Robert DiRinaldo receives SSIA's 100th
Anniversary Craftsmanship Award at the group's
100th Annual Convention in Philadelphia. |
Robert DiRinaldo of
DiRinaldo’s Shoe Service in Trafford, Pa. has
been honored by his peers and awarded the 100th
Anniversary Award by the Shoe Service Institute
of America as part of its 100th anniversary
celebration this year. Only winners of SSIA’s
prestigious Grand Silver Cup recognizing
excellence in shoe repair were allowed to
participate.
Since 1938, SSIA
has been recognizing excellence in shoe repair
craftsmanship and retailing with its Silver Cup
Awards program. The most coveted award in the
contest is the Grand Silver |
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Cup –
awarded to the craftsman whose work is judged
best in the contest each year. Once a craftsman
has won the Grand Silver Cup, he is judged as
having achieved the top level of excellence and
does not enter the again.
DiRinaldo received the Grand Silver Cup in 1987
and won numerous other awards along the way
including regional cups and ribbons, and awards
for excellence in orthopedic shoe repair.
Following his Grand Silver Cup win, he judged
the contest for 15 years and his name became
synonymous with excellence in shoe repair
craftsmanship.
As part of its 100th anniversary celebration,
SSIA invited all of its past Grand Silver Cup
winners to compete once more in a “best of the
best” competition. DiRinaldo’s work was judged
the best by a panel of shoe repair experts.
DiRinaldo was chosen for recognition by his
peers on the basis of his workmanship. To enter
the contest, he submitted a pair of men’s shoes
and a pair of ladies’ shoes. One shoe from each
pair was repaired with a new sole and heel. The
repaired shoes were then refinished to look like
new.
“One of the principal benefits of shoe repair is
that consumers can have their shoes repaired to
look like new, but for a fraction of the cost of
new shoes,” says SSIA President John McLoughlin.
“The purpose of the Silver Cup Contest is to
recognize craftsmen such as Robert DiRinaldo who
maximize that benefit and set the standards for
our industry.”
McLoughlin continued to say that the benefits
shoe repair offers go well beyond the cost
savings. There is the environmental benefit of
the millions of pairs of shoes that do not end
up in land fills each year. There are the
physical benefits that a well maintained, high
quality pair of shoes brings. Finally, there are
the medical benefits of shoe repair offered by
shops that specialize in orthopedic work.
“All of these benefits start with superior
craftsmanship,” he says. “That is why craftsmen
such as Robert DiRinaldo are so important.”
Judging for the contest took place in April at
the Houston, Texas headquarters of Zapato Shoe
Recrafters – a facility noted for excellence in
shoe recrafting. Master craftsmen with decades
of shoe repair experience served as judges. The
judges compared the repaired shoes to their
unrepaired mates and evaluated the entries based
on how well DiRinaldo had restored them to their
original, factory condition.
DiRinaldo received his award from former SSIA
President Kevin Donahue at the group’s 100th
anniversary celebration in July.
The Silver Cup Contest, an international
competition dedicated to excellence in shoe
repairing, is sponsored by the Shoe Service
Institute of America.
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