DAYTON – Better Business Bureau serving Dayton and the Miami Valley hosted its annual Eclipse Integrity Awards dinner Tuesday evening.
About 500 people joined the organization at the David H. Ponitz Sinclair Center to honor four organizations with the Eclipse Integrity Awards, five Students of Integrity Award winners, its Community Honor recipients, local Torch Award winner and Dave Donaldson Award of Distinction – The “3D” honoree. It also presented its inaugural Spark Award winners.
BBB’s Eclipse Integrity Awards are about ethics, honesty and integrity. BBB received nearly 650 nominations recognizing the outstanding performance of Miami Valley businesses and nonprofits.
The Eclipse Integrity Awards are presented to businesses featuring strong leadership and team members. Their leadership is committed to ethics, building a culture of high character ethics and unifying team members around ethical practices. The team is dedicated to performance management practices, ethical human resource practices and committed to the community as demonstrated by their community service and support of the BBB ideals.
Eclipse Integrity Award winners were Lavender Home Care Solutions, the Eclipse Integrity Award winner in the 0-50 employees category, and Cox Media Group Ohio, the Eclipse Integrity Award winner in the 100-plus employees category.
The Nonprofit Eclipse Integrity Awards are presented to nonprofits or charities that demonstrate outstanding community service through their mission and accomplishments, demonstrate excellence in programs and fiscal stewardship, operate with integrity through ethical leadership and a strong team, are transparent in their communications and value the power of collaborations/partnerships. Their actions have a positive effect on the vitality and overall health of the community while supporting the ideals of BBB.
The Nonprofit Eclipse Integrity Award winners were Crayons To Classrooms, the Nonprofit Eclipse Integrity Award winner in the 0-50 employees category, and Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, Nonprofit Eclipse Integrity Award winner in the 75-plus employees category.
BBB’s Center for Business and Consumer Ethics, Inc. recognized the winners of the 2019 Students of Integrity, five high school seniors demonstrating high moral character and outstanding ethics. The winners were selected from nearly 75 nominations. All high schools in the BBB’s service area received invitations to nominate two outstanding students from their senior classes. Each of the winners is recognized as a BBB Student of Integrity and will receive a $1,000 scholarship to a college of their choice.
Students of Integrity winners included Grace Bradley from Archbishop Alter High School, Nicholas Fischio from Botkins Local School, Stephanie Shewhart from Archbishop Alter High School, Christian Starrett from Piqua High School and Zheying Wei from Butler High School.
Fischio is an academic and athletic student leader. He plans to attend Tiffin University, study criminal justice, join the Navy and eventually serve on a major metropolitan police department.
BBB’s Community Honor recognizes organizations that make significant contributions to enrich the lives of others. It spotlights the honorees’ efforts to realize not only their own missions but their role in making the Miami Valley a thriving community, taking care of its citizens – individuals and organizations.
The Community Honor Award was presented to Dayton Metro Library and The Foodbank, Inc.
The local Torch Award is dedicated to the legacy of great Miami Valley business pioneers such as John Patterson, Wilbur and Orville Wright, Charles Kettering and Colonel Edward Deeds. This award honors businesses that have inspired, mentored and provided valuable support, education and guidance to staff, businesses and community leaders who have went on to make their successes in the Miami Valley.
During the evening, the 2018 Torch Award recipient McAfee Heating & Air Conditioning Co., Inc., represented by Greg McAfee, passed the torch to the 2019 honoree, the Dayton Dragons professional baseball team, represented by Brandy Guinaugh.
BBB also presented the Dave Donaldson Award of Distinction – The “3D.” This award recognizes a volunteer for exemplary service and their specific contributions leading to continued success or a significant evolution of the BBB.
This year’s recipient of the Dave Donaldson Award of Distinction is Bob Reynolds from Brady Ware.
New to the celebration, BBB introduced its Spark Awards. The Spark Awards recognize millennial entrepreneurial organizations whose leaders demonstrate a higher level of character, generating a culture that is authentic about its mission and connect with community. There were 17 nominations for consideration as one of the three organizations recognized in the Class of 2019.
Spark Awards were awarded to Catapult Creative, Goldfish Swim School and Scratch by Justin Tyler.
“The list of this year’s honorees features some first-class businesses, nonprofits and students,” John North, president/CEO of BBB serving Dayton and the Miami Valley, said. “They help make our community one to be proud of. It our great honor to recognize their efforts and I encourage everyone to take a good hard look at how they operate and emulate their efforts in your own actions.”
Independent panels of judges selected the Eclipse Integrity Award winners, Students of Integrity Award winners and the Spark Award winners.
