Nick Gallo has always been a Florida Gators fan.

But after he attended International Carwash Association’s Car Wash Executive Management Institute in South Bend, Ind., he’s well on his way to becoming a lifelong Notre Dame fan.

“It was truly a special week,” the Mister Clean Car Wash franchisee said. “Notre Dame made us feel unbelievably welcome. Now I feel like a Notre Dame fan for life.”

Car wash professionals from across the country gathered to take part in the first Car Wash Executive Management Institute, where they were immersed in the University of Notre Dame campus for five days.

Tony DeBarros of Belise Auto Group was drawn to the prestige of Notre Dame. “It was the learning experience of coming to a prestigious University and the ability to connect and network,” he said. “First it was more about education. But you immediately felt that relationship building not just the car wash industry people, but the administrators, the professors, everyone was part of this big thing that we’re trying to do.”

According to ICA Chief Content Officer Claire Moore, the program was developed as a way to provide an elevated education experience for car wash leaders. “Much of the car wash business is learned through on-the job experience” she said. “But this program allowed us to complement that real-world experience with a world-class educational experience. It prompted our participants to think about their business through a different lens and bring real world strategies back to their companies immediately. It also allowed us to build enduring and meaningful connections amongst the next group of car wash industry leaders. The group really came together and learned from each other, creating a new network between them.”

The 31-person cohort spent the week working through everything from Conflict, Collaboration and High-Performance Teams to Values Based Leadership to Financial Statement Analysis and Forecasting.

“The leadership taught, the financial and strategic planning, it’s something I can go back and apply to my business tomorrow,” said Tim Jones, Owner of Champion Carwash. “A lot of people don’t think about it in their daily operations. I’ll be back tomorrow applying what I’ve learned to my business and it’s going to be really, really positive for us.”

For Shayla Douglas, General Manager at Wash ’N Go Depot, the event was the perfect opportunity to expand her learning to all aspects of the business at a high level. “I wanted to help better my company and better myself, especially on the people side of the business,” she said. “We get to touch on all aspects. I might not do the finance, but eventually I might. It was an amazing opportunity and I’m very grateful.”

Growth was a common theme throughout the experience for attendees. “I think it’s important that the leaders in our industry not get complacent,” said Matt Stagg, Chief Financial Officer at Splash Carwash in Arkansas. “There’s a lot of book knowledge we got this week and a lot of good nuggets from the professors but there’s also all the networking we got to do and the people I got to meet from all over the country. It was amazing to pick their brains a bit and see how everyone is attacking the same problems in a different way.”

For San Antonio native Nick Lopez, this event was exactly what he needed to refuel and expand his thinking about his business. “It’s been a long time since I have been just inspired to passion,” said the Bubble Bath Carwash Owner and President. “The men and women who attended this program are not only captains of industry, but they were incredibly friendly and welcoming and interested in growing this business and growing a relationship with the people who are in it.”