Small Business Spotlight Awards Winners

Celebrating the achievements of small business
HomeStreet Bank and KOMO 1000 News are thrilled to announce the six winning businesses for the third annual Small Business Spotlight Awards.  Each winning business demonstrated that it is both a great place to work and has significant community involvement.

• Geo Resources, LLC (Fife) – GeoResources, LLC is a geotechnical engineering company serving the Puget Sound region since 1995.  GeoResources owners, Brad and Gretchen Biggerstaff, work diligently to ensure that the company’s staff is well cared for and treated with respect.  This includes generous benefits, opportunities for professional development and flexible work schedules.  Each year, Brad Biggerstaff participates on the Team Seattle car racing team that raises funds to benefit Children’s Hospital.
  
  
• Gravity Payments (Seattle) – Gravity Payments provides full spectrum payment processing solutions, including to small- and medium-sized merchants throughout the U.S.  The company provides its employees with unique benefits including 401(k) payments regardless of the level of employee contribution, regular deliveries of fresh produce, and free bus passes.  Since its inception in 2004, Gravity Payments has contributed two percent of revenue to nonprofit organizations throughout the Puget Sound region.
  
  
• GreenWorks Realty (Seattle) – GreenWorks Realty was founded in 2002 with the vision of creating a full-service real estate agency to promote greener lifestyles and sustainable communities.  Staff and agents for Greenworks actively support nonprofit environmental organizations through volunteerism, board memberships, article presentations, educational forums and public speaking.  Though agents are considered independent contractors, GreenWorks has created a profit sharing reward system for both its staff and agents.
  
  
• Kalani Packaging, Inc. (Everett) – Kalani Packaging’s President and co-founder, Lono Dickson, is a Native Hawaiian who brings much of the culture of the islands into the company.  A national distributor of industrial and retail packaging, Kalani Packaging is a full service packing company from design to the finished product.  Kalani Packing offers its employees full benefits and a matching 401(k).  The company has contributed packing materials for relief shipments to countries such as Thailand after it experienced the tsunami.  Kalani Packaging also makes an effort to support the local community through a variety of nonprofit organizations in Snohomish County.
  
  
• Sustainable Business Consulting (Seattle) – Sustainable Business Consulting (SBC) works with companies to find ways to maintain and increase profitability while incorporating sustainable business practices.  A company that is committed to leading by example, SBC employees are paid for up to 50 hours of volunteer service each year.  Additionally, SBC contributes 10 percent of its net profits to nonprofit organizations.  SBC offers employees full health benefits, generous vacation and holiday time off, including for up to two charitable races or triathlons and one free ski day each year.  SBC also purchases its staff bus passes and provides cash bonuses to employees who use alternative transportation to commute to and from work.
  
  
• Tom's Automotive Service (Seattle) – Since 1971, Tom’s Automotive Service has strived to provide customers with quality automotive service and repair on most foreign and domestic vehicles.  The company offers medical and dental insurance, 401(k), disability plan, Costco memberships, a shoe allowance for work boots and up to four weeks of paid vacation.  Tom’s Automotive Services is active in the West Seattle community.  They offer discounts to customers who bring in canned food for the West Seattle Food Bank, and they also service and repair the food bank’s van at no charge.  Tom’s Automotive has been designated a Five Star EnviroStar business for reducing waste and proper handling of hazardous materials.

A celebration to honor the six outstanding winning businesses will be held at a luxury suite in Safeco Field on August 1, 2008. As the honored guests of HomeStreet Bank and KOMO 1000 News, winning business owners and their guests will be photographed with 2008 Hall of Fame Inductee, Dave Niehaus, and presented with a commemorative home plate plaque. The businesses will also be profiled on KOMO “Small Business Spotlight” segments.

To be eligible, businesses must be for-profit, have fewer than 100 employees and be located in the greater Puget Sound area between Marysville and Olympia or the greater Portland/Vancouver area.