The Port of Tacoma recognized its strong, supportive relationships with customers and stakeholders by honoring three with the third annual Summit Awards for their outstanding contributions to Port business and the Pierce County community.
Presented April 9 at the Port’s Annual Breakfast, award recipients included the Transportation Club of Tacoma for Livable Community, Friends of Julia’s Gulch for Environmental Stewardship and PCC Logistics for Business Magnet.
“We are so proud of the Port’s many customers and stakeholders who understand that business, environmental stewardship and livable communities go hand in hand,” Commission President Clare Petrich said at the event. “We are pleased to recognize three here today, and we look forward to opportunities to recognize the accomplishments of others in the coming years.”
Award winners were recognized in the following categories:
- Livable Community: Transportation Club of Tacoma
The Transportation Club of Tacoma, founded in 1926, serves Tacoma and Pierce County charitable organizations, while educating and connecting the transportation industry. Since 1999, the Transportation Club of Tacoma has raised more than $1 million for the Emergency Food Network, which, according to EFN, generates an impact of $12 million in the past 15 years to help feed the hungry in our community.
The club also has distributed $145,000 in scholarships in the past 10 years. And the Spring Open Charity Golf Tournament last May raised $15,000 to be shared between Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Habitat for Humanity. Support for those two organizations has also included donations of toiletries and bandages for patients and their families, as well as volunteers at a Habitat for Humanity job site.
- Environmental Stewardship: Friends of Julia’s Gulch
The Friends of Julia’s Gulch formed in 2007 to bring together Port neighbors to volunteer as stewards of about 40 acres of open space on a Northeast Tacoma bluff overlooking the Port. The purchase and stewardship of the site was a partnership among the Port, the City of Tacoma, Schnitzer Steel and Forterra (formerly Cascade Land Conservancy).
Volunteers gather monthly to remove invasive plants and replace them with native species that help filter stormwater and prevent erosion. The program has educated volunteers of all ages about the importance of habitat restoration, protecting biodiversity and the health of our waterways.
- Business Magnet: PCC Logistics
PCC Logistics has provided warehousing, distribution and logistics services to Port customers since 1998. Since then the company has expanded from one Tacoma facility to four. The fourth location, leased at the end of 2013, added 102,400 square feet of warehouse and office space, as well as 3.9 acres of yard space.
PCC employed more than 50 people in 2013 and handled almost 6,500 containers through Port terminals.
Recipients were selected by a panel of community and business leaders led by Petrich. The panel included Tacoma Council member Robert Thoms, Port of Tacoma Endowed Chair Joel Baker, who leads research at the Center for Urban Waters, and Debbie Fischer of the Customs Brokers & International Freight Forwarders Association of Washington State.
Learn more about the Summit Awards at www.portoftacoma.com/summits.
To receive updates about the awards and the Annual Breakfast, subscribe to the Port’s email list.
About the Port of Tacoma
The Port of Tacoma is an economic engine for South Puget Sound, with more than 43,000 family-wage jobs in Pierce County and 113,000 jobs across Washington state connected to Port activities. A major gateway to Asia and Alaska, the Port of Tacoma is among the largest container ports in North America. The Port is also a major center for bulk, breakbulk and project/heavy-lift cargoes, as well as automobiles and trucks.