ROCKINGHAM – There is a new way to spell “cleaning” in Richmond County, and it’s in the form “Covington’s Kleening Service.” The new local business, located at 225 South Hancock Street in Rockingham, was welcomed as a new Chamber of Commerce member during a ribbon cutting ceremony held on-site on Wednesday afternoon.
Emily Tucker, the president of the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce, opened the ceremony with greetings and a pleasurable welcome and encouragement to the owners of the new business.
“Our main purpose is to help you grow your business and we look forward to helping you do so,” Tucker stated.
Ken Hartley, plant manager at Therafirm and the vice chairmen of the Chamber, echoed the encouraging remarks.
“It is a great day to be at 225 South Hancock Street,” Hartley said. “We are proud of you, your vision, your dream, and the entrepreneurship that you have shown to create a service to fulfill a need that we have here in the county.”
Covington’s Kleening Service is the brainchild of Keisha Covington, 31, with the support of her husband Ronnie Covington, both natives of Rockingham.
The new startup specializes in commercial and residential cleaning and takes pride in helping a fellow small business, J-Reese Products, which supplies the products that will be used in all services provided.
The idea of starting a cleaning service came from a passion of doing something she was good at.
“It’s something I have been doing for years, that I’ve done for free, so I figured why not get paid for it.,” Covington said with a laugh. “It’s something I really enjoy doing. The stuff that people don’t want to clean themselves, I will, with no problem.”
John Hutchinson, Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of Rockingham, closed out the ceremony with personal words of support.
“On behalf of the mayor and the city council, we are really excited to have you here,” Hitchinson said. “We are excited to have you in Rockingham and anything that the city can do to help you, we invite you to call us.
“On a personal level, I have known some of these Covington’s for most of my life and I’ve always known them to be entrepreneurs and always been proud of what they have accomplished,” Hutchinson continued. “Congratulations on the new business, and I wish you many, many years of success.”
Covington is excited about getting started and providing a service that isn’t really present, but necessary, to the residents and businesses of Richmond County.
The ceremony concluded with the cutting of a ribbon by the new business owners and the sharing of light refreshments as attendees continued to network.
The Chamber of Commerce, which operates under the tagline “Connect, Promote and Grow”, hopes that the new business will utilize all of the networking opportunities and services. It also hopes Covington’s Kleenng Service will include the small business center located on the campus of Richmond Community College, provided by the Chamber, in the promotion and growth of their new business.
Covington’s Kleening Service is open Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, and on Saturday by appointment. They are currently accepting residential and commercial contracts. For further inquiries contact Keisha Covington at (910) 434-3917.
