By Emily Taibl
A large part of what drives the culture at Sweeney Conrad is our passion for community involvement. For the past 36 years, we've been committed to doing what we can to enrich the area where we live, work, and play. It’s part of our commitment to “people first”—our employees, our clients, and our community are the foundation of our firm and everything we do.
When determining which organizations to become involved with, we consider three key factors:
- Local roots. Founded in Bellevue in 1980, we remain locally owned and devoted to the people around us. We’re proud of our heritage in the Puget Sound area, and have been recognized for our long-term impact on the Eastside economy with the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce’s Eastside Economic Leadership Award.
- Priorities. Our team is passionate about serving organizations whose missions center on five key areas:
- Basic human needs: Food and shelter are a vital part of a vibrant community, so we support organizations that provide these necessities to needy families.
- Poverty & entrepreneurship: We support organizations that offer programs to lift people out of poverty—such as business training, budgeting, and financial planning.
- Women in business: We support organizations that provide opportunities for women to enrich their lives through careers in accounting and finance.
- Secondary & higher education: We believe education is paramount in ensuring a stable, sustainable, and qualified workforce, so we support programs focused on continued learning.
- Public safety & law enforcement: We support public safety and law enforcement to ensure our community is a safe place to work and live.
- Volunteer opportunities. We understand that people give in different ways. So we seek organizations where we can help in a variety of ways—from volunteering time to fundraising to event planning.
In the spirit of contributing to the community where we live and work, Sweeney Conrad associates are encouraged to individually volunteer for local organizations. Our shareholders and managers proudly serve in a variety of board capacities, including:
- John Forrest, Managing Shareholder: Treasurer of the Board of Trustees for Seattle's Union Gospel Mission
- Duke Eide, Shareholder: Advisory board member for Golden Gate University
- Craig Looper, Shareholder: Treasurer and Executive Committee Member for Bellevue Police Foundation and Accounting Advisory Board member for Washington State University
- Dave Miniken, Shareholder: Board Chair of WSCPA and Treasurer & Executive Committee Member for Bellevue Downtown Association
- Lori Russell, Shareholder: Member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for the University of Washington Accounting Development Fund
- Wende Wadsworth, Shareholder: Finance & Investment Committee member for Bellevue Schools Foundation
- Jeff Windus, Shareholder: Finance chair of the Executive Committee for the Seattle Police Foundation and Co-treasurer for the Sovren Guild