Shanon Tysland

Shanon Tysland

Shanon Tysland uses his time now to help others

Tonight, The Herald Business Journal will announce the 2016 recipient of the Emerging Leaders Award. Last week and this week, we are profiling 12 finalists, who were chosen by a panel of judges from among dozens of nominees.

The way Shanon Tysland sees it, it’s rather simple.

“We’re here and then we die and we have this period in between where we get to choose who we want to be and what we want to do,” Tysland said. “Who I want to be is a person of service.”

Tysland, with his wife Kelly, owns Experience Momentum, a fitness, nutrition and rehabilitation facility in Lynnwood. It’s grown over the past 10 years from just himself to one that employs 37 people in Lynnwood.

Running a small business is a full-time job, but that hasn’t stopped Tysland from giving back to the community in donations and time.

He’s part of the Alderwood Terrace Rotary, serves as the community service and international chair and is the immediate past president.

He volunteers with the Edmonds School District, raising money and food for the district’s Nourishing Network and serves on the district’s sports medicine advisory board. Experience Momentum also partners with Edmonds Community College to provide athletic training and sports medicine services to collegiate athletes.

Tysland is a triathlete and his business has sponsored several runs in the county. He’s also a member of the Economic Alliance Snohomish County and the Lynnwood Chamber of Commerce. Tysland said he’s witnessed the efforts people deeply involved in the community.

“It’s humbling to see the amount of people doing amazing things behind the scenes in Snohomish County,” Tysland said.

He’s most proud of having his business join the 1 Percent for the Planet Partnership, giving 1 percent of the business’ profits to environmental nonprofits. He sees a connection between healthy bodies and a healthy planet. He and his co-workers have volunteered to restore the Duwamish River, build trails in the Cascades and plant trees at Snoqualmie Pass.

Experience Momentum has also sponsored a reforestation project for a village in the Dominican Republic. He supported it not only financially, but he and 13 Experience Momentum employees traveled to do the work.

He takes inspiration from a personal crisis with the birth of one his children. His wife was hospitalized for nearly a month because of complications with her pregnancy. He spent much of that time with her in the hospital room. He and his wife drew on support from family and friends to help them get through the experience. He said he learned a lesson in life from the crisis.

“I don’t have all the answers,” Tysland said. “I never will. The more I can bring in a team of people … and the more collaborative we can get with a common mission, a common vision, just look out. It’s scary.”

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