America’s Best Cleaners (ABC) held its Fall 2025 Accelerator Live meeting from Oct. 8–10 in Minneapolis, MN, hosted by All Seasons Garment Care & Evermore Wedding Gown Care. The event theme, “Accountability,” focused on the foundational role personal and team ownership play in achieving excellence in operations, leadership, and service delivery.
Over three days, more than 40 attendees—including 10 senior managers from across affiliate organizations—gathered to immerse themselves in workshops, plant walkthroughs and peer-led dialogue. Together, they explored how accountability can fuel trust, drive results, and shape a high-performance culture at every level of business.
The program began with tours of All Seasons’ main production plant, Evermore Bridal, and its luxury leather and fur divisions. ABC affiliates worked as teams to inspect and provide feedback on specific departments, ensuring a collaborative and solutions-focused experience for both host and participants. Live demonstrations by Mike Tungesvick of Sankosha USA enriched the walkthrough with real-time insights on pressing and finishing systems.
In the afternoon, a Partnering Business Showcase brought insights from several trusted technology and marketing allies:
● Nicole Kirby of Xplor Spot shared how real-time quality data can drive actionable accountability from front counter to finishing.
● Kate Quintero of BeCreative 360 demonstrated how the latest ReviewMyDryCleaner tools and automation—paired with a client-first mindset—can make marketing a measurable and trackable team objective.
● David Lee of SMRT Systems offered a preview of upcoming enhancements to SMRT Deliver, reinforcing the platform’s role in team-wide follow-through.
The keynote address was delivered by Josef Shapiro of Clear and Open, whose session, “Redefining Accountability: From Fear to Freedom,” challenged attendees to let go of guilt- and shame-based accountability in favor of awareness, alignment, and ownership. Shapiro’s Friday workshop guided affiliates through the five-step Accountability Path, providing tools to identify roadblocks and empower team members through feedback and clarity.
ABC Executive Director Christopher White led a presentation titled “Accountability Starts at the Top”, emphasizing the owner’s role in clearing obstacles, modeling responsibility, and creating systems that support team-wide ownership. “We say accountability drives results, but it’s really about building trust,” said White. “When leaders make accountability a shared value instead of a top-down demand, they unlock performance, clarity, and collaboration across every department.”
Affiliates also participated in an in-depth work group, presenting either a business challenge, a brainstorming session, or a recent success for peer feedback. The cross-collaborative dialogue created momentum that many described as the highlight of the meeting.