When a fire or water disaster strikes, Sycamore-based Clean USA is ready to jump into action according to founder and president Justin Elliott.  Elliott was this week’s Rotary Speaker.  His company recently expanded into space in the former Barnaby Printing building on DeKalb Avenue.  Elliott, who grew up in DeKalb County, started Clean USA as a janitorial service company after graduating from NIU in 1988.  He then developed specialty restoration services for residential and commercial clients facing fire and water damage favoring a dry-in place technology rather than tear out and rebuild approach.  Elliott says he seeks to “turn chaos into calm.”  Elliott said Clean USA has satellite operations in Rockford and Naperville and can service clients throughout the western suburbs and north central Illinois.  He pointed out that Clean USA is not a franchise but rather an entrepreneurial business. The company was recently named the top restoration firm in the state from a field of 33 businesses.

 

Elliott explained that his staff and their special use of drying technology set them apart from other restoration businesses.  He said he has 30 employees who are certified, licensed, and insured for emergency restoration work.  Part of his company’s move to the former Barnaby building was to create a training center on site for their expanding operations.  Elliott said they handle an average of 400 or more jobs a year.  He said besides training, they needed space for the hundreds of pieces of equipment they have available to help dry-out a site that has been damaged.  This includes fans, dehumidifiers, portable heaters, and injection-dry systems to use on wood floors and behind cabinets. He says their specialty 3-D walkthrough and floor plan creation lets them provide a targeted approach to the restoration which can reduce claims costs  by 30 to 70 percent.  More details are available on their website at www.CleanUSA.com.

Tickets are $25.00 each and we have a total of 600 tickets to sell. Three winning tickets for the following amounts will be drawn during the Rotary Holiday Party on 12/20/2023:

December 11, 1898 – The Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American War is signed by President William McKinley.  The U.S. acquires the territories of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

 

December 14, 1911 – Norwegian explorer Ronald Amundsen becomes the first person to reach the South Pole.

 

December 15, 1939 – The epic movie “Gone with the Wind” had its world premier in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

December 16, 1773 – The Boston Tea Party occurred as colonials dumped 342 containers of expensive tea into the harbor.

December 14, 1896 – World War II General James “Jimmy” Doolittle is born in Alameda, California.  In 1942, he led a squadron of B-25 bombers launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet to conduct the first American air raid of the war against Japan.

 

December 15, 1832 – French engineer Alexandre Eiffel is born in Dijon, France.  Besides designing the Eiffel Tower, he also helped design the Statue of Liberty.

 

December 16, 1770 – Ludwig von Beethoven, considered the greatest orchestral composers who ever lived, is born in Bonn, Germany.

 

December 16, 1775 – British romance novelist Jane Austen is born in Hampshire, England.