southwest solutions logo

Menu

A little bit about
us here at SWS

About Sws Group Shot promotional products supplier

Not Your Typical
Promotional Product Company

Southwest Solutions is built and run by a family who is committed to going the extra mile for our customers and supporting our local community; we’ve been in the small business world for going-on 45 years—we know what it takes!

We bring this, our diverse work experiences, unique worldviews, and industry expertise to the table when helping you promote you, like family. You won’t find a more dedicated promotional products supplier in the southwest.

Get to know the team members you work with, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions/concerns.

About Tammy Minot
Queen Bee

Tammy was born in Albuquerque, NM and she is very happy she landed in Tucson as she is a Southwest kinda girl. Mexican food is her favorite and green chili goes on just about everything she eats!

She’s been in Tucson for 34 years-moved here to marry Peter- and it worked since they have been married for 33 years! They have two daughters and three grandsons (who, besides her plants, are the lights of her life!), and Tammy couldn’t be happier with the direction of her life, so far! She has served on numerous boards in Tucson but her most current is the Green Valley Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce board. It’s important to her to work for (and in) her community that she loves so much. Tucson is definitely home!

She has one motto for work “Don’t do business with friends-make friends doing business”. She has lived by that motto so she now has lifelong friends and great clients. Life is good!

About Peter Minot
Vice President

Peter was born in Boston and grew up in a small town in Cow Hampshire (there were more cows than people in his hometown!) Showed up in Tucson in 1973 and has seen our population quadrupled since. 32 years in the ceramic business, most of which time was spent as a supplier to the promotional products distributors nationwide. This gave him the background of what we offer our customers today: print, promo prods, apparel, direct mail, and design.

He met the love of his life in 1980, told her the day he met her that they would be married one day (this is a true story!) and spend the rest of their lives together (she was married at the time, he was engaged!) It took five years, and now it’s been almost 33!

Worked for other folks for a few years after the ceramic business: sold RVs for a while, designed and sold pools, and was a mortgage lender. But he just couldn’t get away from “doing his own thing”, and the entrepreneurial spirit just doesn’t seem to go away. Or maybe he has a problem with authority which he will never admit!

Peter is active in many organizations in the valley, primarily DM-50 and the 162nd Air Guardians, and he does his best to be kind, be involved, and make a difference.

About Vera Minot
Creative Director

Vera is a born & bred Tucsonan (with a little Texan in the middle) & crazy cat lady who’s known for her creative randomness & foul mouth. She studied Linguistics & Gender/Women’s Studies at the UofA and obviously put both disciplines to use in the kids’ toys, cell phones, HOA, and book fairs industries. Gotta love college degrees! Vera is passionate about vocabulary, self-care, and compassion, and in her free time you’ll probably find her being active, growing things, cooking, playing video games, reading, and generally finding ways to get up to no good with her wife, Cody. She is also the President of the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce (AKA “The Gaymber”), so there’s a fair chance wherever you find her there rainbows will be. She’s eternally excited to use her unique background and new-school thinking with emphasis on authenticity to help her clients think outside the box to find creative, effective ways to tell their stories to their audience through the physical marketing material medium—she’ll put the fun in functional, and you can always count on her to be *very* enthusiastic about anything branded!

About Dave Fredricks
Account Manager & Marketing Rockstar

Dave, also known as “Banner Boy”, can’t really claim any area of the US as his native. Born and raised in the Mid-west, he has worked in Higher Education at ASU and Harvard, managed Tucson’s direct mail Tucson Shopper and has even bartended for a stint of his life. He shares a passion for cooking, canning, gardening, online gaming and all-around projects. After recently moving into his new home with Boo, Ladyhawke and NJ, he has surprised himself with his mechanical and repair abilities…. righty tighty, lefty loosey…his alter ego Jason on the other hand, that’s a whole new story… GO Team Tammy

About Lee Ann Palinjpg
Account Manager & Goddess of Goodies

Lee-Anne was born in California but moved to Rhode Island by elementary school age, effectively becoming bi-coastal by age 7! Living in the smallest city in the smallest state quickly became no place to stay, so Tucson became home in 2002. Having an interest in pirate skulls; aka Jolly Roger, easily translated to sugar skulls of the Sonoran Desert. But there are no skeletons in her closet! Her collection is on display, in plain sight for all to enjoy. Lee-Anne loves English bulldogs and has a ‘land manatee’ of her own, Stella.

About Aleta Fisher
Accounting Manager

Aleta was born in Glens Falls, NY and she has never lost that east coast spiciness. She loves to smile and hang out with her family. She has two kids, one beautiful granddaughter, and 2 cats and a dog, and in her free time she crushes it at Bingo. She has a penchant for investigative accounting, the paranormal, and listening to police scanners. She always brings interesting topics to the table at the staff meetings! She wanted to be a nurse when she was five, but she’s a MUCH better bookkeeper so we’ll keep her.

About Anne Hutchison
Lead Graphic Designer

Hello, I’m Anne. I was born and raised in Tucson and graduated from PCC in 2007 with an Associate’s Degree in Art. I live about an hour away from town on 10 acres of land that my family purchased in the late 60’s. With state land on one side and the Tohono O’odham reservation on the other, I enjoy the peace and quiet and watching the wildlife come through the yard. I was a graphic designer in Galveston, Texas for about 9 years. I’m now the Lead Graphic Designer here at Southwest Solutions and enjoy the creative freedom and heartfelt feedback from customers and my coworkers. It’s quite different from other work I’ve done. In my spare time, I love spending time with my wife, Kelly. We love exploring new places we’ve never been to in Tucson. We also enjoy yearly trips to Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior to spend time with our friends that are basically our family. We love exploring and looking for agates with our friends. I also love visiting my mom at her lake house in Hemphill, Texas.

About Richard
Logistics

Living and loving fiercely in the heart of Wyoming, Richard has danced through life alongside two amazing siblings—one in North Carolina, the other in Sheridan, WY. Single parenthood unexpectedly became his rhythm, transforming him into a more understanding and calm soul. Parenthood taught him resilience and the strength found in love. Now, as he navigates life’s dance, he carries the echoes of Wyoming’s winds and the beats of unconditional love. Cheers to the adventure!

About Sydney
Purchasing Manager

Sydney thoroughly enjoys her organized chaos of a life, where every touchdown and tail-wagging adventure is meticulously planned and color-coded! She decided to take a leap of faith at the beginning of 2023 and move from the land of cheese and chilly winters Wisconsin to the dry, sunny desert of Arizona. She is almost as passionate about football and cars as she is about dogs – key word is almost 😉. Her favorite football team is the Philadelphia Eagles and… oh, you wanted to know more about her dogs?! Oops! Her fur babies are Athena, Kahuna, and Oscar; two of which are huskies, and the other is a black lab (who is supposedly mixed with husky but you’d never guess!).

Coming from a background of customer service and vehicles, Sydney has settled into a position that requires organization and major attention to detail; with her process-driven brain things stay pretty orderly around here! She is also convinced spreadsheets and flow charts are what make the world go ‘round (please don’t burst her bubble!).

About Sara
Promo Princess

Sara was born & raised in Tucson and has always had an immense love for the Sonoran Desert. Two of her favorite things in our town are the sunsets and the Mexican Food. Sara comes to SWS with a strong creative streak and an extensive customer service and non-profit background, and she relishes helping others put their best foot forward. She loves being outside and in nature and can often be found exploring outdoors. When she’s not hiking, biking, canyoneering, or camping, you can find her being a millennial-dog mom (yes, they both have matching sweaters), going to yoga & the gym, gingerly caring for her 50+ indoor plant collection, or elbow-deep in sparkles buried within some craft project. Sara is also our resident circus performer, with several years in the local showbiz scene, performing as an acrobatic yogi, MC, and a fire dancer (she says “Folx, don’t try this at home!”).

About Join Our Team V2
Want to Join the Team?

Have a Project In Mind?
Let's Talk About It