George business owners recognized for community work
Charles H. Featherstone/Columbia Basin Herald Ekta and Sanjay Saini in front of the business they own, Shree’s Truck Stop. The Sainis are receiving an award from Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman for their charitable work and community involvement.
GEORGE — It all began with a lesson from Ekta Saini’s grandmother.
“India is a poor country, and beggars go door to door, seeking food,” Saini said. “I remember, when I was little, a beggar, and my grandmother gave him food and water, many things. I kind of resented it.”
But she said her grandmother explained that generosity by putting her hands out.
“Is it better to hold your hands like this,” Saini said as she cupped them they way many beggars do when they ask.
“Or is it better to hold your hands like this?” she continued, turning them over and raising them as if to give someone something.
And then she explained the wisdom her grandmother imparted.
“Be thankful that you can be a giver, that you can make a contribution. That has been a guiding principle for me,” Saini said.
That principle has also guided Saini and her husband Sanjay as they have built a business — Shree Investments, named after the Sainis’ daughter — in the United States, from their beginnings in Colville in 2005 to the large truck stop they now own and manage in George.
And it has, this year, garnered the Sainis the highest award Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman can bestow — one of five businesses receiving the Corporations for Communities Award for 2017.
“It doesn’t get bigger than this; this is very impressive,” Saini said.
According to Patrick Reed, public and government affairs manager for the Washington Secretary of State’s office, the award — which includes a medallion from National Association of Secretaries of State — allows the secretary of state to recognize for-profit businesses that give back to the communities they serve.
Reed said the kind of things Shree Investments has done is impressive. Among other things, the Sainis have given to the Hope Heart Institute and they’ve supported and contributed to the Quincy schools, Reed said.
“We donated two cars to the Make-a-Wish Foundation yesterday,” Sanjay said.
“They’ve been nominated five times previously, received honorable mention many times,” Reed said. “The competition is fierce, and there are some really impressive nominations. Secretary Wyman really struggled to pick a few companies.”
The Sainis will join the owners of four other businesses — Brighton Jones LLC in Seattle, CFO Selections LLC in Bellevue, Kelleher Motors in Ellensburg, and Olympia Federal Savings and Loan — in Olympia on Monday to receive the award.
In the small office where they manage Shree’s Truck Stop, Saini pulls out a stack of business cards that say “I am a Shree’s Super Student” entitling the holder to a free large popsicle, fountain drink and chocolate milk.
“We print up about 10,000 of these every two years, and they are coupons teachers can give to students to reward effort,” Saini said.
Recognizing effort — working a little harder every day, trying be nicer, or more respectful — is important to Saini because while not everyone can be on top, everyone can try harder and strive to do better.
Saini said she’s also kept an archive of every thank you note, recognition, and certificate the company has ever received. Twelve binders full, she says, and occasionally she goes through them to remind herself why she is in business.
“I never throw anything away that I received as a thank-you,” Saini said. “I’ve archived everything, to leave a legacy for my children. These are what your family values are.”
“This is 12 years of love that I have received, and it warms my heart,” she added.
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.
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