CWONJ December Membership Meeting
Highlights Yelp Reviews, Honors Boudakian

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The Car Wash Operators of New Jersey (CWONJ) met December 1 at the APA Hotel Woodbridge in Iselin for its Fall Membership Meeting featuring speaker John Carroll of Yelp. Carroll, a Manager of Local Business Outreach for the multinational corporation headquartered in San Francisco that develops, hosts and markets Yelp.com and Yelp mobile app, which publish crowd-sourced reviews about local businesses, as well as the online reservation service Yelp Reservations and online food-delivery service Eat24, educated attendees on the company’s history and premise. He answered many questions on how the review site can bring in customers and broaden a company’s reach, despite the occasional negative review.

Also featured at the meeting was Gary Baright, owner of G & G LED, manufacturer of innovative waterproof LED lighting products based in Albany, NY. Baright highlighted some lighting innovations and outlined the New Jersey Clean Energy Program, one of the strongest in the country, according to Baright. The rebate program is available until June 30, 2017. To learn more about it visit cwonj.com or call the association office at 800/287-6604.

The dinner meeting also included a brief membership meeting run by President Mike Conte and the presentation of a CWONJ Lifetime Achievement Award to Richard “Dick” Boudakian of Tameric Realty and Robinhood Car Wash in Bloomfield. Boudakian, a former President of the Car Wash Operators of New Jersey and long-time member, has more than 50 years in the industry. He was praised for his dedication to professional carwashing and the association’s mission by President Conte.