History
About Our Founder, Larry Calufetti
In 2016 we lost the man behind the vision of Sunshine Cleaning Systems, a devoted husband, father and community leader. His legacy remains, however, within each team member of Sunshine. We continue to preserve the values, integrity and focus on service he embedded into the fabric of the company.
Prior to creating Sunshine, Larry was devoted to baseball. A member of the United States Baseball Team in the 1971 Pan American Games, he received one of the highest honors in making the All Pan American Team that year. A 1973 graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, he served as both a player and coach in the New York Mets Baseball Organization. He also was head baseball coach at Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 1977 until 1984.
His career in the building services industry was filled with numerous achievements, including:
- Earning the Certified Building Service Executive (CBSE) designation from the Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI), 1987
- Being elected to the board of directors of the International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA), 1991
- Serving as President-elect of IWCA, 1995
- Serving as member of the prestigious Executive Association of Fort Lauderdale and the TEC Group
- Serving as Chairman of the Broward County Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Active in all phases of the business as well as in communities served by Sunshine, Larry was an admired and respected industry leader whose vast knowledge continues to propel the company in our continued growth and unyielding service to our customers.
Larry built the company by always putting the customer first and instilling these personal attributes in all of his employees: Be Honest, Be Nice, Be a Team Player, Be a Good Communicator, and Be Innovative.
Throughout the Years
1976
Larry Calufetti began cleaning windows while also running a car valet lot business and serving as Head Baseball Coach at Broward College.
1977
Larry Calufetti (left) shakes hands with namesake and owner of Louie’s Diner in Lauderdale-by- the-Sea, Florida. Louie was one of Sunshine’s first window cleaning customers. Every morning, Larry and his window crew would have a breakfast meeting at Louie’s before heading out to start their daily cleaning route.
1981
Sunshine Cleaning Systems, LLC. officially became an incorporated business.
1982
Larry Calufetti in his office at Sunshine’s headquarters in Oakland Park, Florida. The company remains in the same location today.
1983
Sunshine was awarded its first janitorial job doing the offices and restrooms after the customer noticed this banner on a downtown Fort Lauderdale building.
1980’s
Sunshine began expanding its janitorial services and was awarded several contracts at banks and country clubs throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. For example, the company handled pressure cleaning for all SunBank locations from Palm Beach to Miami. At the time, SunBank was one of Florida’s largest banks.
1986
Sunshine successfully won the janitorial services contract at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. This 35-year relationship remains in place today.
1990’s
Sunshine expands to Central Florida, with offices in Orlando and Tampa. Accounts included: City of Orlando, Orlando Citrus Bowl, Orlando Convention Center, Disney World Resorts, and Disney World of Sports.
1994
Sunshine was awarded the contract from FDOT Florida’s Turnpike to pressure clean toll booths throughout the state.
1997
Sunshine was awarded the window cleaning contract at the Tampa International Airport.
2000’s
As Sunshine continues to grow and expand, many reputable clients and large accounts trust Sunshine to provide a range of services. Some of these include Publix Super Markets, Arlington National Cemetery, the Marlins Stadium, and more!
2009
Sunshine gained Palm Beach International Airport as a client.
2010
2014
Sunshine received the CIMS Certification with honors for delivering consistent, quality service.
2016
Founder Larry Calufetti passes away on February 1, 2016 at the age of 65 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In tribute to him, Sunshine established the “Moose Award,” a company-wide recognition program to employees that exemplify “Larry’s Dream Team Principals” to be: Honest, Nice, A Team Player, A Great Communicator, and Innovative.
2018
Sunshine expanded its janitorial services to many different city municipalities. We first started doing municipality work for the city of West Palm in 1997, a contract that we still have today.
2020
Sunshine team members rise to the challenge of handling a worldwide pandemic by creating more comprehensive disinfecting procedures, providing advanced training for staff and earning high-level industry certifications for the proper handling of virus-prevention cleaning techniques.
2021
Sunshine celebrates its 45th Anniversary. The company achieved GBAC STAR ™ Accreditation for its corporate headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.
