A Sampling,” published in The Chronicle of Higher Education (November 28, 2008), over 75 percent of the responding institutions indicated a full or partial hiring freeze impacting faculty and/or staff; nearly 50 percent are experiencing building delays or freezes; and nearly 30 percent have implemented travel restrictions. Even such a bastion of higher education as Harvard University is planning a freeze on salaries for faculty and some staff members, according to The Harvard Crimson. • The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau said that it would “freeze pay, cut benefits, and eliminate positions through attrition,” according to the online version of The Atlanta Business Chronicle, November 13, 2008. • Back in April 2008, www. crainsnewyorkbusiness.com lamented in a headline that “Corporations cut back on entertainment spending.” • Rocklin & Roseville Today (December 31, 2008) stated that “Due to budget cuts, the Placer County Sheriff’s Department is closing down service centers in Granite Bay and Lake Tahoe.” • American School & University (January 2009) stated that “The Dallas school district has fired hundreds of employees as it wrestles with an estimated deficit of $75 million.” • Frank Sansone, Chief Operations Officer of the Dade Paper Company was quoted in the December 2008 issue of Sanitary Maintenance as follows: “There’s not any segment of business that we service that has not been impacted by what’s going on with the economy.” The economic outlook is grim and the storm clouds are threatening rain. However, in Ireland, if one were to avoid the storm clouds and the rain, they’d have to stay indoors forever. The Irish know that there is hope when storms and rains come, and soon there will be a rainbow, the rains will stop, and the world will be a better place. Until then, they grab an umbrella and go outside! The umbrella protects because it is supported by a series of metal ribs that hold the material on the 6 Executive Housekeeping Today/March 2009 http://www.crainsnewyorkbusiness.com http://www.crainsnewyorkbusiness.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009 Contents Executive Corner Why Integrated Cleaning and Measurement is Good for the Cleaning Industry Hygienic Green Cleaning - The Next Wave Frugal Housekeeper Integrated Cleaning and Measurement: A New Approach to Housekeeping and Sanitation Feature Article What's in YOUR Janitor Closet? The Green Scene 2009 Convention Information Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA Has Done For Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009

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