TriSports.com Blog

It’s not about Charity

Partnering with local organizations whose sole purpose is to help individuals seek employment that might otherwise be overlooked is just one of the many things that sets TriSports.com apart.   Sustainability is one of seven Core Values defined by Trisports.com.  Our definition of Sustainability states that “We make a conscious decision to be good stewards of the environment, develop and foster vendor and community relationships, provide a positive work environment for our staff and deliver an exceptional customer experience.”

Recently I had the pleasure of being introduced to San Miguel High School.  San Miguel High School is located on the South side of Tucson.  The High School opened in 2004, in order to create a learning community where students from families with limited financial means can have the opportunity to develop their full potential.  To cover the tuition costs for the students, San Miguel forms partnerships with local businesses and the students work there as interns.  In addition to covering tuition costs, the internships give students real-world work experience.   A job sharing team consists of four students working one day a week and rotating on Fridays to fill one full-time entry level position.

With our growth over the past few years, answering incoming calls on the 2^nd or 3^rd ring was becoming a challenge.  It has always been our belief that when you call TriSports.com you should get a live person.   To address the issue, TriSports.com created a position called “Director of 1^st Impressions” and hired a team of four students from San Miguel.  Most likely the next time you call TriSports.com, one of the exceptional San Miguel students will answer your call and ask you “how can I direct your call?”  In addition to answering all of the incoming calls they can also be found helping out in our accounting department with the many mounds of filing.

The students bring to work each day a great smile and an eagerness to learn.   Having the opportunity to give back to our community by hiring the San Miguel students is one of the more rewarding experiences I have had as an HR Manager.

Helping Kids Swim

This summer TriSports.com and TriSports Racing teamed up with the Foothills Optimist Club by providing financial support to the town of Marana to purchase summer swim passes for disadvantaged kids to the Marana Municipal Pool.   The Town of Marana works directly with the Marana Community Food Bank to help identify the kids that are most in need of the summer pool passes and has, with the funds from the Foothills Optimist Club, been able to cover the cost of approximately 200 summer swim passes for disadvantaged youth over the last 5 years.  This year, with the challenging economic times, the Foothills Optimist Club approached TriSports.com and TriSports Racing for financial assistance.

Presentation of the "check" to Marana Mayor Ed Honea

I met Tom Ellis, Manager for Marana Parks and Recreation, while attending the monthly Optimist Club meeting and Tom commented that one of the biggest fears for not having the summer swim passes for these kids is that in the heat of the summer, they will resort to the local washes to keep cool and that can be very dangerous.   Offering assistance to an organization such as the Foothills Optimist Club, which works at bringing out the best in kids, was an easy decision for our two companies as it is deeply rooted in the TriSports.com culture to give back to the community and both of our companies strive to get kids involved in sports whenever possible.  We considered it an honor to partner with the club in providing the summer pool passes for disadvantaged youth, and are proud that they are now enjoying a cooler summer!

Excited to get in the pool! (photo courtesy of David Sanders/Arizona Daily Star)

100 rides. One destination. A world free of MS

In 1993 at the age of 43 my brother-in-law was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The only thing I knew about MS was that a lady who lived in the nursing home I worked in, back in1974, had been diagnosed with MS. She was only 41 years old, married with an eight year old son and was bed ridden as a result of this disease. I don’t know what happened to her since most jobs that we have when we are in high school are only temporary.

Last February after attending Frostbike at QBP in Bloomington, MN I visited my sister and brother-in-law. After finishing dinner my brother-in-law pulled from his pocket a key chain and attached to it were several little cylinders for holding medication. With his hands shaking he managed to get each one open and take his medication. After that we retired to the family room to watch TV and my brother-in-law leaned over and removed a brace from is lower leg made of Kevlar. One of the side effects of MS is drop foot. Understanding, medicine and treatment of MS has come along way since 1974 when I was a nursing assistant. My brother-in-law is fortunate that with medication he has been able to curb some of the debilitating symptoms of MS. MS can cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, and blindness and more. These problems may be permanent or may come and go. Worldwide there are about 2.5 million people living with MS and an estimated 200 new cases each week.

While visiting my sister, I decided to help work towards a World Free of MS by entering to ride in the Hoffman-Larkin MS150 ride in Minnesota. Signing up online was easy! The only requirement was to raise a minimum of $300.00 so that is where I started. I have never been very good about asking people for money. The nice thing about technology is being able to fundraise over email and allowing people to simply log onto my MS pledge page and donate. Without much effort I raised $2950.00.

In June I packed up my Felt ZW road bike and headed to Minnesota for the event. Not too hard since I was leaving 100 degree temperatures! I rode mostly by myself which gave me a chance to meet lots of really nice people over the course of 150 miles. Most people that I spoke to on the ride either had a family member with MS or knew someone with the disease. It just demonstrates how many people are affected by MS.

So next time you are looking for a ride check out one of the MS rides near you. They truly are some of the most beautiful, well supported rides that you will ever find.