2016 Year in Gratitude
As 2017 begins, we're grateful for the incredible opportunities, success, and growth we enjoyed in the past year. Here are some of our favorite highlights:
Supporting minority businesses
Trio recognized with Northwest Mountain MSDC President's Award in March 2016
This delightful surprise was the perfect way to begin the year. Northwest Mountain MSDC President and CEO Fernando Martinez revived the President's Award to recognize Trio Group for our commitment to supplier diversity, and championing the cause of our fellow minority business enterprises (MBEs).
We're grateful for the invaluable support we receive from Fernando and the rest of the Council, its staff, and members.
Platinum sponsorship of the Northwest Mountain MSDC
"The Council provides such an important role in our community; so many corporations, and more importantly, minority business enterprises, need a venue to help them raise their game, to make them more effective in communicating the value of what they do, and how they can be a benefit to the corporate members," states Trio EVP Jeff Quint.
We're grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate our support of MBEs large and small, and we're even more grateful the Council is using our sponsorship to make an incredible economic impact in the region.
“In 2016, Trio Group’s $6,500.00 platinum sponsorship resulted in a $56,877 Marketing Value ROI”
— Fernando Martinez, NW MTN MSDC President & CEO
Dennis Brooks completes Minority Business Executive Program
Taking a week off from managing Trio Group, President Dennis Brooks completed the intensive Minority Business Executive Program at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Dennis said of the course, "It was grueling, but a major growth opportunity. You could tell when someone had an 'A-ha' moment because their face would light up. We worked long and hard, and at the end of it every single one of my fellow executives had made a huge leap forward, myself included."
We're grateful that Dennis' tuition was sponsored in part by the Council, and we're excited to see how his training will help Trio grow into the new year.
Giving back to our communities
Jeff Quint joins Board of Directors of Tacoma South Sound Sports Commission
Following his nearly decade-long tenure on the Board of Directors of the Greater Metro Parks Foundation, Trio EVP Jeff Quint was invited to join the TSSSC board.
"As a South Sound resident myself, I've always believed that the best community development starts from the ground up. I'm excited to bring my experience in marketing public attractions such as Point Definance Zoo & Aquarium and Experience Music Project to the Tacoma South Sound Sports Commission. Their work in developing sports tourism in the Tacoma area will greatly accelerate the area's economic growth," he remarked.
Jeff has already made his mark on the Commission's board by creating and serving as chairman of the marketing committee.
Ricardo Ibarra elected President of FIUTS Board of Trustees
FIUTS creates a more diverse and inclusive Puget Sound through their work on the University of Washington campus in support of UW international students and their visiting scholar programs through the U.S. Department of State.
Trio Creative Director Ricardo Ibarra is now in his fifth year on the board of trustees, and serves as co-chair of the partnerships/outreach and fundraising committees.
"International students and scholars from all over the world come to Seattle to learn and grow. I've seen firsthand the transformation that FIUTS affects in their lives, and I'm thrilled to lead my fellow trustees as president," he said.
We're grateful that our team can donate their time, talent, and treasure for their communities.
Serving our customers
Seattle launches first-in-the-nation Democracy Voucher Program
Democracy Vouchers Arrived in 500,000 Seattle mailboxes.
The City of Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program had the privilege and the challenge of being the first of its kind in the nation. Created by a citizen-led initiative, the program faced a steep deadline of designing and mailing the program materials to over 500,000 eligible Seattle voters. Additionally, the initiative specified that program materials be made available in 14 other languages. We designed, printed, and mailed the outbound pieces with time to spare.
King County Elections during Presidential Election cycle
After a decade of working together, we are still extremely proud to support King County Elections, especially during a presidential election year. The challenge letter program, of which there are eight different types of letters, requires our production facilities to accept a data file, validate the data, proof the printed piece, and submit it to the Postal Service in 24 hours.
Washington Centers of Excellence
Our work with the Washington Centers of Excellence (WA COE) continued in 2016 with a wide array of projects including:
Designing the WA COE quarterly newsletter
Refreshing the Clean Energy COE's website
Presenting two professional development workshops to the Centers
Completely relaunching the Construction Center of Excellence's website
Nisqually Tribal Health Department
The Nisqually Tribe's health department had grown tremendously in the past few years, resulting in fragmented communications that lacked a clear identity. We helped the department unify its customer-facing materials into a beautiful brand that captured the essence of the tribe.