This is an issue of winners! We take pride in honoring some of our peers and noting their accomplishments. Read on and learn what others are doing in the industry and how they work to stand out in the crowd. Any thoughts or questions rebeccamc522@aol.com

Black Tie Award

The International Formalwear Association’s lifetime achievement award is given each year to an individual whose dedication to “our” industry is commendable. This year’s honor goes to Wayne Griner of After Hours. Mr. Griner will be presented this acknowledgement of excellence at EXPO26 in Nashville. He joins an elite group of individuals whose commitment to their profession and the formalwear industry as a whole singles them out. Get to know another industry member who is also our 2007-2008 Black Tie Award recipient. Our congratulations to him on this accomplishment!    Name and Family Information Wayne Griner, married to Carol; children Alan, Robbie, Stacey; grandchildren Raelyn, Hudson, Wyatt, Haden. Background Started with Mitchell’s/After Hours Formalwear in January 1971. Thirty-six years in the business. Began my career as a Store Manager at Roosevelt Mall in Jacksonville, Florida. What part of the business is your favorite? As a previous owner, all aspects of the business were of interest. I probably favored the operations side of the business which includes production process enhancements and systems development. What part is your least favorite? Human Resources. Having to make changes in personnel. Where would you like to be in five years? I just recently retired from After Hours. I would like to consult in our industry. I feel with my experience I could help operators around the country grow their business and reduce order processing costs. How long have you been on the IFA board? 10 years. What are your main focuses or committees you serve on? Past President of the IFA. Executive Committee, Nominating Committee, Public Relations/Newsletter Committee. What has been the biggest surprise in being a board member? The commitment each board member has to the IFA from a growth standpoint and serving its member and vendor base. In a perfect world, what would you like to see change with the IFA? For specialists around the country to understand how important it is to build relationships within our industry. The IFA offers a great opportunity for specialists to learn more about and build relationships within the industry. Who have you met through the board that you did not know before being a member? Several specialists around the country. I may have seen them at the convention, but hadn’t had a chance to really get to know them. Relationships with other business owners make a big difference in each others success. How can members of the board become more accessible to people in the industry? I’m very accessible. Email me at wgriner@afterhours.com or call me (678-924-7091). I receive a lot of calls throughout the year. Can you tie a bow tie? Yes, of course I can! What are your thoughts on what we can do to remain competitive as small operators? Continue to do what you are doing to keep the competitive advantage. Stay involved in communities, high schools, and colleges in your area. Hire/Train talented people to represent your company. Deliver a high-quality product to your customers and give them the best service you possibly can. What does your company do better than your competition? Marketing, national advertising; wider selection of products and services to our customers. Give me a favorite quote or motto you live by “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” (Automaker Henry Ford). Favorite things to do outside of formalwear Boating, golf, be with my family, and spoil my grandchildren. Mentor or source of greatest support For 36 years Joe Doyle (former CEO of After Hours) has been my mentor. We are great friends and former business partners. Thoughts or ending remarks to get to know and remember you by Retirement is great, but I will miss seeing all of you and miss being a part of such a wonderful industry. Looking back over your career choices, would you have chosen different if the ability to rewind were available? Being able to keep the original owners of After Hours together after our sale to the May Company. My two long-term partners left at that time. We had always talked about taking After Hours National as a team and we weren’t able to as a result of them leaving the company. What do you feel is your greatest formalwear achievement? Helping to grow what was a small 8-10 store company in 1971 to 507 stores coast to coast. What were After Hours greatest assets People within the organization, National presence. As the commander of a company of that size, you have more of an insight into helping know what small operators can do to remain competitive. What is your advice?         • Continue to update and stay current with styles consumers want.         • Build relationships within the Bridal community to source leads and drive business into your stores.         • Build relationships within the Industry. Stay part of the IFA to nurture those relationships. Learn more                from others; discover opportunities that will help grow your business.         • Success is all about staying the course… Like every year, the past is filled with both challenges and                    opportunities. So will future years…

Retailer of the Year is an award presented to a formal wear retailer and its owner for exhibiting an outstanding example of professionalism in the formalwear industry. Al’s Formal Wear headquartered in Houston Texas is this year’s distinct example of industry excellence. Read on and get to know one of your peers and the way they choose to conduct the business we all love. Al's Formal Wear currently has over 90 stores located in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Al's also has a wholesale division, Ascot Formal Wear, which supplies formalwear stores across the United States with tuxedos. Rounding out Al's services to consumers is Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN), which specializes in restoring clothing and other fabric items damaged by fires and floods. Of all the questions from media, students and customers alike, the most common question asked is, "Is there a real Al behind Al's Formal Wear?” The answer is yes! His name is Alan Gaylor and it was his vision and hard work that made Al's Formal Wear the tuxedo empire it is today. From humble beginnings and a dream to provide his family with a good future, Alan Gaylor and his wife Lillian started a tuxedo shop at 712 McKinney in downtown Houston in the 1950s. The shop had 1,000 square feet of space and a rent base of $200. Al recalls at that time, a gentleman could be formally outfitted in a tuxedo for a total cost of only $5.95. As years went by, the business continued to grow under the Gaylors’ hard work and direction. They successfully outfitted customers through many decades and fashion trends in the 50s, 60s, through the 90s and now the 2000s. Many of Al's Formal Wear customers have rented their prom and wedding tuxedos, as well as their tuxedos for their children and grandchildren's weddings "Our business from day one was built on providing excellent customer service and quality merchandise at affordable prices, and we continue to build our business on this premise today," states Mr. Gaylor. The business is headquartered in Houston, Texas. They employ over 500 employees and have proudly been serving customers for over 55 years. Al’s is a family-owned and operated business. The company also has a unique policy allowing employees' family members to work for the company, so you'll find many brothers and sisters, cousins, husbands and wives, and employees' parents working at Al's Formal Wear. Mr. Gaylor, calls them "Al's family" and he means it in every sense literally. Mr. Gaylor states, “We understand that our employees are the "heart of our company". We strive to find the right person for each job and look for long-term employees, not short-term, as we want to provide exceptional service to each customer, and we feel that it begins with our employees.” The company is a "team" company so everyone contributes to its successes. From Vice Presidents and sales consultants to drivers and cleaning plant employees - it takes everyone's efforts to accomplish their goals. They also feel that for a special event such as wedding, the customers want to know that their needs will be met in a caring manner, and knowing that Al’s is a family-owned and operated business, conveys this to them. Al's Formal Wear prides it self in carrying quality merchandise. They feature over 70 styles of tuxedos and hundreds of accessories from designers such as Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis and Marc Ecko to their very own line, Doni Barassi. A fun fact about this tuxedo line is that it is named after Mr. Gaylor's first grandchild, Doni. He was in the midst of developing the line when she was born, so he knew instantly what the name should be. This August, the line will turn 19, just like Doni! When marketing to customers, they keep to the premise - exceptional customer service and quality merchandise at affordable prices. Al’s also listens to their customers. This has lead to carrying other products such as invitations and wedding party gifts. The customers wanted one-stop shopping and Al’s Formal Wear gave it to them. In 1995 Alan Gaylor’s philosophies and dedication to his business earned him the industries Black Tie award of excellence. After over 50 years of building a tuxedo empire for his family, Mr. Gaylor turned over the presidency to his son Stuart in 2001. Since he took the reins, the company has continued to flourish. Al's is currently building more stores in new markets and has plans for many more in the near future. Congratulations to the Gaylor “family” all integral parts in achieving the level of formal wear professionalism which makes up the criteria of Retailer of the Year! Al's Formal Wear 7807 Main Street Houston, Texas 77030 1-877-730-4TUX www.alsformalwear.com Ascot Formal Wear Corporate Headquarters Wholesale Division 7807 Main Street Houston, Texas 77030 1-800-6-TUXEDO www.ascotformalwear.com CRDN Greater Houston South and Surrounding Counties 11220 Main St. Houston,TX 77025 713-796-7296 www.crdn.com

Customer Service Representative of the Year will be presented to Peter Aleman of Formalwear International. Congratulations to Peter, customer service is what our industry is built on! This award recognizes individuals on the manufacturer side of the industry for going above and beyond for their company handling orders for the customer. In this “instant gratification nation” we live in delivering goods ordered in a timely fashion presents many situations difficult to handle. Yet, the trend for “need” ordering makes customer service reps lives beyond tough. Offshore production of this decade eliminates the former ability to quickly produce items not in stock. Stock positions set by advance orders many times can not begin to cover last minute demand and needs of those who do not order until they need the product. All these situations make up the everyday life of manufacturers customer service reps. How many times have you taken out your frustrations on the person on the other end of the phone when you could not get what you needed? Mr. Aleman started with FWI almost 10 years ago and was quickly promoted to customer service manager. He thrives on the busy season working to take, complete, and fill in orders for hundreds of customers. Peter enjoys juggling new and existing orders and feels great customer service is becoming a lost art. Even the interoffice demands fail to deter him from going above and beyond in his power to satisfy customer needs in a timely fashion. In his tenure he has fielded some odd requests, but very few he was unable to offer an answer to. A gentleman even called one time looking for kilts and oddly enough they really could do it. His motto of service is “The sea of change can pull customers in many directions. It is our responsibility to light the way and take care of them before the competition does!” Thank you, Peter Aleman for working to make our lives easier. It did not go unnoticed! When a company approaches our industry by trying to step left when others step right, they will get noticed. Formal Wear International will receive the honor at EXPO26 as 2007 Manufacturer of the Year. They have prospered by being a trend setter providing cutting edge fashion and creating looks for others to chase. President Maurice Silva would like to see the industry return to elegance and has a new line he feels will take us there. Formal Wear International’s parent company has been in business for 41 years in Columbia, South America. They are a family owned organization with over 40 retail stores in Columbia. Formal Wear International was founded by Esperanza Campo and was incorporated in 1989. They are based in south Florida and do all of their manufacturing in the company-owned facility in Columbia. The company is headed up by Maurice Silva and he depends greatly on his team to help. They have 6 salesmen dedicated to formalwear and 2 others for the custom uniform division. Dominic Yacovella is the company’s Director of Sales and he takes care of the sales team as well as traveling the country as additional support. Including all the staff in Columbia, the company employs over 2500. Mr. Silva states “We are all dedicated to making it better, different, special for our customers. I am proud to say we are a certified minority owned US Company and we are all about our TEAM! And that is what makes us succeed!” Formal Wear International is known for their high fashion, but they produce many of the commodities we use everyday. They offer a complete line of fill in coats and pants along with an extensive uniform line. Mr. Silva is very involved in the day to day activities of launching the new line. The company expects to debut the line around the middle of August. They are well known for their eye catching photography and this year will be no different. Many of the scenes are set in Europe. FWI has also developed luxurious fabrics as options to the former coarser wools. This fabric has been well received in the market and offers a quality choice for those who demand better rentable goods. The build up continues and we look forward to seeing what the “Return to Elegance” brings us….. Contact Formal Wear International 6604 NW 82nd Avenue Miami, FL 33166 PH 800-428-6849 Email: paleman@jeanyvesfwi.com Peter Aleman, customer service           msilva@jeanyvesfwi.com Maurice Silva, president

Promote Your Company’s Product or Service with Formal Times

There are only 5 weeks left until EXPO26 in Nashville! Is there a new product or service you’d like to promote before the show? Advertising options are available through the Formal Times Newsletter! Click Here or contact Formal Times for more information.

All this talk of award winners gets us excited about seeing old friends and making new ones! Where else can you learn so much about the industry, see what’s new and have so much fun? EXPO26 at Nashville's Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Come and be a part of the largest collection of formalwear suppliers and specialists anywhere! Registration is now open! Visit the EXPO26 page for more information. We hope to see you there!

Three Regional Shows to Take Place this Fall

For those willing to miss all the fun at EXPO26, the IFA is again taking the show on the road with three regional shows this fall. Whether you use them as a first look at what’s new for Spring 08 or second look to place orders, take the time to stay informed and attend. GLITS (Great Lakes Independent Tuxedo Specialists) Sunday, August 19 and Monday, August 20 Embassy Suites Chicago--Lombard Click Here for registration information West Coast Formalwear Collective Sunday, September 23 and Monday, September 24 Radisson Suites--Buena Park (formerly Embassy Suites) Click Here for registration information East Coast Formalwear Collective Sunday, September 30 and Monday, October 1 Embassy Suites Secaucus--Meadowlands Click Here for registration information

Quotables

Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will. Jawaharal Nehru To live is like to love--all reason is against it, and all healthy instinct for it. Samuel Butler