Owner
David Whitehurst
2548 Rocky Ridge Road
Birmingham, AL 35243
205.824.7737
Email DavidGeneral Manager
Rick Pevey
Customer Service
Sheila Mims
205.824.7737
Route Manager
205.824.7737
David and Sherry Whitehurst, Owners
After David and Sherry invested 30 years in the corporate world and (Sherry) being a full-time Mom raising three sons, David decided to start a business of their own…and Sherry thought David was out of his mind. But with his background as a CPA and years of business operating experience including as chief financial officer and also as president of different financial institutions, David decided to bail out of the corporate world and pursue his own business.
In November 2002, David and Sherry opened their first Champion Cleaners dry cleaning plant on Rocky Ridge Road in Vestavia Hills. And in July 2006, they opened their second plant on Highway 280 at Highway 119. Both plants are full service dry cleaning operations which means customers clothes are not shipped away to central plants as many dry cleaning competitors do, sometimes to distant cities. While building separate dry cleaning plants costs more than building a single, central plant with drop store retail locations, David and Sherry concluded early that service to their customers would be better, including fewer lost garments and better response to special customer needs, with separate, local dry cleaning plants.
Today, David focuses on customer service, advertising and the long-term direction of the business. Sherry handles most of the back-office aspects of the business as Office Manager. Their third son, Matt, has joined the business and is learning all aspects of the dry cleaning business.
Ric Pevey, General Manager, CPD, CED, CPW, CGCP
Ric was the first person David hired when starting Champion Cleaners. With previous dry cleaning management experience, an outgoing personality and a high energy level, Ric proved to be the perfect General Manager to begin the business.
Ric has about all of the professional credentials available in the dry cleaning industry. He is a Certified Professional Drycleaner (CPD), a Certified Environmental Drycleaner (CED) and a Certified Professional Wetcleaner (CPW). All of these designations result in Ric being named a Certified Garment Care Professional (CGCP), one of fewer than 100 such individuals in the United States with this designation.
Ric and his wife Carolyn live in Calera with their two children, Cole and Mabrylane.
Terry Hall, CPD, CED, CPW, CGCP, Production Manager – Rocky Ridge
Terry joined Champion Cleaners in 2003 as a Customer Service Representative. He quickly showed interest in the technical aspects of dry cleaning. With practical, hands-on experience supplemented by industry training courses, Terry attained the ultimate in dry cleaning credentials, the Certified Garment Care Professional (CGCP) after completing the professional designations of Certified Professional Drycleaner (CPD), Certified Environmental Drycleaner (CED) and Certified Professional Wetcleaner (CPW). Terry is one of fewer than 100 such individuals with the CGCP designation in the United States.
Terry serves as Production Manager at Rocky Ridge and lives in Calera.
Sheila Mims, Customer Service Manager, Rocky Ridge
Sheila was the second person hired at Champion Cleaners and serves as Customer Service Manager at Rocky Ridge. Sheila has many years of dry cleaning experience, including service as plant manager and customer service manager for other dry cleaners. Already known to many of our customers even before we opened for business, Sheila knows most of our customers on a first name basis.
Sheila, her husband Billy (see below) and daughter Amy, live in Alabaster.
Billy Mims, Route Manager
Billy joined Champion Cleaners in 2003, initially working part time as a Customer Service Representative while he also worked full time in sales for another company. When Champion Cleaners had an opening for a Route Manager, it was a natural fit. Billy has responsibility for maintaining our high standard of service for our pickup and delivery customers and for growing our list of about 1,000 customers we visit twice a week for home and office pickup and delivery service.
Billy is married to Sheila Mims, our Customer Service Manager, and live with their daughter, Amy, in Alabaster.
Craig Ledwon, CPD, CED, Plant Manager – Greystone
Craig joined Champion Cleaners in 2006 and was the first person hired for the Greystone plant opened in July 2006. Craig had several years experience at another dry cleaning plant in Birmingham before joining Champion. He has earned the designations of Certified Professional Drycleaner and Certified Professional Wetcleaner.
Craig and his wife live in Birmingham.
