Jim Antonini says he is in the twilight of a 39 year career at Atiyeh Brothers. He started in 1974 working in the Portland Cleaning Plant before becoming the General Manager at the Eugene Cleaning Plant in 1984. Jim joined Southtowne Rotary in May of 1985 and served as president in 1994-95. He has been married to Karen for 43 years. They have three sons, three grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
Highlights:
- Atiyeh Brothers has been a family run business since 1900 selling & cleaning textiles like oriental rugs.
- For Jim, working with oriental rugs specifically and studying the science, art, and culture behind the products is one of the best aspects of his job.
- Atiyeh Brothers is known for value, old world tradition, quality, honesty, and service.
- Atiyeh Brothers was one of the founding companies of Portland and Oregon.
- Atiyeh’s vision is to support and reward their employees, which has led to Jim’s 39 year career. He feels very blessed to have had the opportunity to develop Eugene’s office and it enabled him to establish his family and personal legacy here.
- Jim is most closely involved with the cleaning business.
- Atiyeh became involved with wall to wall carpeting when it first came in to popularity in the 50s.
- Atiyeh is very involved in the community. Victor Atiyeh was governor of Portland in the late 70s and early 80s.
- Jim hopes to be involved in the “rug man” business for a few more years and then hopes to get even more involved in Rotary.
- Jim encourages us to maintain our carpets and rugs in order to ensure quality and length of life for a better return on investment.
- The third and fourth generation of the Atiyeh family is still involved in the company.