Fruit and Cookie Friday Begins Again
January 28, 2011
Another busy season tradition kicks in this week…Fruit and Cookie Friday. Our yummy delivery of Honey Bell oranges from Corner Produce in Pike Place Market started the day off right. Take a look at Bob, Jared and Erika enjoying their breakfast. You’ll notice Jared is wearing a bib…recommended and provided with our fruit delivery!
Our employees have started a Busy Season Biggest Loser Challenge (Thanks, Ashlea!) and I wonder how it will affect our cookie consumption? If you look closely, you’ll see Bob has a doughnut on his plate…he must not be trying to win.
Celebrity Accountants
December 27, 2010
What do Mick Jagger, John Grisham, and Janet Jackson have in common? Apprently they all started out studying accounting in school. Check out the list of 12 Celebrity Accountants.
http://cpatrendlines.com/2010/11/08/fun-facts-12-accountant-celebrities/
Holiday Party Fun
December 10, 2010
It was a great night at the Lake Union Cafe where we gathered for our annual holiday party. Music from the band Slacker got everyone dancing and the food was fabulous! Some of our new employees showed up and it was great to see them mingling with new co-workers.
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Audit Team Travels
November 16, 2010
Wonder what you might be doing at Peterson Sullivan? Sometimes a picture says it best.
This week, Sr. Manager Bob Bowman, Senior David Motes, and Associate Keaton Wersen are auditing a client in Maine. They found a minute to squeeze in a photo opportunity with Paul Bunyan!
Indoor Volleyball Champions!
October 26, 2010
Congratulations PS Indoor Volleyball Champions! Our winning team, Hit for Brains, won the final game against Taint Prolapse 3-0.
Hit for Brains and Taint Prolapse each won one of the regular season games against each other making this final match the rubber match. Both teams put up a great fight with scrappy plays and determined kills. Michael Kay, from Hit For Brains, gave 110% at the net with many smashing kills and blocks that left Taint Prolapse wondering where that guy came from. It was Michael’s awesome net presence combined with his teams fantastic defense that proved to be the winning combination. After a great season for both Hit for Brains and Taint Prolapse, Hit for Brains was this leagues Softcore Champions.
Camp Fire USA Centennial Gala Auction
October 7, 2010
As we mentioned on Tuesday, it’s fundraising season for many nonprofits in the Puget Sound. On Saturday, October 2, Ray Holmdahl, Matt Matson, Jim Schneidmiller, Bob Bowman, Michaela Baylous and Jessica Hewitt attended the Camp Fire USA Centennial Gala Auction.
The event was hosted at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Seattle, and over 200 people came together to raise $161,500 for Camp Fire‘s youth development program. Michaela gives us a first-hand account of what the night was like:
I had the pleasure of attending Camp Fire’s dinner auction. This was my first time attending an event like this, and it was a lot of fun. It made a great excuse to get dressed up for a “date night” (not quite like Steve Carell and Tina Fey’s). The evening started with drinks and a silent auction. I enjoyed a lemon drop while looking at the wide variety of items up for grab while my boyfriend, Michael, started his Christmas shopping. He ending up winning a wooden motorcycle/rocking horse for his nephews.
Then we were seated for the live auction and dinner. The live auction was LIVELY. John Curley, auctioneer, definitely kept the crowd entertained and engaged. The live auction portion started off with a game of “heads or tails”. The auctioneer flipped a coin and the participants guessed if it would be heads or tails. The last person standing won $400 towards their auction purchases. There was some incredible luck. The coin was heads 4 times in a row! What are the chances? I was out the first round when I guessed tails.
Then the auction started. Just about anything you might want could be purchased, including a vasectomy (ha!). Other items, such as weekend getaways were more popular. It was fun watching people bid against each other and watching others place bids just to raise the price to support a great cause.
Dinner was delicious. Guests had the choice of salmon, filet mignon or a vegetarian option. I chose the salmon and it was fantastic. Dessert was a dense chocolate cake with raspberries. Yum!
It was a very enjoyable evening for all attending, and we raised a lot of money to support Camp Fire. Definitely a success.
Weekend Golf Tournament
September 14, 2010
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Report from Matt Smith, Tournament Manager:
Since the Tour Championship is next week, consider this your local golf news update. It was a beautiful Saturday at Lynnwood Golf Course, home of the PS Cup. We had 16 competitors, in teams of 2. To save embarrassment of the other 5 teams, I’ll only post the winning scores:
1st place – Matt and Chris Ebert, with a combined net score of 92
2nd place – Bob Bowman and Al Dunnell, with a combined net score of 97
3rd place – Jack Holmes and Dave Hingston, with a combined net score of 99
Everyone had a great time and it was especially nice to see some PS Alumni!
Putting for Food Frenzy
July 22, 2010
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Introducing the only golf course owned and operated by a public accounting firm, The Links at PS has teamed up with the Food Frenzy event (with our client Food Lifeline) to raise money for a good cause. PS employees participated in this groundbreaking, first ever, in-office golf tournament in 2 Union. As fun as it would be to hit 3-irons down the hallways, this tournament was for putters only. Bob Bowman and Matt Smith worked diligently to develop this course (they were hard at work designing the course layout in the office in the wee hours of the night this last busy season.)
The tournament took place on a couple days during lunch or after work. 100% of entry fees raised went to support Food Frenzy. Whoever had the fewest putts around the office perimeter (penalties for hitting walls including cubicle walls, or going in offices) would be designated the winner.
Right now, Torrey Kwok and Danelle Dye are tied for the lead with a 23. Stay tuned for a winner after their putt-off!
Softball Season Ends with an Epic Battle
July 20, 2010
Last week Peterson Sullivan played KPMG #1 in the playoffs. We gave up some early runs, but powered back and took the lead through some nice hitting and good defense. We led by a few runs going into the bottom of the sixth inning, and KPMG #1 was able to tie the game at 16 all. This is when the epic defensive battle began.
We came up in the top of the 7th and didn’t score a run. However, the gloves began to shine and we were able to hold KPMG without scoring a run, and the game went into extra innings. It was amazing! Both teams did not want their season to end and the defenses really put on a show to watch. It was pretty exciting.
Neither team could score a run until the 12th!!! inning. With darkness falling, we came up in the 12th inning starting near the top of the lineup. We finally were able to bust through and punch a couple of runs across. However, a couple good hits and a crazy swinging bunt later, the other team was able to get a few players on base and get a few runs across to tie the game up again. Then they put the winning run across the plate, and the epic adventure was over.
Chris Ebert, Team Captain, says “It was the most exciting softball game that I have ever participated in and I am very proud of the way everyone played in this game. I hope the team feels the same way. This was the best season we have had in a long time.”
Building a Flexible Workplace
July 16, 2010
Peterson Sullivan was recently honored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation with a Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility Award. As I worked on the application process, it became clear that many people contributed to our firm’s success in creating a flexible workplace that honors our employees work-life balance needs. I’d like to take a moment to thank our partners for making a substantial impact in our office:
- Kibble and Prentice, our insurance brokers. They handle all of the heavy lifting to provide us with competitive rates on our insurance plans, educate us on all of the latest changes in the health care marketplace, and do a fabulous job educating our employees on the intricacies of our plans, and the value of our 100% employer paid medical, dental, vision, life insurance, STD & LTD programs.
- Boulevard Benefits Group educates our employees on their personal financial preparedness. What a benefit during troubled economic times!
- Wellspring Family Services handles our Employee Assistance program, giving our staff the benefit of one-on-one confidential counseling to deal with their work-life balance challenges. They also provide internal training for our Managers on how to best handle their employees issues when balancing work against family needs.
- Susan Goldstein and Washington Employers Association gives our first time supervisors the tools and the confidence to effectively manage their projects and their staff.
- Dr. Margie Ikeda, ND inspires and educates our staff with practical, natural ways to increase their wellness.
- And last, but certainly not least, Pike Place Produce delivers delicious, fresh, locally grown fruit to our office each week during busy season.
Thanks to everyone for your contributions to our workplace. We value our relationships with you!
