CHICAGO – BBB is proud to announce the nine companies that have emerged from hundreds of nominations to be honored at the 2017 Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics. Six Chicago-area businesses have been selected as recipients of the prestigious award presented by Better Business Bureau serving Chicago & Northern Illinois (BBB), and three additional companies earned honorable mentions.
Included in the award winners are Inland Real Estate Group, led by Daniel L. Goodwin for whom Benedictine University’s College of Business is named. Be Found Online, a partner of the Center for Values-Driven Leadership, is also named as honorable mention company.
The Center’s Amber Johnson will present the keynote presentation at the awards luncheon. Johnson is the Chief Communications Officer and Senior Research Associate.
The Torch Award spotlights companies that exemplify marketplace trust and excellence. The 21st annual awards luncheon will be held Thursday, November 16th and will be emceed by ABC 7’s Hosea Sanders. Hosea has won 12 Emmy Awards in his role of anchor and reporter for ABC 7 Chicago and as anchor of Chicago’s only prime-time newscast at 7pm on WCIU.
“The Torch Award is the premier award the BBB can present to a company,” says Steve J. Bernas, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Torch Award winners demonstrate the highest ethical standards of trust and behavior toward customers, business partners, shareholders, employees, and the communities in which they do business.”
Bernas adds that interest in the Torch Awards for Marketplace Trust soared again this year in both nominations, and entries.
Receiving Torch Awards will be: (Alphabetical Order)
- Aftermath Services LLC
- Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
- Computer Aid, Inc.
- Gold Standard Restorations, Inc.
- King Heating, Cooling and Plumbing
- The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc. (Also celebrating their 50th year.)
Receiving Honorable Mentions for their entries of excellence:
- Aloha Construction, Inc.
- Be Found Online
- Combined Insurance
Award recipients are selected by an independent panel of judges. Companies are judged on ethical performance and business excellence across several categories, and are compared against similarly sized businesses based on number of employees.
ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. Consumers and businesses can search business reviews and ratings on more than 5.3 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. The Council of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as home to its national programs on dispute resolution, advertising review, and industry self-regulation.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Thomas Johnson
Director of Public and Board Relations,
BBB Serving Chicago & Northern Illinois
tjohnson@chicago.bbb.org, 312-245-2643
Judith Ruiz-Branch
PR & Community Outreach Coordinator
BBB Serving Chicago & Northern Illinois
jbranch@chicago.bbb.org, 312-245-2516