Uncommon Friends to give ethics award

The Uncommon Friends Foundation is calling for entries for its third annual Business Ethics Award. The award will be presented to a Southwest Florida business that exemplifies the highest standards of ethical behavior at an awards program and dinner Thursday, June 5 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort.

Uncommon Friends Foundation, established in Southwest Florida in 1993, is a character education foundation whose mission is to instill ethics, moral values and a sense of purpose in tomorrow's leaders.

The presenting sponsors for the Business Ethics Award are Oswald Trippe and Company Inc. and Travelers Insurance Company.

During January, business, political, community and religious leaders from the five county areas were asked to nominate companies and organizations that consistently demonstrate a system-wide commitment to business ethics. Twenty one businesses have been nominated for the 2008 Uncommon Friends Foundation Business Ethics Award. Businesses are also encouraged to self-nominate. Nominations are due by February 28. Applications are currently available at www.uncommonfriends. org. The applications will be evaluated by a distinguished group of national ethics experts.

The Uncommon Friends Foundation Business Ethics Award was first presented in 2006 honoring HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation. The 2007 the award went to WilsonMiller, Inc.

"We have enlisted the support of a team of nationally respected ethics professionals to select this year's honoree," said Arlene Roth, executive director of Uncommon Friends Foundation.

The judging panel includes: David C. Beard, MS, MBA, Director of Ethics & Employee Relations Ret., Northrup Grumman, currently affiliated with the Josephson Institute of Ethics, Santa Ana, California; Linda L. Brennan, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Management, Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia; Charles J. Fornaciari, Ph.D., Uncommon Friends Chair of Ethics, College of Business, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida; Thomas G. Hooyman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Health Care Ethics, Regis University, Denver, Colorado; Madonna Murphy, Ph.D., Professor, College of Education, St. Francis University, Joliet, Illinois.

"The goal for all organizations should be to create a culture that develops, encourages and rewards the highest standard of ethical behavior at all levels of the organization," Roth said. "This program will provide regional business leaders with outstanding examples of system-wide business ethics programs that they can use as models for their own companies."

Sponsorships are also available for the Uncommon Friends Foundation Business Ethics Award event. For information on sponsorships, ticket sales or the award application, contact the Uncommon Friends Foundation at (239) 533-2130, or at www. uncommonfriends.org.