Roscoe IT Team Leader Julia Buik, a fourth-generation member of Roscoe’s founding family, has graduated from the industry association’s executive training institute.
A second Roscoe team member, District Service Manager Sergio Peña, has completed his third year of the four-year program.
The Executive Management Institute program (EMI), operated by the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA), offers professionals in the uniform and textile industry a unique leadership training curriculum along with an opportunity to network and create lasting relationships with industry peers.
Buik said her experience was heightened by the fact that the program is one her father, Roscoe President and former TRSA chairman Jim Buik, has both championed and participated in.
“It was really important to me personally to graduate in light of how passionate my dad is about the program, and I understand that passion now that I’ve attended,” she said. “EMI does a great job at helping students understand emotional intelligence, practicing connecting with people, establishing a bond with them and putting that into practice as a team leader.” In the photo at top, Julia is pictured at graduation with EMI Dean Dr. H. Kent Baker, who was the year-one instructor for both Jim and Julia.
Executive Training Helps Roscoe Team Leaders Continue a Tradition of Continuous Improvement
This year’s four-day program held Aug. 8-12 in Hyattsville, Md., marked the program’s return after a one-year hiatus forced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Peña, who is set to graduate with his class next year, said he and his classmates stayed in touch throughout the pandemic. “We were really excited to see each other. In some ways, it made this year’s program more meaningful.”
His year-three curriculum left Peña thinking more about how he talks and relates to the route representatives who report to him. “I really want to do a better job of getting to know them and understanding how to relate to them in the most effective way,” he said.
Roscoe has made it a practice to send two team members every year as part of the company’s commitment to continuous improvement.
Participants continue with the same classmates each year, developing strong bonds while learning progressive employee and customer-relations techniques. The resilience of these professional networks attests to the value of EMI not only for the classroom experience, but also for the ongoing exchange of ideas and experiences with industry counterparts.
Taking Pride in Creating Better Leaders
Roscoe customers also benefit from the program: it develops the management and leadership skills of participants through team building, interactive sessions emphasizing information-sharing and problem-solving.
TRSA President and CEO Joseph Ricci said Roscoe’s commitment to the program is part of the reason it’s still around after 56 years. When Ricci took over as TRSA president in 2010, the program, which TRSA inherited under the merger of two previous industry organizations, was in danger of being phased out. Two days into his tenure, Ricci got a call from Jim Buik.
“He said ‘you have to keep EMI going,’” Ricci recalled. “Jim helped us put together a task force to figure out EMI and put together the next steps” for keeping it going. “He saw the value of it.”
Today, more than 15 Roscoe leaders have graduated from the program.
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