ORLANDO, FLA.—Clean the World Foundation, the largest global distributor of recycled hotel soaps and bottled amenities, has elected two executives and a medical professional to its Board of Directors. Mark Rucker, vice president of Lodging for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and Bob Scaglione, chief marketing officer at Sharp Electronics Corp., in Mahwah, N.J., were chosen to join the Clean the World Foundation Board of Directors at a June 13 meeting. Dr. Paul J. Skomsky, an Orlando cosmetic dentist, was chosen at a meeting July 7. The appointments are effective immediately.
Rucker, Scaglione and Dr. Skomsky join the organization’s two co-founders—executive director Shawn Seipler and managing director Paul Till—on the Clean the World Foundation Board of Directors.
Orlando, Fla.-based Clean the World Foundation has a mission to provide soap where needed to help improve hygiene and sanitation conditions, to lessen the impact of disease, and to promote better hygiene and living conditions worldwide. Beneficiaries of Clean the World’s global hygiene revolution include children and families suffering from high death rates due to the top two killers of children worldwide—acute respiratory infection (pneumonia) and diarrheal diseases (cholera).
Rucker Brings Wealth of Experience
Rucker has filled more than 13 positions in more than 25 years of leadership with The Walt Disney Company—from his start in 1985 as a Walt Disney World Resorts industrial engineer in both parks and resorts, through stints as general manager of water parks, EPCOT park operations, director of rooms and into his present role as vice president of lodging for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Rucker has kept a sharp eye on developing trends, guest service and hospitality. His involvement with Clean the World is a natural extension of his daily work with Disney, but it’s also something close to his heart.
With his support, Walt Disney World Resort hotels were added as pioneer partners in the Clean the World hospitality partnership program in 2009. Since that time the resort hotels have contributed an estimated 32.5 tons of soaps and bottled amenities from 19 resort properties in Central Florida and Anaheim. Clean the World has recently added Disneyland Resorts in California to its partner portfolio, again with the encouragement of Rucker and the motivated team of Disney hospitality leaders and professionals.
“I believe in the mission of the Clean the World Foundation and realize the impact we are already having on the lives of children who are in desperate need of hygiene products,” Rucker says. “The Walt Disney World Resort hotels alone provide tremendous amounts of soaps and bottled amenities that are being recycled into lifesaving items for children and families in the United States and all around the world.”
Scaglione Leads Sharp Brand Communications
Scaglione has been with Sharp Electronics Corp. for 22 years and is responsible for brand communications and new business development. A leader in the consumer electronics marketing industry, Scaglione served as senior vice president and group manager for Sharp Electronics Marketing Co. of America. He’s led the marketing and product development of Sharp’s lineup of consumer audio and video products, as well as spearheading sales and marketing for the company’s digital products division. As a longtime supporter and friend of Clean the World, Scaglione’s personal and professional commitment to sustainability is echoed by the efforts of the organization in areas beyond the hospitality industry.
“Clean the World has enjoyed phenomenal growth and success in the global hospitality industry, but other industries, such as consumer electronics, can play a part as well,” Scaglione says. “Sustainability and social responsibility are defining issues for many corporations in a variety of industries, and Clean the World provides a successful, practical platform for corporations to learn and share best practices. When you consider how many lives may be saved simply by putting soap in the hands of people who need them most, it’s easy to see how people from all walks of life and business can come together to help Clean the World.”
Dr. Skomsky has been a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry since 1990 and has been a contributing dental provider to charitable and philanthropic foundations, such as Give Kids A Smile and Give Back A Smile for victims of domestic abuse. A frequent media guest for his dental expertise, Dr. Skomsky is also an accomplished artist who has illustrated dental texts and whose original work, prints, and lithographs have been acclaimed and sold worldwide.
“Clean the World’s global commitment to saving the lives of children is so genuine, so simple, I couldn’t possibly say no to this opportunity,” Dr. Skomsky says. “The organization is helping to meet the basic hygiene needs of people in countries all around the globe, and as a member of the board of directors, I’ll make sure we keep to that mission and never waver in our support to children everywhere.”
Much Progress in Little Time
Clean the World offers sustainable, socially responsible, and charitable programs and services to the international hospitality community. Since its founding in 2009, Clean the World has partnered with more than 1,100 hotel properties in North America to provide soaps and bottled amenities to people in need. Through the efforts of the Clean the World Foundation, the organization has distributed more than 8.5 million bars of soap to children and families in the United States and more than 40 countries worldwide. Clean the World has also fulfilled a valuable environmental mission by diverting an estimated 1.2 million pounds (600 tons) of hotel waste from polluting landfills worldwide.
“We’re incredibly pleased and excited to add these special and talented men to the Clean the World Foundation Board of Directors,” Seipler says. “Each has his own immense talent that will serve us well as we grow wisely and effectively to save lives with soap.”
Go to Clean the World.
