The Port of Tacoma recognized the 2014 Summit Award recipients during the organization’s annual breakfast Wednesday morning in downtown Tacoma. The awards honor Port of Tacoma customers and tenants for corporate achievement and business excellence in three categories of leadership:

Business Magnet – A Port of Tacoma customer or member of the supply chain (shipper, transportation or logistics service provider, developer) for business development efforts and investments that lead to recognizable increase in business volume or new business opportunities for the Port of Tacoma, and have a positive economic effect for the citizens of Pierce County.

Environmental Stewardship – A Port of Tacoma customer or tenant for a project, program or initiative that supports Pierce County’s sustainability and honors biodiversity and the interconnected nature of industry, people, wildlife and natural systems.

Livable Community – A Port of Tacoma customer or tenant for a project, program or initiative that demonstrates the business community’s positive contribution to Pierce County through social responsibility. Criteria include philanthropy and charitable giving, community service and employee volunteering, community engagement and outreach, and employee development.

This year’s recipients are PCC Logistics (Business Magnet), which has expanded to four facilities and employs more than 50 people; Transportation Club of Tacoma (Livable Community) for their work supporting Habitat for Humanity, Mary Bridge Hospital, and the Emergency Food Network; and Friends of Julia’s Gulch (Environmental Stewardship) for their work to protect and restore the 60-acre site.

Past Summit Awards recipients have included Washington United Terminals, Trident Seafoods, Targa Sound Terminal, SAFE Boats, MacMillan-Piper, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 23.

The annual breakfast also included a State of the Port address by Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe, and a keynote address by Journal of Commerce Senior Editor Bill Mongelluzzo, who discussed how unprecedented change in the international container industry is forcing ports and shippers to think and act differently.

***UPDATE: Weds., April 9 @ 11:29 a.m. — Here is the official press release from the Port of Tacoma:

Summit Awards honor Port of Tacoma customers, stakeholders

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 portoftacoma.com/summits.