At Roscoe, we've worked hard to earn our reputation for providing high quality work uniform rentals and unmatched customer service.

But behind the scenes, we work just as hard to be a good neighbor to our community, a responsible steward of the environment and a leader to the industry.

There's more to running a business than the bottom line. Especially when the business is one your family founded three generations back. We are building something we can be proud to leave to the next generation, and a place where our employees will be proud to work, now – and a decade from now. We want to be an asset to our community – the community where we go to work, where our customers reside and the same community that our team members call home.

We know that's not something that can be accomplished just by talking about it, so here's what we've been up to recently.

In a tradition that covers decades and includes generations of Roscoe company leaders, the company sent two employees to the Executive Management Institute (EMI) in Maryland recently to cultivate management and leadership skills.

Julia Buik, who joined the company full time last year and is the daughter of Roscoe President and Owner Jim Buik, completed her first year in the program, attending a four-day session along with approximately 30 other textile industry professionals. Office Team Leader Barbara Bailey-Polk graduated after completing her fourth year in the program.

Created by the Institute of Industrial Launderers (IIL), renamed the Uniform Textile Services Association (UTSA) and then ultimately merged with Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA), the Executive Management Institute (EMI) has become the most heralded professional management development program in the industry's history for managers in all areas of textile care operations. EMI develops the management and leadership skills of students by providing them with a comprehensive understanding of successful management principles and practices relevant to textile care operations. This understanding improves both individual and business management performance.

Since its inception 51 years ago, The Roscoe Company has sent over 30 team members and emerging leaders to EMI as an investment in their future, and the company overall. This year, we sent two employees. We asked them to describe their experience in their own words.