Salt Lake City — The Utah Board of Tourism Development released a proclamation today recognizing a major Utah-based company for demonstrating corporate and social responsibility during the shutdown of the federal government last winter. Alsco Inc., donated $100,000 to help ensure Utah’s parks were welcoming and clean for visitors. While another shutdown is not imminent, Alsco's altruism recognized the challenge our national parks face with limited budget and staff by providing an important and timely financial backstop and support for high-impact projects.
“Utah’s public-private partnerships are a crucial part of our state and our communities. I’m grateful to Alsco for supporting our national parks,” said Governor Gary R. Herbert. “Their contribution meant thousands of visitors had a quality experience at our Mighty FiveⓇ national parks.”
Alsco worked in collaboration with Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, and the Utah Office ofvTourism to define a plan to protect the visitor experience and natural environment during the shutdown.
Fortunately, the government reopened shortly after Alsco’s contribution. Alsco committed those funds to the park natural history associations to be used in the event of another shutdown or to support high-priority projects. The balances were $62,300 for Zion National Park Forever Project, $19,600 for Canyonlands Natural History Association, which supports Arches National Park, and $18,100 for Bryce Canyon Natural History Association. Arches and Bryce have retained their funds while Zion has utilized the Alsco donation to support their K–12 active engagement education program to grow the next generation of park stewards.
The board’s proclamation commended Alsco’s leadership, co-CEOs Robert and Kevin Steiner, for their vision and commitment to helping the state tackle a big challenge with private sector solutions.
“I was inspired when I heard about how our state is stepping up to protect these natural resources. The senior management at Alsco discussed the idea and we decided we wanted to do our part.” said co-CEO Robert Steiner. “Alsco is proud to call Utah home and our employees are inspired by local patriotism and pride in Utah’s natural treasures. We made our contribution to help visitors who had planned their vacations to these beautiful parks and to also ensure the businesses and residents that rely on tourism in these areas were supported. We are thrilled to see those funds go to priority education projects or serve as an important backstop in the event of another shutdown.”
Alsco is a Utah-based linen and uniform rental company. Their donation served to underwrite expanded visitor and custodial services at Zion, Bryce and Arches national parks. Previously, several public and non-profit partners worked together to underwrite costs for skeleton crews at the parks, and Alsco’s underwriting would have expanded on those services for a unique-in-the-nation partnership of public and private efforts to protect natural resources and the visitor experience.
“Visitors travel from around the world to see Utah’s spectacular and iconic landscapes, often planning months in advance,” said Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism. “The Mighty 5Ⓡ are anchor destinations and Alsco’s altruism and shared passion for preserving our natural places ensured our guests could visit with confidence and enjoy their complete Utah itineraries.”