Sweeping Excellence Awards

Bridget and Warren Burge and their company, Clean Sweep, Inc., won the 2019 WorldSweeper.com/World Sweeping Association's Award of Excellence in Power Sweeping, the United States power sweeping industry's highest honor.

The following is a brief video of the presentation ceremony, which was held at the conclusion of the Contractors Roundtable at the 2019 National Pavement Exposition. The presenter was Ranger Kidwell-Ross, Editor of WorldSweeper.com and Director of the World Sweeping Association. Below the YouTube link is the wording of the presentation.

In 1990 a couple living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, purchased a new 347-I parking lot sweeper from Schwarze Industries' Tommy Allen. Suddenly, they were in business. After experiencing steady growth as a sole proprietor company, in 1997 they recognized the need to incorporate and did so as a woman-owned company, Clean Sweep, Inc.

The firm has since grown to where today the company owns and operates a fleet of 30 vehicles, 25 of which are sweepers. They are a major force in Louisiana sweeping and pavement maintenance, where they sweep warehouses, construction sites, city streets and, yes, still continue to sweep parking lots. In addition, they have become a 'one call does it' company for virtually any type of pavement and exterior maintenance, including infrared asphalt repair.

There are no required national standards for power sweeping. However, Clean Sweep adheres to the top ethical values promoted by the sweeping industry. The firm is a Founding Member of the World Sweeping Association as well as a founding adopter of WSA's industry-leading Ethics in Power Sweeping Initiative. The company is also the first – and still the only – Louisiana contractor to become NAPSA-Certified.

The owners have contributed mentoring to others as well as have contributed information about best practices to follow as a sweeping organization. This has included a presentation at the National Pavement Exposition about the value of providing more services than sweeping, a fascinating overview of how sweeping is conducted in Jamaica, where they maintain a home away from home and have consulted with the Jamaican government on sweeping best practices.

In addition to serving on the Advisory Board of the World Sweeping Association they also were one of the presenters at WSA's 2017 Sweeper Roundup. Finally, they were also the instigators, hosts and guides for my trip to Mardi Gras some years back that resulted in me receiving a rare invitation to be onsite when the clock struck midnight on Fat Tuesday. This resulted in a fascinating article entitled "Sweeping Up After Mardi Gras."

Their 29 years of operating a sweeping and maintenance company have not been without difficulty. In August of 2016 their office, as well as virtually their entire market area, underwent a catastrophic, 1,000-year flood – imagine, if you can, getting 30 inches of rain overnight. That resulted in their office being completely flooded as well as in the loss seven of the company's sweepers. Throughout many months of having to cope with this catastrophe to not only themselves but to the majority of their customers, they emerged on the other side, stronger and more professional than ever.

Perhaps the strongest indicator of professionalism and class of these individuals, though, is the fact that the winners of this year's Award of Excellence were divorced in 2014 and yet have continued together as business partners and friends to keep growing their company.

At this time it is my great honor to present the WorldSweeper.com/World Sweeping Association's 2019 Award of Excellence in Power Sweeping, the United States power sweeping industry's highest honor, to Bridget and Warren Burge and their company, Baton Rouge's Clean Sweep, Inc.

For more information about Clean Sweep Inc., we invite you to visit the company's website, which is located at www.cleansweeponline.com. The company's phone number is 423-877-9192 and you may contact them via email sent to info@cleansweepinc.com.

If you have questions or comments about this article, please, let us know and we can add it in as an addendum to this article.