Small business of the year: Top Speed Data

March 15, 2006

By DANE GOLDEN
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

Top Speed Data president Anthy O'Brien has a simple reason why she gives so much back to the community.

"I'm hooked," she said. "I love it."

The company is being honored as Small Business of the Year at the Petaluma Community Recognition Awards dinner at the Sheraton Sonoma County-Petaluma on March 24. This is the fourth year for the awards, which are given by the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce and the Argus-Courier.

Local organizations that have benefited from the organization's volunteer efforts and donations include Petaluma People Services Center, the Casa Grande High School mentoring program, Leukemia Foundation, Hospice of Petaluma, National Kidney Foundation, Petaluma Youth Soccer, United Anglers of Casa Grande, American Lung Association and Canine Companions.

O'Brien said that the satisfaction and rewards of giving back to the community more than compensate for the efforts of volunteering.

"You start out thinking you're going to be doing all this good stuff, and in the end you find that you get so much back you think, 'Oh, maybe it was about me,'" she said.

One recent rewarding experience was organizing the first Hospice Walk for Hospice of Petaluma last fall, where volunteers handed out information door to door. O'Brien said it was a lot of work organizing the effort, but, "In the end you start walking yourself, and it's really great. People are so happy to get the information, and you hear stories about how Hospice helped them."

But it's not just O'Brien or co-founder and vice president of sales Glenn Illian who volunteer in the community. Most employees do so as well.

"Everyone who works here sort of has the same beliefs, and it's wonderful," said O'Brien. "We do two things, almost all of use volunteer for something, and we all try to go to the gym to keep our sanity."

Top Speed is a hands-on independent telephone company broker that helps businesses find the best voice, data and wireless packages from the various carriers, whether Sprint, AT&T or even smaller providers. O'Brien and Illian have been running it since 2002.

For O'Brien, she also got a lot from the leukemia Foundation's Team in Training. She participated in a century ride, or 100-mile bike ride in Lake Tahoe, raising $6 thousand. Preparation for the ride took five months.

"It was an experience of a lifetime," she said. "It changed my life. Just the whole feeling of what you were doing for medical research and for the people that really needed you and the group of volunteers are just fabulous."

How does she do all the volunteer work and still have enough energy to run a successful business?

"I think the more you do, the more energized you get," O'Brien said. "If everyone in this town knew what you got out of what you get for giving, everyone would give something."

(Contact Dane Golden at dgolden@arguscourier.com)