Houston’s has engaged in several environmentally focused initiatives to reduce waste, commit to lower carbon emissions, and look for other ways to improve our planet and our business together.

These programs include partnering with the e-Mission Control organization and affirming our commitment to the recycling of shipping & storage materials like cardboard and shrink wrap.

e-Mission Control

In 2022, Houston’s was recognized as a Green Fleet Pioneer by the e-Mission Control organization. The goal of the e-Mission Control program is to reduce carbon emissions and petroleum dependency across Oregon and California, and Houston’s is proud to be a partner in this endeavor.

Green Fleet Pioneers are e-Mission Control partners who participate in the Oregon DEQ’s Clean Fuels Program and are committed to using clean energy in their operations.

One of the main reasons Houston’s is eligible to join as a Green Fleet member is through the use of battery-operated electric forklifts.

“We report the miles that our forklifts run, the company calculates what we would have used with a carbon-using vehicle,” said Rebecca Phillips, President. “The forklifts themselves are not new to us, but being a part of this program is new for Houston’s.”

Joining the initiative in 2021, through the first year of membership Houston’s has accounted for 39.11 metric tons in reduced CO2 emissions.

In everyday terms, that reduction is equivalent to:

• Eliminating emissions from 4,149 gallons of gasoline used
• Eliminating emissions from burning 40,791 of coal
• Avoiding 3,579.48 lbs. of waste going into landfills
• Growing 614 tree seedlings for 10 years

Continuing Commitment

In addition to our e-Mission Control endeavors, Houston’s is also committed to doing our part in recycling waste material such as cardboard and plastic stretch film. Each year on average, our Wilsonville Warehouse Operations Team recycles more than 52,000 lbs. of cardboard and over 29,000 lbs. of stretch film.

Though others may claim that “it’s not easy being green,” Houston’s continues to find ways through collaboration and teamwork to make it happen.

Read more about other ways in which Houston’s is active in the community on the Houston’s Blog.

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A group of family and friends recently celebrated a great day of golf. In part thanks to Houston’s, it was an even better day for one softball team in Kansas. More than 25 four-person teams of golfers gathered to raise money for Tulsa Elite 316 10U, a Wichita Kansas division of softball athletes. Each golfer was invited to compete in the tournament at Cherry Oaks golf course in Cheney, Kansas, taking part in some rounds of golf and a raffle featuring glassware donated by Houston’s.

Houston’s own National Sales Manager Jarrod Bowren was present to facilitate the donation, as well as to support his daughters who were helping to organize the function. All of the girls took on duties, such as selling raffle tickets, serving lunch, and participating in fun activities at different holes across the course, to make the event a success.

The Tulsa Elite Softball Organization was founded to give female athletes an environment where they could compete in high level fastpitch softball to provide them with more opportunity to eventually play at the college level. Founded in 2007, the organization has established a standard for which softball clubs across the nation could aspire. Allowing only one team per age group per region, this institution has given young women the ability to play alongside teammates year-after-year, solidifying lifelong bonds and friendships.

At the end of the day, the event raised a donation of over $5,000 for the division and all involved went home with memories (and prizes!) to share.

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As a leader in our community, Houston’s finds it important to give back in meaningful ways. That’s why we are ever-vigilant for the next opportunity to provide a positive impact in whatever way we can for the people and organizations that are making a difference.

On September 7th, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) held its 13th Annual Golf Tournament in Vancouver, Washington. Each year, the event gathers guests to compete at its charity event in an effort to collect donations and support the university’s many teaching and research initiatives, including the VirtuOHSU program.

VirtuOHSU is a 7,500 sq. ft. simulation and surgical training center that has provided outstanding education in surgical skills since the program was established nearly 20 years ago. But even more than that, it is an institution that facilitates research, faculty development, and community outreach amongst many other services. It is an indispensable resource for forwarding OHSU’s core mission, as well as medicine’s ever-reaching grasp.

As we have in years past, Houston’s took the opportunity to acknowledge the importance of events such as this both for our community and for widening the scope of discovery. For this reason, we took the opportunity to donate several cases of Old Fashioned glasses to the event to mark the occasion for the tournament’s players.

Liane Giles Leblanc, Project Coordinator for OHSU’s Department of Surgery, expressed the significance of the donation and her gratitude on behalf of the organization. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate Houston’s generous donation of the rocks glasses for this year’s tournament. We had each of the glasses etched with the signature OHSU flame. During registration, each player received a set of two glasses for participating. Cheers to you all for helping make our event extra special!”

Cheers to you, OHSU, and to everyone else who participated in supporting this spectacular event!

The post Houston’s Gives: OHSU Golf Tournament appeared first on Houston's Blog.

Houston’s is proud to contribute to the VirtuOHSU charity golf tournament again in 2017.

OHSU’s Department of Surgery in the School of Medicine held it’s 12th annual VirtuOHSU Simulation and Surgical Training Center charity golf tournament and silent auction on September 8th at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver, Washington.

The tournament has raised nearly two million dollars over the past eleven years. Houston’s was proud to work with Kelly-Mincks, a representative of Libbey Foodservice, for the second year in a row to support this worthy cause. Houston’s donated glassware that was decorated with the OHSU logo and handed out to tournament players in appreciation of their contributions.

The funds raised from tournament and silent auction will aid OHSU in promoting patient safety and enhancing the educational experience for residents and medical students alike through the use of simulated teaching environments. According to OHSU, “the supervised simulation and surgical skills education is done in a way to replicate procedures being done on an actual patient through the use of virtual reality simulators and other educational aids.”

Houston’s is happy to continue supporting local higher education programs like OHSU’s Department of Surgery.

The post VirtuOHSU Charity Gold Tournament appeared first on Houston's Blog.

Langdon Farms Golf Course 

Houston’s was happy to be a sponsor of the 6th Annual Cash&Carry Cup in Aurora, OR!

The Cash&Carry Cup is a part of an annual fundraising program held by Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice to help fight hunger in partnership with Feeding America, a nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Since the program started in 2012, Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice has raised over $800,00 for local food banks!

Langdon Farms Gold Club hosted the event, and the course was in great shape. Clear and sunny skies accompanied the golfers as the tournament was set to begin. As event sponsors, Geoff and Gregg Dann (of Houston’s) along with Johnny Huang (of Thunder Group) teamed up with Ray Meyer (of Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice) to play in the Cup! The format was Shotgun Start meaning all groups of players tee off simultaneously from different holes, making for a very action-packed round of golf. The men played well, but did not place. But in the end, placing did not matter. All that matter was being able to participate and give to such a great cause.

“Cash&Carry has been committed to relieving hunger with this event for a number of years,” says Geoff Dann, Director of Merchandising at Houston’s. “It’s a privilege to participate and help contribute toward their cause, along with our friends in the industry.”

Also at the event you could find a silent auction, an abundance of food, raffles for prizes, and various team awards! All proceeds from the event went to local food banks that Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice teamed up with to fight hunger via cash and food donations.

It was wonderful to be part of such a positive event and Houston’s looks forward to continued partnerships that support worthy causes!

Ray Meyer

Gregg Dann

Johnny Huang

Photos courtesy of Geoff Dann

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Robert Jones (right) with Grandview Mayor, Leonard Jones (no relation)

“Grab your lawn chair and head to Main Street for a night of free fun and entertainment!” Houston’s was proud to sponsor Music on Main, a local community music festival, in Grandview, Missouri. In addition to food from a variety of local vendors and a Kid Zone, this year’s event featured live music from Ernie Biggs Dueling Pianos, Phil Vandel, Revelation: A Tribute to Journey, and Funk Syndicate.

While general admission was free, attendees could purchase tickets to enter the “Green Room” presented by local Peterson Manufacturing Company, for $25 each. Access to the Green Room gave attendees a place to party the evening away, and enjoy tastings of food from restaurants across Grandview and the local metro area, as well as a private cash bar, premier parking, and gallery seating for all of the musical performances.

Jacob Dick and his family (Ashley and Sophia)

Many Houston’s employees were in attendance for a beautiful summer evening of music, dancing, food, and fun. Reportedly, the Journey cover band was one of the best acts of the night.

For more information on this event, visit the Grandview Area Chamber of Commerce or check out the Music on Main facebook page.

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The effects of the storm will take years to clean up and repair, but through Houston’s donation of a Cambro Camtainer and Barista Box coffee to-go boxes, Compadre’s will be able to provide hot coffee and beverages to those who need it as clean-up efforts get underway.

For more information on making a donation to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, we encourage you to visit https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.

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Golfing for Veterans

Houston’s was happy to be a part of the first annual Golf For Veterans, sponsored by the VFW Post 5290 in Conyers, GA. The post is a non-profit organization which serves veterans and their families. The golf tournament helped them raise funds toward their goal of opening a local food bank. They are also in the planning stages of being able to offer temporary transitional housing for veterans and their families.

Tournament Day dawned bright and clear, in spite of a sketchy forecast. There were 20 teams participating- a completely full tournament, much to the delight of all of the planners.

Honey Creek Golf and Country Club hosted the event, and the course was in great shape. The format was Captain’s Choice (each player tees off and proceeds to the spot of the best drive, where everyone hits their next shot. This continues until the ball is holed), so there were bound to be some pretty low scores. Indeed there were, and the Houston’s team (Vince Przybyszewski, Doug Przybyszewski, Glenn Hamlin, and John Meyers) signed a 67. That’s a nice score at five under par, but it was only enough to finish fourth over all in a field of twenty teams.

Participation by local Atlanta area businesses exceeded expectations, allowing for a great event which will benefit not only the VFW Post 5290, but the local veteran community as well. What a great way to spend a Saturday!

Doug’s team ranked 4th at the tournament

Twenty teams participated in first annual Golf For Veterans Tournament

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Guest Writers: Annette Kramer and Jenny Johnston

We’ve embarked on what we hope is the beginning of a new holiday tradition here at Houston’s. This year, we wanted to find a fun and worthwhile way to give back to our local community during this time of giving. We chose to participate in the Les Schwab Toy Drive due to the fact that Les Schwab Tires is a well known Pacific-Northwest company that has been sponsoring this event for many years and it supports kids, teens, and families in the local community that we call home.

We are fortunate to be able to participate in this effort with thanks to our extremely generous employees who gave willingly. We as a company donated hundreds of dollars worth of gifts for all ages: coloring books, Hot Wheels, action figures, games, stuffed animals, dolls, sports equipment, and craft sets.

On Monday, December 12^th, Annette Kramer and Jenny Johnston loaded up all of the unwrapped gifts that had been left under the lobby Christmas tree, and delivered them to the local Wilsonville Les Schwab. The Les Schwab staff was thrilled and very thankful for all of the donations. It’s such a great feeling to be able to make a difference in the lives of children and families that otherwise may not have had a Christmas this year.

Thank you, to all of our generous employees who contributed, and we look forward to carrying on this Christmas tradition for many years to come.

View the local news footage of the culmination of the Les Schwab Toy Drive here.

The post The Season of Giving! appeared first on Houston's Blog.

To participate, please bring the toys you wish to donate to Houston’s and place them under the Christmas tree in the lobby.  From sporting goods to craft supplies, dolls and doll houses to electronics, no gift is too big or too small!  For a complete list of suggested toys and the non-profit organizations that will help to distribute your donations, visit KPTV at:  http://www.kptv.com/story/30475307/2015-fox-12-toy-drive.

All gifts must be new and unwrapped, please. Donations will be delivered to our local Wilsonville Les Schwab on December 12.  Questions?  Contact Admin.

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