“It was an honor to be selected,” Debbie says. “There are so many other people doing so many nice things.”

The business will celebrate its 20-year anniversary in July. Steve started the company with their son, Mike, on Bainbridge Island, after having worked in the moving industry for many years. Mike had just graduated college and was looking for a job.

“We financed (Mike), and he hired a guy and bought a truck — and got started,” Debbie says. There was no office, and they simply parked the truck behind what was then the Coast to Coast store.

That first year, they did $80,000 worth of moving around the island.

Debbie recalls delivering materials and checking messages after getting off work as a school bus driver. When she retired about a year later, they rented a 10 by 10-foot space for an office.

Since then, Hill Moving Services moved several times after outgrowing each leased location. Today, the company employs 35 people and owns its own spacious facility in Poulsbo, utilizing more than 80 vehicles including trailers and Bobtail trucks. They have drivers moving all around the country, and they make arrangements for clients to move worldwide. Three years ago, they also opened a Gig Harbor office.

Asked how they grew the company, Steve says, “One truck at a time.” In 1993, they applied for authorization to haul military shipments and also expanded operations to 48 states. Fifteen drivers who travel nationally are owner-operators.
“We never thought we’d be so big — we were just looking for an income for our son,” Debbie says.

The couple’s daughter, Kay Cook, has also joined the business. Cook’s husband is one of the company’s owner/operators. She and her brother are now managing the company, as Steve and Debbie ease into retirement but continue to be involved as much as needed.

“The next generation now is taking over,” Steve says. “They grew up around the moving business.”

They also grew up in a family of philanthropists. The Hills’ list of donations, volunteer activities and contributions is extensive. Little League, Bainbridge Island Rotary, Viking Fest, Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, Kitsap Community Foundation and the Kitsap Food Bank Coalition are just some of the organizations that benefited from their generosity.

But they’ve reached beyond their local community. After the Gulf Coast hurricane disasters, they donated the use of a moving van and gas to take donations to the area, and spent time working at the relief camps. They also contributed to relief efforts after the Asian tsunami.

Debbie, who grew up with parents who volunteered, says, “We believe in giving back. We’ve always given what we could.