Business Examiner Editorial Staff, Tacoma WA Named Washington State and Region X Journalists of the Year

Celebration honoring winners on April 23rd, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle Center

Knowledge is power. Business Examiner, a dynamic family-owned business journal was founded in 1985 by publisher Jeff Rounce. The BE is the only media outlet solely dedicated to serving the South Sound business community, and it contributes greatly to the understanding and vitality of the local economy. Rounce began his career as a television broadcaster before entering print journalism, and has devoted 24 years to develop and grow the company into a thriving and healthy multi-media operation.

Emily West joined the Business Examiner staff in 1999 and held positions in account management, marketing, and advertising before becoming the Associate Publisher and General Manager in 2008. She has contributed exciting transformations – rebranding the company, and creating enhanced information products and services through increased use of the Internet, contract publishing, television broadcasts, and the introduction of five leadership recognition programs.

West and Rounce co-host the company’s television show “South Sound Business Report” – a joint venture of BE and Clover Park Technical College. Each month, it covers important local issues such as business growth, the environment, agriculture, transportation, education, finance, and the economy. In production since January 2004, the show airs on a number of channels throughout the South Sound and statewide on CW 11 KSTW-TV each Sunday morning. Newly added to the BE broadcast line-up is the “Small Business School” – shorts from the PBS television series, broadcast online at BusinessExaminer.com.

Steve Dunkelberger, Editor of the Business Examiner, coordinates news coverage, guides the editorial team, and oversees editorial operations of BE news products – online, in print, and in person at seminars and presentations. Writing is in his blood and he sometimes still uses the 1939 Underwood typewriter that his grandfather used during World War II to write a community newsletter in Fargo, North Dakota. As a South Sound journalist for more than a decade, Steve spearheads periodic business-related publications in addition to the Business Examiner’s bi-weekly news journal, including the Small Business Resource Guide, Fastest Growing Companies; Health Care Champions; Top Places to Work; 40 under Forty; Women of Influence; and the annual Book of Lists.

“Jeff Rounce, Emily West, and Steve Dunkleberger’s dedication to the South Sound positively impacts the community far beyond the influence of their business-focused newspaper. Their outreach efforts over and above their ethical use of the power of the pen epitomize champion qualities, and that is why they are Seattle SBA’s 2009 Small Business Journalists of the Year”, said SBA Seattle District Director Nancy Porzio.

Technological advances enabled the team to expand the BE’s reach through a multi-platform approach, delivering business news and information in ways that business owners want to receive it – print, email, television, streaming video on the BusinessExaminer.com website, and at seminars. The company provides a comprehensive roster of no-cost tools that businesses can use such as the BE Daily email service, online social community, and monthly television show. Its invaluable content empowers small business owners and serves as a tailor-made marketing resource. Annual income of subscriber households is more than twice the median household income in the newspaper’s coverage area ($133,000 versus $50,000).

Business Examiner staff members volunteer with a host of groups and causes from Chamber boards and Rotary Clubs to professional and charitable organizations.

Owner-Publisher Rounce believes that business persons need to be contributive participants in their communities. With two decades as a leader in the South Sound business community, there are many business-related boards and commissions that Rounce has served. He walks the talk of community service as president of the Tacoma #8 Rotary Club, past director of Thurston County Chamber and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, and past president of The Tacoma Club. He is also a member of the advisory council for the Business and Leadership program at University of Puget Sound. He has had a company tradition of holding volunteer days once a year, shutting down operations temporarily so everyone at the Business Examiner can participate in a joint activity, such as presenting business issues and lessons through a partnership with Junior Achievement.

West is a current board member of Multicare Health Foundation and chair of MHF's new signature event, Rock the Foundation! She is a senior fellow and board member of the American Leadership Foundation, a member of Rotary of Tacoma #8 and a member of the Advisory Board for the new Center for Ethical Development at Tacoma Community College. Her favorite community service is spending a week each year as a camp counselor at Camp Goodtimes, a summer camp for kids with pediatric cancer.

Dunkleberger, a history buff, helped establish the Lakewood Historical Society, co-authored a book on Lakewood’s diverse history, then recently worked on a book about the community of University Place. He is a member of Lakewood Heritage Advisory board and several historical groups, of St Mary’s Episcopal Church and he co-leads a his daughter’s Brownie troop. He is a team organizer for Kairos International, a multi-faith prison ministry. Dunkelberger is also a long-standing journalism award judge for Sigma Delta Chi, the national journalism awards for the Society of Professional Journalists.

“The Business Examiner’s commitment and dedication to keeping small business owners in the know regarding the economic climate, fast growing industries, community outreach, and resource development are just a few reasons we at the Seattle District SBA selected them as Small Business Journalists of the Year”, added Porzio. The award is ‘hot off the press’ and the staff will be honored at the April 23rd Small Business Awards Gala in Seattle.