10 minute read
BUSINESS
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Prestige Cleaners puts its neighbors and staff first
BY BRIDGETTE M. REDMAN
Progress Contributor
Prestige Cleaners has been committed to doing the right thing by its customers, employees and community since 1964. It wasn’t about to let a thing like a pandemic change that.
President and CEO Denise Testori said she’ll never forget when the news of the pandemic and the lockdowns hit.
“It was St. Patty’s Day and there were a lot of rumors swirling around of what was going on,” Testori said.
“I called my team — meaning all my plant managers — and we came in for an emergency meeting. It was so awesome. With a click of your fingers, they adjusted the schedule. I had outlined what was happening and how we needed to pull together and devise a system to be able to survive through this. In other words, take care of our customers, take care of our employees and maintain financial health for the company.”
A 36-year Prestige Cleaners employee, Testori assumed the title of president and CEO in 2019, just before the pandemic hit. They have seven plants and when volume dropped overnight, they consolidated into three plants, keeping their equipment running and servicing their customers.
They made very few changes in company policy and procedures — they already had drive-thrus, after-hour drop-offs, free delivery and pickup and contactless payment through either their app or their website.
Denise Testori, Prestige Cleaners CEO, has been with the company for 36
years. (Special to the Progress) Offering exceptional dry cleaning and laundry services, fine tailoring and alterations, and wedding dress preservation, the company has grown to six Scottsdale locations plus a corporate office. (Facdbook)
seePRESTIGE page 25
Tribe sues to halt sports betting in its tracks
BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
One of the state’s Native American tribes is suing to bring a halt to off-reservation wagering on sports just days before it is scheduled to begin. The lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court by the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, contends that state lawmakers have no right to permit sports franchises to start taking wagers on professional and collegiate games. Attorney Luis Ochoa said that’s because Arizonans went to the polls in 2002 and voted to confine certain kinds of gaming to reservations.
Ochoa said noted that another mea-
The Diamondbacks and Caesars Palace unveiled renderings of the sportsbook that will open at Chase Field. The 20,000-square-foot, two-story venue will feature with both indoor and outdoor seating, bar and VIP lounge with 1,500 square feet of LED screens and 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor dining space. sure on the ballot that same year to permit off-reservation gaming was defeated, with 80 percent of the votes cast against it.
Ochoa does not dispute that other tribes state have signed agreements with the state to permit such off-reservation gaming. In exchange, these tribes got the right not only to accept similar sports bets at their gaming facilities but got to expand the number and types they can offer in their casinos.
But he said that still doesn’t get around the 2002 measure which he said is subject to the Voter Protection Act. That constitutional provision allows lawmakers to alter what is approved at the bal-
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lot only if it “furthers the purpose’’ of the original law.
“HB 2772 not only fails to further the purpose of Proposition 202 of granting the exclusive right to Arizona-based Indian tribes to engage in gaming activities classified as Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act on Indian lands, it is directly repugnant to and inconsistent with the intent of Proposition 202,’’ Ochoa said in his court filings.
He also claims the law is unconstitutional discrimination against Native American tribes. He said the gaming rules are more favorable to the sports franchises than they are to the tribes.
There was no comment from Gov. Doug Ducey, the defendant in the lawsuit who negotiated what he called the “modernized gaming compacts’’ with the tribes that went along with the deal.
But the lawsuit drew an angry reaction from Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, who sponsored one of the versions of the law.
He pointed out that the lawsuit was filed not when the measure was signed by Ducey on April 15 but now, after applications have been accepted to operate the new sports gaming operations and with actual wagering supposed to start on Sept. 9.
“The timing of these challenges, at the dawn of selection rather than during the legislative session or upon the bill’s enactment, amount to an end-around run on that qualifications-based awarding process at the Department of Gaming,’’ Shope said in a prepared statement. That first legal test is scheduled for an unusual Labor Day hearing before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James on an emergency hearing on Ochoa’s request to put an immediate halt to any new gaming until the legal issues are resolved.
Arizona has had some form of tribal gaming since the 1990s.
In 2002, a coalition of tribes crafted an initiative to give them the exclusive right to operate casino-style games in exchange for giving the state a share of the profits. By definition, that limited such gaming to reservations.
The plan approved by the legislature earlier this allows not only wagering at sports facilities like the Cardinals stadium on all professional and college games, but also the ability for the private gaming companies with whom the teams have to associate to offer online wagering.
The deal is set up so the state gets a share of gaming revenues, a figure that could exceed $100 million a year.
In exchange, the state agreed to ink new gaming deals with tribes, giving them similar rights to wager on sports. But they also get to install more of the slot machines and poker tables they now have as well as the ability to offer things like craps, roulette and baccarat.
Ochoa, on behalf of the YavapaiPrescott Tribe, says the deal is illegal, not only because of the 2002 initiative but because it also is unfair.
It starts with the fact that there are only 20 sports gaming licenses being award.
Half, he noted, go to existing sports franchises. And given there are more licenses than franchises, that means every franchise that wants one gets one.
But with at least 21 tribes in the state, Ochoa said, that gives any one of them less than a 50 percent chance of landing one of the lucrative franchises.
And there is no chance of the YavapaiPrescott Tribe getting one as the deal says only those tribes that agreed to the new gaming compacts get a shot at it. Ochoa said the tribe was “excluded from all negotiations’’ on that deal and has not agreed to sign it, as doing so would remove its rights under the 2002 deal for exclusive gaming rights.
Anyone wanting a franchise has to pay a non-refundable $100,000 application fee “despite the stark differences in likelihood of obtaining a license.’’
All that, he said, amounts to illegal special legislation.
“We were already using disinfectant and masks and gloves,” Testori said. “The only thing we had to add was the shield at the counter for walk-ins. Everything else was in place.”
Prestige managed to get through the pandemic without layoffs, sometimes creating work such as painting the plants and doing chores that they previously didn’t have time for.
“I was really proud of our team,” Testori said. “I said, you know we’re not getting as many pieces, but we want to keep everyone employed – everyone has to be open to wear different hats. We did a lot of renovating and just updating the physical environment.”
They made accommodations for employees whose lives were thrown into disarray, especially those who suddenly had children at home when the schools closed.
They committed to communicating what was happening to everyone in the company, using English and Spanish. They made sure things were in writing so employees could share it with their families to allay any anxiety about job loss.
Prestige Cleaners produced a newsletter that allowed staff to share the positives and negatives of the lockdowns, giving employees an opportunity to get to know each other better.
As plants combined, employees worked alongside coworkers they had only met at company outings and events.
“It was kind of neat to see the camaraderie between the different employees and teams,” Testori said. “It just really worked out.” Prestige Cleaners’ website extols its legacy of service, citizenship and community. It is something they carried on throughout the pandemic. They continued their partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, held clothing drives and gave complimentary cleanings to those in need.
They also worked with Banner hospitals and the many individuals and organizations who were making homemade masks at the beginning of the pandemic. Prestige Cleaners became a collection site and cleaned thousands of newly made masks that were headed to hospitals.
“We worked with Banner hospitals and cleaned many, many pounds of homemade masks,” Testori said.
“That was the biggest thing we did — cleaning free masks so that any of their affiliates, visitors or emergency room patients could be provided these clean, homemade masks donated by the community. That was all done complimentary.”
Just as Prestige Cleaners took care of its communities, the community, in turn, took care of it. Testori said they had many customers with whom they had long-term relationships who took care of their staff, sometimes offering gift cards. “I just really want to thank our customers, our community, for supporting us through this,” Testori said. “They worked with our changes. My gratitude really goes out to the public for supporting our industry. I look back and I reflect on this: It’s really been a horrid thing and sad to see so many businesses that had to close. It was a struggle. I won’t deny it. The rules were changing weekly. I am so grateful to those who supported us.”
Founder Don E. Frye opened Prestige’s doors in June 1964, offering exceptional dry cleaning and laundry services, fine tailoring and alterations, and wedding dress preservation, the company has grown to six Scottsdale locations plus a corporate office.
When Don retired in 1981, he handed over the reins to his son Donn Frye, who carried on his father’s commitment to community service and strong corporate citizenship while forging his own path. Testori is guiding Prestige Cleaners as it continues to expand and serve its customers.
“From the customers’ perspective, we have the same core values as we did when Mr. Frye, the late founder, had,” she said. “I want to have those, but be able to embrace change and allow for us to be in the forefront of serving others, whether it’s our employees, community or customers.”
Testori has been dedicated to working with regulatory and legislative agencies on issues pertaining to the industry, helped lead Prestige’s efforts to grow and expand pick-up and delivery services, was instrumental in developing an innovative Prestige app, and helped lead the company to be one of the first dry cleaners in Arizona embrace green practices.
The Frye family’s work ethic resonates with Testori.
“Family-owned business or not, they’ve always provided a professional culture not unlike what you would get in a big, public organization,” she said.
“It allowed for that real personal attention, whether it’s with the employees, the customers or the community.”
