Father's Day Recipe: PNW Salmon on Cedar Planks

June is almost here, which means it's barbeque season (or almost) here in the Pacific Northwest AND almost Father's Day. We thought it would be great to combine those two great things and share a DELICIOUS barbeque recipe that would be perfect for Father's Day here in Puget Sound Area.

Nothing says Pacific Northwest like salmon and cedar, so we found this recipe that combines both for a woodsy infused, fresh from the sea flavor. Combine it with some other local favorites like local asparagus and strawberries from your favorite farms and you'll have one happy dad!

Check out the Pacific Northwest Grilled Cedar Planked Salmon recipe from Epicurious.

Give Toyota of Burien a Review on Google!

We love to hear from our customers about what we're doing great and where we could improve! By leaving us a review on Google, we can continue to serve the Puget Sound area the way you need us to.

Here is what some people are saying about Toyota of Burien!

"Had a really great experience today. Yakima Toyota messed up our wheel balance during a routine service apt. On a trip to Seattle, all Toyota dealerships we called would not see us or had no availability. Called Burien, super friendly and quick chat on the phone, and they said to just swing by and they'll help us out. So refreshing! Service was fast, in and out in under an hour. Floor and Julianna in the service dept. are top notch! Seriously, the entire service team is excellent. Highly recommend them."-Zane Shewalter

"Found the vehicle I wanted online. Called them up, went to see the car. I made an aggressive offer. After bit of negotiation we agreed on a deal. Easy going, polite staff, great atmosphere. Smooth professional experience."-Ken Kramer

"Best car buying experience. I received an immediate response from them on behalf of Costco Car Sales. From answering my questions to securing the color I wanted, at a price well below other Toyota dealers I contacted, Hyung Kim and Kelly Stewart were the best. Aimee Case, their finance manager presented warranty options, listened to our expected driving needs, and helped us choose the most economical options. A plus dealership."-Al Wyse

Whether you come to us for a service on your vehicle, shopping for a used vehicle, or shopping for you new Toyota, we hope you'll take the time to let us know how we're doing!

 

The All-New Sienna Replaces Predecessor of 26 Years to Continue Serving the Los Angeles Public Library Community

The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is retiring its 1994 Toyota Previa for an all-new 2021 Toyota Sienna. The vehicle, donated by the Southern California Toyota Dealers Association (TDA) through the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, will be used to support community outreach, outdoor programming and delivery of materials to and from its 73 libraries throughout Los Angeles.

Toyota donated the 1994 Previa to the library more than 26 years ago and after nearly three decades of service, it was time for an upgrade.  The library retired their ride in 2020 and contacted the Southern California TDA in hopes of obtaining a new Toyota.

“Toyota is dedicated to driving mobility for all and by making the library accessible to more neighborhoods throughout LA, we’re helping to enrich young lives and foster a sense of imagination,” said Shawn Domeracki, general manager, Toyota Los Angeles Region. “We’re proud to support the Los Angeles Public Library and look forward to seeing how many more communities they’ll be able to impact behind the wheel of their new Sienna.”

The library depends on a reliable source of transportation to implement youth literacy programs, such as its Read Baby Read initiative that delivers reading kits to new parents at participating hospitals and health clinics. Later this year, library staff also plan on traveling to different neighborhoods in Los Angeles to host fun, interactive outdoor programs for children and teens.

The Sienna is a hybrid with a class-leading EPA-estimated 36 combined mpg, helping the library reach communities more efficiently. And with features such as Toyota Kick Sensor for hand-free door opening and closing and a 60/40 One-Motion-Stow Split & Stow 3rd Row seat, loading and transporting books will be more convenient than ever.

“Our 1994 Previa served our community well and we logged thousands of miles traveling to and from our neighborhood libraries over the past 26 years,” said Madeline J. Bryant, principal librarian of the Youth Services Department, Engagement and Learning Division. “The new Sienna represents an exciting next chapter for the library and we’re grateful to have a safe, fuel-efficient vehicle that will help us expand our services to reach even more Angelenos.”

The LAPL serves the nation’s second-largest and most diverse population of people through programming, resources and services that help ensure all Angelenos have free, easy access to information. While the library’s doors remained closed much of last year to reduce the spread of COVID-19, they continued to serve the community through their ‘Library to Go’ curbside program.  LAPL re-opened its main library doors on May 3 as part of a phased re-opening along with 38 other branches.

For more information on the library’s locations and hours, visit lapl.org/reopening.

Toyota Supports COVID-19 Vaccine Administration

Toyota recently worked with the City of Frisco, Dallas County, Parkland Hospital in Dallas and the University of Louisville vaccination hubs to help facilitate their administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to citizens. The operation was akin to a car assembly line — running smoothly, expertly and methodically – and by applying Toyota Production System principles, they were able to help speed up the process and improve efficiency.

For nearly three decades, Toyota has helped countless businesses, nonprofits and community organizations across industries unlock and tap into their full potential by providing effective strategies and hands-on guidance through its Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC). With a wealth of expertise in efficiency, the automaker willingly shares successful tactics and resources with other companies and organizations to help them stay nimble and competitive in their respective fields. This approach has shown that small improvements can make a big difference, especially when supporting people in need.

Toyota knows that when good ideas are shared, great things can happen, and thanks to Toyota’s support, organizers were able to decrease wait times, while increasing the number of vaccines per hour. Working together for the greater good is what strengthens communities and builds strong bonds that serve everyone.

Watch the videos below to learn about their efforts. For more information on TSSC, check out their website, here.

Steve Serio Inspires Others to Go Further, Together

There’s a saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” For Steve Serio, a three-time Paralympian wheelchair basketball player, championing the latter is what makes him a leader.

Growing up in Westbury, New York, Serio never felt like he had a disability. At 11 months old, he was diagnosed with a benign spinal tumor. The surgery to remove it resulted in the compression of his spinal cord, which left him paralyzed. Despite the circumstance, Serio was a natural-born athlete who would join his friends in playing able-bodied sports—with a few tweaks to the rules.

“That’s basically what sports meant to me growing up,” says Serio. “It was a 100% inclusive activity.”

However, when Serio was 14, the school he was attending told him that he could no longer compete due to safety and liability reasons. Fortunately, there was a wheelchair basketball team that competed just 10 minutes away from where he lived. Unfamiliar with the team, Serio went to meet the Long Island Lightning and find out more about wheelchair basketball. It was that moment, meeting the team, that put him on the inevitable path to gold.

“I remember sitting in a basketball wheelchair for the first time, and I know it might sound a little dramatic, but it was the first time in my life I ever felt free from my disability,” says Serio. “I’m just so grateful that I found it.”

A Lesson in Leadership

Serio’s time with the Long Island Lightning would be one for the record books. In 2005, just two years after joining the team, he led them to their first national championship and was named the tournament MVP. That same year, he was one of 12 players nationwide to represent the United States in the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney. He also then went on to play on a USA U-23 team that competed in the World Championships in England.

“It was definitely a great checkpoint and great stepping-stone for me,” says Serio. “To win a national championship with your friends and these kids that are at the same point in their lives as you — it’s an amazing feeling I’ll always remember.”

In the years to follow, Serio would go on to play point guard at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has its own wheelchair basketball program. There, he would once again lead the team to a national championship and be awarded Championship Player of the Game, National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) tournament MVP and the NWBA’s 31st National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament Player of the Year.

It was during this time that Serio joined the U.S. Paralympic Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. Making the team was a massive milestone in Serio’s career, but it wasn’t without its setbacks. At the Paralympic Games Beijing 2008, which was Serio’s Paralympic debut, the U.S. team just missed the podium, coming in fourth. At the following Paralympic Games London 2012, the team came even closer, winning bronze. In 2016, however, co-captain Serio led Team USA to their first gold medal in wheelchair basketball since 1988. In doing so, he learned a valuable lesson about what it means to be a leader.

“Being a good leader is a constant practice. It’s not like you wake up one day and all of a sudden you’re a good leader,” says Serio. “It’s how you inspire the people around you to become better athletes, better coaches, better people. It’s inspiring them to accomplish goals that are bigger than themselves.”

Joining the Team

Going into the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Serio joins Team Toyota and fellow Paralympians as they break down barriers, defy odds and overcome physical limitations. In doing so, they’re challenging the status quo and inspiring people across the world to do the same.

“The work that Toyota is doing with their Mobility for All mentality and their Start Your Impossible campaign correlates so well with the Paralympics and Paralympians,” says Serio. “To go into a Paralympic year with a sponsor that you truly care about, standing behind you and supporting you — I feel a deep connection with the message.”

As Serio aims to lead Team USA, once again, to the top spot on the podium in Tokyo, he reflects on what it means to be a leader, not just on the court, but in his community. Being on Team USA is a massive honor for Serio because he’s not just representing his country, but also his friends, his family and those who aren’t able to compete in the Games beside him. For him, the biggest honor that comes from being a leader is inspiring others to go further, together.

“We can inspire people, and not only just with disabilities, but people all across the world to demand more from this life,” says Serio. “And hopefully, it’ll be a better world and a better society for it.”

Mothers of Innovation: The Women Behind Toyota’s Child Car Seat App

 Mothers are known for their resourcefulness, ingenuity and can-do attitude. So, when two moms at Toyota recognized there had to be a better way to get guidance on how to install car seats properly, they rose to the challenge and created Toyota For Families — a digital toolkit that features detailed car seat installation and instructions for the Toyota Sienna. Their biggest hurdle? The platform was launched during the pandemic while juggling this project with their full time now-virtual work and managing a household.

Sparked by Jennifer Pelky, a principal engineer of vehicle performance development for interior safety, the idea for creating a tool to lessen the frustration associated with car seat installation and to help make travel safer for moms’ most precious cargo — their children — came together over lunch with Lindsay Babian, a fellow Toyota principal engineer and 2021 Toyota Sienna vehicle seat development lead.

Who said good ideas only emerge from boardrooms? In this case, it was over lunch in Toyota’s Research & Development cafeteria in Michigan.

Filling a void and embracing teamwork  

“I thought, if I’m an engineer in safety, and I’m having trouble figuring this out, then lots of people must be having trouble,” says Pelky whose sons are now 10 and 7. “I wanted to help my own family, but also our customers by making our vehicles more friendly for families.”

During their cafeteria conversations in 2019, the pair swapped stories about the complicated car seat installation process and their willingness to improve it while educating parents. Babian, a mom to a 5½-year-old commented, “I design and develop the parts that parents use to install their car seats, and even I wasn’t getting my sons’ installed correctly.”

In fact, it was Pelky — a certified child passenger safety technician — who’d informed Babian her car seat wasn’t installed properly when she went to borrow it for an evaluation.

“It was surprising to me that I also fell into this category of not doing it right,” says Babian.

Pelky and Babian shared their idea with Janelle Pharris, a senior planner on the Vehicle Marketing and Communications team at Toyota Motor North America, who provided the marketing and design expertise needed for the project to become a reality. As a mom of two children, ages 13 and 5, Pharris loved the concept, and the team got to work.

“This was a project that I was totally excited to work on,” says Pharris. “Every time the meeting would come up when it was time to get in front of the camera, and Jen said, ‘Hey. Can you do it?’ ‘Absolutely.’ If we can just help anyone from a brand initiative, as well as from a personal initiative, then I think our job is well done.”

What started as a passion project for Toyota’s internal Innovation Fair in 2019 ultimately became Toyota for Families, which officially launched in March 2021. The team wanted to provide a whole new level of detail — from identifying how seats are affixed with different latch configurations to demonstrating the instructions with videos.

Staying the course and navigating roadblocks

Executing the platform took true dedication and tenacity from the team of moms, which was fueled by their never-ending desire to help protect children. And not just safeguard their own families, but all moms and caretakers who drive children around.

“I think for all of us, the personal side had to do with us looking into our children’s eyes and realizing that we never wanted any mother to feel any loss because of an improperly installed car seat,” says Pharris. “And when you see the data around how many car seats are installed improperly, it spoke to us all to do our part in trying to make sure that we were able to provide at least a resource for mothers, fathers, for grandmothers, for uncles, aunts, to be able to safely transport their children, at least within a Toyota vehicle.”

However, equipping parents with the tools to make car seat installation easier was not met without challenges. A global pandemic could have derailed the project.

“The idea originated prior to COVID, but in terms of implementation, they [Toyota team members] started working on this, and then the pandemic hit,” says Babian.

Working from home while assisting with remote learning and all of the other challenges and setbacks that moms faced during the past year propelled the mission and made it even more timely to put out into the world.

“Parenting is already hard, right? But installing your car seat doesn’t have to be,” says Pelky. “This is definitely a passion project built off of our shared experiences and struggles. It was a way for us to do something to just make lives a little bit easier for our customers. And most importantly, to help them stay safe.”

A culture of innovation

Toyota believes in driving innovation and supporting new ideas through passion and problem-solving. By putting themselves in the customers’ shoes, Pelky and Babian were able to design a much-needed solution to a real problem—and turn to their talented colleagues to help get the idea off the ground.

The app and website are the direct results of curiosity, drive and unparalleled teamwork.

“Doing this all during the pandemic is near impossible” says Babian. “If there was any resistance, challenge or barrier that got in our way, we found workarounds,  we found champions, we found teammates, we found support, and we all worked hard. We pushed through the challenges and made it a reality.”