David is Chairman/CEO of Gulf Coast Laundry Services, LLC and is indeed the vision and guiding light. David virtually
grew up in the laundry business. His Grandfather, Herman Gross was one of the original co-founders of National Linen Service. David started sorting
dirty linen at his father's plant in Ft. Lauderdale, FL around the age of 14. He served as President of Mercury Linen Service and managed their
four textile rental plants in South Florida.
David relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985. He 'fast-tracked' the construction of the "largest laundry facility in the world". He then segued into the hospitality industry as the Executive Director of Laundry Services for Mirage Resorts, Inc. David successfully managed the textile services for over 11,000 hotel rooms and $ 20 million in yearly contract negotiations. During his tenure with the Mirage Resorts, David's entrepreneurial ambitions again surfaced and he founded a textile rental business featuring "Logo Mats".
David, however, has a true entrepreneurial spirit, so when he had an opportunity to 'return to the playing field' he built his second laundry facility on the 'fast-track', which is now the largest laundry in State of Mississippi. GCLS started in February of 1998 with 20 employees and has exploded to over 160 employees and processing 75,000 lbs. of laundry per day, 28,000,000 lbs. annually and continues to grow.
David graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 1973 with a degree in Business and claims to have "dirty wash water running through my veins . . . ".
Steve Florence:
Steve is Vice President of GCLS and projects an influential passion on the company. Steve has successfully survived the textile industry for 29 years and
has worked in a variety of positions from Production Manager, Operations Manager, Regional Sales Director through General Manager and VP. He brings
a plethora of experience in all facets of the commercial/industrial laundry industry.
Steve spent five years as a Consultant. During that time, he operated four hotel on-premise laundries in the Bahamas and traveled He was on a design team for three laundry facilities, oversaw the construction phase, and coordinated the start-up management contracts with Loews Corporation, Resorts International, & Wyndham Hotel Corporation.
Reducing operating costs is a significant strength of Steve's. Time after time he has been able to increase efficiency and productivity therefore generating higher profit margins. He maintains a focused drive in 'turning a troubled' plant. Steve is truly at his best when coordinating trouble-shooting and implementing emergency salvation plans.
Steve graduated from the University of Miami in 1971 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree after serving 6 years in the U.S.N.R.
Patti Gross:
Patti is the Director of Human Resources and is the conscience of our employees. Shy or quiet
are not adjectives used to describe her. Patti spent most of her career
in the Government sector with positions and responsibilities ranging from
collaborating and implementing the first Affirmative Action Plan in the
State of Nebraska to Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Motor
Vehicles and Public Safety in Nevada.
As one of the four original members, Patti was indoctrinated into the laundry industry by 'fire'. During the construction phase, she managed the finances as well as working on all start-up activities right beside David and Mike, including wearing a hardhat! GCLS was a 'blank piece of paper'; this allowed Patti's creative nature to emerge. She has developed and implemented a full HR program including: job descriptions, performance evaluations, personnel forms and training programs. The overall HR Program is leading edge for the Laundry Industry.
Patti is also a licensed SCUBA Instructor. This has equipped her with amazing teaching techniques and she conducts many of the employee training programs. Her high energy level is not to be surpassed by the other members of the team and she prides herself in being flexible which allows her to participate in all aspects of the business.
Sandy Wise:
Sandy is the Controller and pays our bills and keeps us all straight. Sandy brings over 17 years
of high level accounting, tax management, and auditing to our company.
From auditing a payroll to accounting software Sandy has no limits to
her oversight experience.
Sandy holds her CPA license and participates in several professional accounting associations. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Business.
