With all that has happened in our community and society since November 2019, it seems like much longer ago than just seven months when we proudly awarded Madison from Stanwood High School our annual RedCloud Consulting Scholarship. Alongside our community partners at Toys For Kids, this tradition is one of the most impactful for us—a tangible benefit of our team's hard work throughout the year. We always love to track the impact of our community programs and, in particular, to see how our scholarship winners take this boost to the next level in their educational careers. To that end, we recently caught up with Madison, who is wrapping up an anything-but-usual senior year of high school via remote learning through the pandemic. Still, with a positive attitude she is known for. Here is a quick update directly from Madison, along with some truly valuable advice for the next scholarship winners: Madison - 2019 Winner “I am graduating from Stanwood High School and will attend Skagit Valley College, where I will also play basketball. This scholarship has made a huge difference in my college experience, as it has lifted a lot of stress off of my shoulders. I definitely feel very fortunate to have this opportunity and am looking forward to seeing all the good it will bring. I plan to earn a bachelor's degree in nursing and later specialize in pediatrics. Some advice I would give the newest scholarship winners would be just to enjoy the experience. It is a blessing to have the chance to meet and connect with the amazing people who make up this foundation. I advise the newest winners to lay out a good plan for themselves and to choose a college where they'll be able to succeed the most. The new way of going to school will definitely take some adjusting but I have been able to cope by using the time to be with family. On the education aspect, I've been preparing for college by taking advanced and college preparatory classes and developing better studying habits. On the social aspect, I have been preparing by continuing to get to know my future teammates and coach. I'm very grateful for the Toys for Kids Foundation, donors, and all of those who make it possible to help the community as well as students.” We can’t wait to see Madison’s continued journey, as we’re sure she’ll make a positive impact in the world! Join us in congratulating her on graduation and the next steps!

At RedCloud, community is everything. It’s one of our North Stars, and serves as a guiding value we keep close to our business in all we do. We believe our success is in part due to a healthy, vibrant community in which we operate, and a driver for why we partner with a group of organizations who help children in our region. ​ One of the organizations we’re proud to support is Toys for Kids , who helps children of all socioeconomic backgrounds be better prepared for school and life. As part of our year-round support for this amazing organization, we recently checked in with TfK and in particular on how COVID-19 is impacting the families and children they support through school readiness and gift giving. As perhaps expected, TfK shared how now, during the peak of COVID-19, many families and children in our region are in need of essentials. With school suspended, jobs lost, and parents working at home, the needs are greater and the support TfK provides becomes critical.  As it’s in their DNA as an organization, TfK has truly stepped up their efforts in the face of the pandemic to help meet a set of needs that is burying families and children. Including ongoing support from RedCloud, TfK has made an incredible local impact with $31,000 in donations that lead to the delivering of essentials to local families including: ​ 21,000 diapers 35,000 baby wipes 1,000 lunches 20 Lenovo ChromeBooks to help with remote learning Financial assistance with rent and utilities for those in need through the Issaquah Food Bank 26 Self-care packs to domestic violence victims Stories like that of TfK gives us all hope that even in the hardest of times, we can pull together and support each other. Thank you, TfK for all you are doing during challenging times and for all of your hard work in making sure our local families get what they need to carry on!

At RedCloud, community is everything. It’s one of our North Stars and serves as a guiding value we keep close to our business in all we do. We believe our success is partly due to a healthy, vibrant community in which we operate and a driver for why we partner with a group of organizations that help children in our region. ​ One of the organizations we’re proud to support is Toys for Kids , which helps children of all socioeconomic backgrounds be better prepared for school and life. As part of our year-round support for this amazing organization, we recently checked in with TfK and in particular, on how COVID-19 is impacting the families and children they support through school readiness and gift-giving. As perhaps expected, TfK shared how now, during the peak of COVID-19, many families and children in our region need essentials. With school suspended, jobs lost, and parents working at home, the needs are greater, and TfK's support becomes critical. As it’s in their DNA as an organization, TfK has truly stepped up its efforts in the face of the pandemic to help meet a set of needs that is burying families and children. Including ongoing support from RedCloud, TfK has made an incredible local impact with $31,000 in donations that lead to the delivery of essentials to local families, including: 21,000 diapers 35,000 baby wipes 1,000 lunches 20 Lenovo Chromebooks to help with remote learning Financial assistance with rent and utilities for those in need through the Issaquah Food Bank 26 Self-care packs for domestic violence victims Stories like TfK's give us all hope that even in the hardest of times, we can pull together and support each other. Thank you, TfK, for all you do during challenging times and for all your hard work in making sure our local families get what they need to carry on!

Recently, and for the 4th year in a row, a team of RedCloud consultants and HQ staff spent a day as elementary teachers for our annual “JA Day” in partnership with Junior Achievement of Washington . JA of Washington is a non-profit with a mission to support and inspire young students to succeed in their future endeavors. This program focuses on enhancing standard schooling by having professionals, like our RedCloud team, instruct students with a curriculum that focuses on developing lifelong skills like workplace readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. According to JA of WA, 49% of U.S. employers recognize that talent shortages impact their ability to serve clients and customers. An overwhelming 91% of millennials wish for greater access to entrepreneurial education programs. These are a few reasons why RedCloud partnered with JA of WA almost 5 years ago! For this JA Day, 23 RedCloud team members made their way into 16 classrooms at Redmond Elementary to interact with dozens of students. For our team, stepping into a classroom can feel a bit nostalgic, bringing us back to the times in our lives when we dreamed of what we would become as adults. These familiar feelings encourage us to share our “real-world” experiences with these bright-eyed students to empower them in their futures. A few themes that came out during this year’s instruction included: The importance of being part of the communities around us, The jobs within those ecosystems to care for others and The financials involved with being independent The students have a basic understanding of these topics but talking through them with real-world examples while providing an outside perspective helps to solidify these learnings. A big part of JA Day is allowing students to have space to dream out loud and talk about what kinds of businesses and jobs they want to have someday. When we talk realistically about their dreams in business and entrepreneurship, students begin to think about various financial implications for themselves and the local community. By educating students, we will empower the younger generations to overcome challenges they face later in their careers. One of our team members, Karen Middaugh, reflected on the day spent in the classroom: “The kids were creative, smart, and already so aware of the outside world. I think we learned as much as they did! Thanks to RedCloud for providing such a wonderful and inspiring opportunity.” The students and our team members learned so much along the way, and we always look forward to the next JA Day on our calendar. Junior Achievement of Washington spreads inspiration throughout our region, and we are proud to call them partners with RedCloud.

​It’s no secret that our regional, state, and even local economies are some of the hottest in the entire nation. The Pacific Northwest draws thousands of new tech and “gig economy” workers here to live, work, and thrive. Having been anchored in this community for more than two decades, RedCloud has been fortunate to have seen growth first-hand. Since our firm’s distinct pivot in 2015 towards business and IT consulting, we’ve helped drive some of that regional growth ourselves. Recently, we were again named in the Puget Sound Business Journal’s “ Eastside 50 Fastest-Growing Private Companies ” list, landing at #28 with continued revenue growth at 57% between 2015-2017. Coming off of last year’s #1 ranking  of our 678% growth rate since 2014, it is an honor to remain on this list while our company has matured significantly since our early days. While continued growth will always be on our mind to enable us to scale up the interesting, varied, and unique project opportunities for our consultants, investing back into the firm to ensure long-term stability, quality resources for our team, and unmatched placements for our clients has become our top-priority as a matured firm. Looking down this year’s list at the other companies, we are encouraged by the other entrepreneurs who have joined the wave of economic boom in The Pacific Northwest. These 50 Eastside companies have employed more than 13,700 people globally in 2017, an increase of 88 percent from 2015. The data proves how far the local economy has come and signals where the PNW is headed. Congratulations to all those on this year’s Eastside 50 list – what an amazing business community we are a part of!