Many people think of the Better Business Bureau only when they want to report a company using less than honorable practices.
The Better Business Bureau of Northwestern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan is hosting its 13th annual Torch Awards to honor area companies going about their business in an ethical manner.
The 2014 ceremony is scheduled for noon Nov. 5 at the Hilton Garden Inn at 6165 Levis Commons Blvd., Perrysburg. The event is being emceed by Diane Larson of 13abc. Tickets for the event, which includes a meal, are $48 or $38 for nonprofit agencies. A table of eight tickets cost $370. Seating for the awards begins at 11:30 a.m.
“The Torch Awards are meant to celebrate businesses in our community that are doing a good job of displaying ethics in the marketplace, with their customers, with their vendors, with the community and with their employees,” said Mollie Tyrell, director of special projects at the local BBB office, 7668 King’s Pointe Road in Toledo.
Awards are presented to one business in each of five categories: small business (1-9 employees), medium business (10-49 employees), large business (50-149 employees), extra-large business (150-plus employees) and nonprofit.
Tyrell said the BBB received about 100 nominations for this year’s awards. Winners receive a trophy created by Toledo glass artist Mike Wallace.
Marylin Levine, BBB foundation director, said “You often hear a lot about businesses that are not doing the right thing. We would rather highlight businesses that are doing the right thing.”
Helping the area BBB accomplish this is keynote speaker Dennis Johnson, a Toledo native who is president of the Brooks Insurance Agency. A longtime fixture on the Toledo business scene, Johnson is currently serving the United Way of Greater Toledo as its 2014 campaign chair.
Johnson also serves on the boards of Fifth Third Bank – Northwest Ohio, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Toledo Museum of Art, Regional Growth Partnership, St. Francis de Sales High School Endowment Fund and the Toledo Local Initiatives Support Corporation.
“Sometimes you think you have to look far and wide for somebody to be a speaker at your event, but there’s people right underneath our nose here in the Toledo area,” Tyrell said. “We like to find somebody that has a lot of integrity. (Johnson) was chosen because he is so recognized in the community as an ethical person of integrity.”
Johnson was an obvious choice for keynote speaker, Levine said.
“Denny is the epitome of a person with ethics and integrity,” she said. “It’s nice to have people come and honor our own people and recognize the fact that our community is made up of people with character, which makes Toledo what it is.
We discovered that people would like to and are excited to hear what our local leaders have to say, and he’s definitely a community leader, and he gives back and gives back continuously.”
Levine pointed out the BBB does not identify types of ethics.
“Our contention is that there’s no difference between business ethics and ethics,” she said. “There’s just ethics. If you’re an ethical person, that transcends business, family, sports, whatever you’re doing. We don’t have our business ethics that we leave on our desks at night and go home and put on our family ethics and shopping ethics and whatever.”
The ceremony will also reveal the two winners of the Jim Smythe Memorial Student of Integrity Scholarships, a $500 gift awarded to area high school seniors. The winners will read their essays, which describe an ethical situation they encountered and how they handled it.
For more information or reservations, contact the BBB at (419) 578-6000 or visit www.bbb.org
