In May, the Route Pros will be hosting its 2026 Spark and Start Leadership Conference at Dublin Cleaners in Columbus, OH.
The event, which will take place form May 12 to 14, will include several guest speakers and will focus on a theme of “GRIT: Guts. Resilience. Initiative. Thrive.”
Some of the guest speakers will include Chris White from America’s Best Cleaners, Ryan Brown from Dublin Cleaners, Donald Carlson, Jr. of Carlson Cleaners and Tweeds Custom Suits, as well as James Peuster and Jennifer Whitmarsh from the Route Pros.
Things will initially kick off on the evening of Monday, May 11 when the Heartland Fabricare Association (HFA) host a meet and greet reception at 5 p.m.
On Tuesday, there will be a tour of Dublin Cleaners that will begin at 1 p.m.
The educational sessions will begin the following morning following opening remarks at 8:50 a.m.
Program planned for the morning include: “Ice-Dice Baby” at 9:10 a.m., “25 Years of GRIT to GREAT” at 10 a.m., and “Participant Rapid Fire” at 11:30 a.m.
Following lunch, there will be “Speaker Spotlights” that feature Ryan Brown at 1 p.m. and Chris White at 2 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., the day’s programs conclude with a GRIT Analysis.
On Thursday morning, the first program will begin at 9 a.m. and focus on the topic of “From Front Counter to CEO.”
At 10 a.m., there will be a “Speaker Spotlight” featuring Donald Carlson, followed by “GRIT Mentorship: What It Truly Means to Develop Your Business” at 11 a.m.
After lunch, the final two educational programs of the conference will be “Leadership That Scales, Without Headcount” at 1 p.m. and “The Final Action” at 2 p.m.
The event is open to everyone in the industry.
Registration costs $300 for Route Pros members, and $200 for each additional attendee from the same member company.
Non-members pay $450 each to attend, and the cost is $300 for each additional attendee from the same company.
For more information or to register, visit the Route Pros site online at www.theroutepro.com.