Master Franchise Owner, Jane Tapken, was recently honored at the 2016 Jani-King Annual Convention for 40 years of groundbreaking service. Regional Director’s and Master Franchise Owners from all of the world gathered in Dallas, TX for the 3-day convention; concluding with an extravagant awards banquet. At the height of the evening, Ms. Tapken was called to the stage by Jani-King International President, Jerry Crawford, and recognized for her four decades of commitment to Jani-King.
Ms. Tapken was presented with a breathtaking ring and a beautiful, custom designed etched-glass award. The etchings on this massively impressive steel and glass award signified Ms. Tapken’s unwavering commitment and successful paths she forged for so many others.
Ms. Tapken, along with her late husband Mr. Rock Tapken, and their son Steve Tapken, first heard about Jani-King from the company’s Founder and CEO. After carefully considering the vision for the company, they decided to move to Dallas, TX to begin their journey. At the time, Jani-King was a smaller start-up company with only a few franchisees, but big success was on the horizon. Ms. Tapken started out as the Secretary, Receptionist, Telemarketer, and many times the Janitor for the Dallas region. With only six franchise owners, there were many nights and weekends that her and Mr. Tapken cleaned accounts.
“In the beginning it was a 24/7 kind of job,” said Ms. Tapken. “The challenges of the early days often seemed insurmountable but we never gave up, we pressed on. When you watch the sun come up every morning because you were cleaning a building the night before, you think to yourself that there’s no way you can do it again. There were moments when we felt that the only option was to give the keys back to the client and tell them we couldn’t service their account any more. However, we stayed strong and remained confident in the Jani-King program; believing it would all work out. In fact, our toughest accounts became our best accounts and the ones we were the proudest to service.”
“Our franchise owners are wonderful business people who have also built very successful businesses in all four of our regions. As I reflect on the early days, we never dreamed we would now have partnerships with some of the most prestigious clients in the DFW metroplex,” said Ms. Tapken. “Our franchise owners proudly and efficiently service many prominent facilities, including AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys), Lone Star Park, Texas Motor Speedway, Globe Life Park (home of the Texas Rangers), the Dallas Stars, and numerous hospitals and office complexes. Our company is like a giant tapestry where each one of us; from the regional office team to the franchise owners and their employees, to our clients, are all threads in this tapestry. Each thread is a vital part of our success and when we weave it all together, we have a beautiful tapestry called Jani-King.” We are very optimistic about the next decade and the new successes we can achieve. Thank you to everyone for a fabulous forty!”
