Seattle Trophies Company Wins Disability Employment Award

Northwest Trophy & Awards, with locations in Bellevue, Woodinville, and Seattle, WA, is proud to announce that they have won an award for the "exemplary work" of employing people with disabilities. Full details about the company and its employees can be found at www.nwtrophy.com. The company is very proud of this recognition.

"If a company has never thought about it, they should really, truly think about hiring somebody with a disability," said Robb Anderson, co-owner of Northwest Trophy & Awards.

The company connected with Bellevue College about a year ago. This college aims to work with disabled adults, encouraging them to complete an associate degree, leading to employment. It was this program that introduced Anderson to Joe Deng and that led to him being hired on a six month internship.

Anderson admits to having been somewhat apprehensive due to a lack of understanding, but he now sees the positive impact Deng has made on the Seattle engraving business. "It's great having him work for us," he said. "He just brings so much to the company from a different perspective."

Deng was offered full time employment after completing his internship. He has been with Northwest Trophy & Awards for a year and a half now. "He's our official proofreader," says Anderson. Meanwhile, Anderson is keen to inform people that there are other companies that hire people with disabilities. Therefore, he feels humbled when winning an award for himself. He notes, "It's a little weird to be honored for something that just feels like the right thing to do."

The business itself has been in operation for 79 years, having been family owned for six decades. It produces a range of awards and trophies for various events, with kids sports trophies being the most popular. "We're just wrapping up soccer season," Anderson said. "We'll probably be close to 10,000 trophies just for soccer." Other awards, including etched stone, acrylic, and glass corporate awards are also very popular, as are fantasy football trophies.

Deng currently works part time for the company that provides products for awards in Seattle. He has also found other employment during his spare time. "It's really neat to see how much he has grown since he's been here," Anderson said. "I would tell other corporations, large or small, to definitely look into doing this."