Absher Construction Named Top Company to Work For

Absher Construction was recently named the Top Company to Work For – Large Company – by the Business Examiner South Sound.  The ceremony will be shown live on their Facebook page and will be noted in their September publication.

Congratulations to longtime local construction company and chamber member for recognition as an outstanding business in the South Sound region.  The following is an excerpt from the Business Examiner Blog:

A third-generation, family-owned company, Absher Construction in Puyallup has not forgotten its roots. “Building Community” is still the most significant product and, as one employee wrote in a workforce survey, “I have always been proud of being an Absher employee. I enjoy knowing that our company conducts itself well above board.”

With an employee loyalty and connection so strong and widespread, it’s easy to see how the Top Places judging process would arrive at Absher as the large employer honoree.

Support for workers’ community service commitments is widespread, including matching charitable support. An in-house Leadership Development training program enhances growth potential of employees over its two years of directed learning.

“These are great people!  We actually live our company values,” reads another enthusiastic employee survey. “It is an open, family-oriented company.” “The company’s Core Values are in line with mine.”

Absher Construction strives to be “a community partner that builds facilities that are a component of the community. ‘Building’ is about the people and not the building itself,” summarized another survey response.

Life Care Center of So Hill Named Company's NW Facility of the Year

PUYALLUP, Wash. (Aug. 22, 2017) – On Aug. 14, Life Care Centers of America presented Life Care Center of South Hill in Puyallup with the Facility of the Year Award for its Northwest Division.  The award was given during the company’s annual management meeting at its headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee. It recognizes the facility as the premier location in the division, which includes 29 skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Criteria for this award include excellent customer service, a strong rehab department and involvement in the community.  Life Care Center of South Hill, led by Executive Director Karen Williams, was commended for its high standard of customer service.  "They manage more than 100 admissions and discharges per month, are still able to exceed customer expectations and maintain excellent survey performance with a five-star rating,” said Jennifer Coffelt, division controller.

“We congratulate Karen and her team of associates who, together, have developed such a strong facility,” said Beecher Hunter, Life Care president. “The patients at Life Care Center of South Hill are the real winners as they benefit from the works of love performed by the team every day.”

Life Care Center of South Hill, located at 2508 7^th St. SE, in Puyallup, is one of 16 Life Care facilities in Washington. Founded in 1976, Life Care is a nationwide health care company that manages more than 200 nursing, post-acute and Alzheimer’s centers in 28 states. For more information about Life Care, visit lcca.com. 

Life Care Center of South Hill’s Volunteer of the Year, Beth Svoboda (Volunteer Chaplain) also just received the Life Care Centers of America northwest division award as well.

Congratulations to Life Care Center of South Hill for your ongoing work of excellence and much deserved recognition.   

Impressive Signs and Design Hosts Fiesta After Hours

It was another great Business After Hours at Impressive Signs and Design last week.  Owner, Craig Sorenson, has a reputation for hosting fun and interesting networking meetings after hours and this year's event was no different.  Complete with a Mexican buffet and adult beverages, everyone who attended had a good time exchanging business cards and learning more about the new and unique projects Craig is working on.  Some of our favorites were the over-sized statues for the Seahawk's promotions.

Once again the door prizes were handmade by Impressive Signs and Design and featured logos and local signage for Puyallup and Sumner. They are definitely sought after by our members who attend. Our thanks goes out to Craig and his great creative team at Impressive for hosting this annual event at his place of business.

Rodeo Nights Downtown Continue on August 29th & 30th

The Chamber, in partnership with the Washington State Fair Rodeo, is hosting four Rodeo Nights in various restaurants and pubs in downtown Puyallup to herald in the new Rodeo schedule this year and start a grassroots effort to round up more rodeo fans in Puyallup and Pierce County.

Last week the Chamber hosted Rodeo Nights at Flannigan's Craft Pub and Mazatlan Restaurant. This coming week there will be two more Rodeo Nights, Tuesday, August 29th at Charlie's Restaurant & Lounge AND on Wednesday, August 30th at Crockett's Public House, from 6-8pm on both nights. Guests can meet the Washington State Fair Wranglers and win prizes like tickets to the Rodeo, tickets to the Fair and even an official Washington State Fair Rodeo Cowboy Hat. 

So dig out your cowboy hat and boots and join us this week with the Washington State Fair Rodeo Wranglers downtown at Charlie's and Crockett's.  There's no cost to get in and it's a lot of fun. You might even win tickets to the Rodeo!

Consignment By Victoria Hosts Fashionable Ribbon Cutting

A love of the used and beautiful: Last week Consignment by Victoria celebrated its official opening on August 17 2017 with a ribbon cutting ceremony performed by the Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce.

A passion for clothing and design brought Victoria and her daughter, Olivia, together to open the new business on 124 S Meridian, Puyallup, WA 98371.

Both Victoria and daughter Olivia hope you choose them for all your consignment needs, and the Chamber is happy to have them as members!

Blue Prevails at King Mini Golf Park Ribbon Cutting

A whole sea of blue turned out to last week's ribbon cutting for the new King's Mini Golf Park next to Skate Tiffany's Family Fun Center.  Owner, Dennis King, hosted the perfect early morning event with complimentary coffee and donuts from House of Donuts.  Dennis explained that the golf park as been in the plans for several years and he and his team of experts have done considerable research into making this a premier attraction for families.

A big blue thank you to our Ambassadors In Blue who matched the colored water in the water fountains throughout the golf park.  Our whole Chamber wishes Dennis and his family much success in the future for their great investment in our community.

Composite Materials in Sumner Hosts Tour With Congressman Heck

Congressman Denny Heck toured Sumner aerospace company, Composite Solutions, last week to learn more about their business success and potential needs.  During the tour he learned that they are continuing to grow and are always looking to hire new employees to keep up with their growth.  

Composite Solutions moved to Sumner in May of 2015, on schedule and under budget.  They currently have about 115 employees and laminating is their core competency.  One of the products Composite Solutions makes is lavatories for the C17.

Thank you to the entire Composite Solutions management team for making this a great tour and for sharing about the economic impact their company has in the South Sound aerospace industry.

Denny Heck Visits Golden State Foods in Sumner

Congressman Denny Heck met with the management team at Golden State Foods last week in the Sumner Industrial Park.The tour emphasized the company commitment to safety in all areas of operation. The Sumner location serves 325 stores throughout WA, ID, MT and AK and has 164 employees, about half of which are truck drivers. Annual miles driven 3.3M.

The Distribution Center opened in 1981 and now totals 59k square feet. The company is celebrating its 70th anniversary (established 1947). The Sumner facility services 325 stores and has a complete product turnover every four days.  32k deliveries include 30 million lbs. of fries distributed annually. GSF has a bakery partnership with Pacific Northwest Baking Company right next door which is responsible for the enticing smell of freshly baked hamburger buns whenever you drive through the area.

Corporately, GSF's social responsibility programs include 68% women and minorities associates, 8% of associates have a military background (15% in Sumner), they have an Environmental Management Program, community involvement through their Golden State Foods Foundation.  

GSF has embraced technology through automated inventory control, order selection and temperature control, and through SmartDrive in-cab cameras, and iBright vehicle tracking.

A big thank you to the whole Golden State Foods management team for their gracious hospitality.