2009 Awards Received by the Port of Seattle

In 2009, the Port of Seattle received a number of awards from outside professional organizations in recognition of outstanding achievements in construction and design, airport concessions, communications, financial reporting, budget presentation and environmental leadership.

The awards are:

Airports Council International –North America Best “Green” Concessions Award

This “Green” Concessions Award recognizes innovative and outstanding airport concessions, but it is even more important as another example of Sea-Tac breaking new ground in the environmental arena and, thereby, providing leadership to the entire airport industry.

Airports Council International – North America 2009 Excellence in Marketing and Communications - Two Awards
1st Place: Newsletters – Internal or Email
2nd Place: Public Relations Campaigns

The “Excellence in Airport Marketing & Communications Contest” honors airport professionals in a variety of categories. ACI-NA honored Sea-Tac Airport with two awards this year (newsletters and public relations campaigns). The airport’s employee newsletter, BluePrint, took first place honors. This is the seventh time in the seven years that BluePrint has been entered in the competition and has been recognized by ACI-NA.

The Public Relations Campaign award was given to recognize the Port’s proactive and successful response to the Miracle on the Hudson emergency landing, following the US Airways bird strike in January 2009. Although other airports nationwide shied away from talking about bird strike dangers, Sea-Tac Airport took the opportunity to educate local, regional, and national media about the potential dangers of bird strikes and the importance of wildlife management at airports.

Airport Revenue News (ARN) Best Overall Concessions

ARN’s Best Overall Concessions Program in a Large Airport is the culmination of ten years of effort to transform Sea-Tac’s concessions from some of the most pedestrian in the country to what has now been recognized as the best in the nation. This award recognizes “all facets of program excellence: great customer service, attractive storefronts, good mix of shops, quality food services and overall high standards.” There were 24 airports nominated in this category.

American Institute of Architects Washington Council Civic Design Merit Award

Mithun Architects and the Port of Seattle received a 2009 AIA Washington Council Civic Design Merit Award for Shilshole Bay Marina. The Shilshole Marina office building was noted for its site planning and placemaking. As a winner of the Civic Design Award, the Port and Mithun Architects are paving the way for other civic buildings to demonstrate environmental awareness and use sustainable construction techniques, natural light and green building materials.

American Council of Engineering Companies Bronze Award for "Design Complexity"

ACEC of Washington, Bronze Award for "design complexity" of Docks 5-10 at Fishermen's Terminal. The floating dock elements were designed with monolithic systems eliminating any structural wood in the wet environment. The project was completed under budget and on schedule.

Associated General Contractors 2009 Build Washington Award

The Terminal 91 Berth M Reconstruction project was selected by AGC of Washington for the 2009 Build Washington Award in the Heavy/Industrial category.

Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International

The AACEI recognized the Port of Seattle for Environmental Sustainability Initiatives and Fiscal Stewardship at Sea–Tac Airport.

Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) (Budget Presentation)

The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is specifically designed to encourage state and local governments to prepare and issue budget documents of the highest quality. Top quality budget documents are essential if citizens and others with an interest in a government’s finances are to be full and informed participants in the budget process. Better budget documents contribute to better decision making and enhanced accountability.

Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) (Financial Reporting) GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program (CAFR Program) in 1945 to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal.

International Association of Conference Centers GOLD TIER Award

Bell Harbor International Conference, a Port of Seattle property, earned the recognition of being in the GOLD TIER by IACC for its dedication to the Code of Sustainability initiatives.

King County’s Best Workplace for Recycling/Waste Reduction – 3rd year in a row

King County's Solid Waste Division named Sea-Tac Airport to its Best Workplaces for Recycling & Waste Reduction, one of 66 organizations to make the list. In 2009, the Airport implemented an Organics Recycling program to help airport concessions and administrative offices divert food waste, food-soiled paper, and other compostable material from landfills. The Organics Recycling program diverts fifteen tons of compostable airport waste each month from regional landfills, and saves thousands of dollars each year in avoided disposal fees.

Northwest Construction Consumer Council’s 2009 Distinguished Project Awards

General Construction received NWCCC’s Patrick K. Lyneis Memorial Safety Excellence Award on behalf of the Port of Seattle, Terminal 30 Upgrade Project, for having the best safety performance.

2009 Plateau Customer Best Launch Award

The Port of Seattle’s Learning Management System is a winner of the 2009 Plateau Customer Best Launch award. Plateau is a leading provider of learning management software for streamlined delivery and management of training in an organization.

Public Relations Society of America / Puget Sound Chapter Totem Award

The Third Runway Grand Opening Event won PRSA’s (Puget Sound Chapter) Totem Award. The Totem Awards honor the best work of communications professionals and recognize professional excellence and ingenuity.

View the complete awards list here.