Your Better Business Bureau Foundation of Northwest Florida is pleased to announce the winners of the fourth annual Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, Customer Service Excellence Award and Student Ethics Scholarship from its District III area which covers the ten counties east of Walton County.
While there are a large number of businesses in its industry, this year’s Torch Award winner in the 1-10 employees category doesn’t necessarily consider them to be “competition” because so many of them operate in a less-than-ethical manner.
Gulf Coast Tree Specialists stands out simply because they do the right thing and do so without expecting praise for it.
According to the owner of this year’s Torch Award winner in the 11-49 employees category, “the only outcome we will accept in the end is a satisfied customer.” Though not all businesses in this industry operate under the same mantra,
Lumley Plumbing & Heating received the Torch Award because they believe they should “make people happy, be respectful of everyone and always keep [their] word.”
With 60 employees performing 30,000 service jobs a year, this year’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics winner in the 50+ employees category is the market leader in the industry in Bay County. More importantly,
Peaden Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing exemplifies integrity, as evidenced by their motto “If you are satisfied with our service, please tell a friend. If not, tell us!”
The Torch Award was created to publicly recognize businesses and charities that insist on exceptionally high standards of behavior in dealing with customers, vendors and employees.
“These winners exemplify what your BBB stands for: trust, integrity, performance and ethics,” said Norman Wright, president and CEO of your BBB serving northwest Florida. “Organizations like Gulf Coast Tree Specialists, Lumley Plumbing & Heating and Peaden Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing really stand out in the marketplace against those who don’t always do the right thing.”
In addition to recognizing ethical businesses, your BBB also awarded three, $1,000 Student Ethics Scholarships to local students.
Thomas Melvin, (click here for essay) from Melvin Home School in Marianna,
Cierra Sapp, (click here for essay) from Holmes County High School in Bonifay and
Andrew Underhill, (click here for essay) from A. Crawford Mosley High School in Lynn Haven, were this year’s recipients from your BBB’s District III area. The scholarship winners read their essay on character building, required as part of the application process for the scholarship.
For additional information about the Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics and Student Ethics Scholarship, start with bbb.org.