​For the team at Argus Janitorial, a division of Northwest Center in Spokane, it was especially meaningful to receive the “Outstanding Support” award at the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery’s (VBCN) Heart of Gold awards. The janitorial services the team provides to VBCN, says Argus General Manager Jackie Fountain, are very much a labor of love.

“VBCN is a crisis nursery,” Fountain explains, which means they offer 24/7 support and refuge for parents unable to care for their children in a safe environment. “We received a call from VBCN for a janitorial job, and the first time I walked in, even though all I saw was the administrative area, I just felt overwhelmed by a sense of love,” Fountain says.
 
After the meeting, Fountain came to a decision: “I couldn’t charge,” she says. Not long after the Argus team began providing services and supplies free of charge, they realized they had another emotional connection to the nursery: a janitor on the team was cared for by VBCN when he was young.
 
“It means a lot to him, giving back to a place that supported him so much,” Fountain says.
 
The Argus team was invited to the Heart of Gold Awards months in advance, but Fountain says it came as a complete—and very appreciated—surprise to receive an award at the event.
 
Kudos to our Spokane Argus team for both their award-winning janitorial services and their heartfelt caring.

​Innovation blossoms in environments that embrace diversity. At Argus Janitorial, the female-run janitorial service defies the traditional insular, male dominated profession with a workforce largely consisting of women, minorities, and people of all abilities. We sat down with General Manager Jackie and Senior Manager Wendy to learn about their model of inclusive employment and all the strides Argus is making in the Pacific Northwest. 
​
​With offices in Spokane and Seattle, Argus boasts over 30 years of experience in janitorial and facility management in Washington State. Initially Argus was solely a janitorial venture, but quickly branched out to meet their clients’ growing needs. This commitment to clients has always been at the core of Argus’s business model, and is what has ensured them decades of success.