(IABBB)
Kip Morse still recalls traveling from the BBB in Columbus, OH, to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., with a Torch Awards for Ethics winner to attend a ceremony to honor the recipients. It was the late Eldon Ward, then owner of the E.E. Ward Moving and Storage Company, the oldest African-American-owned business in the country.
While the stage lights shined bright, the simplicity of the expression Ward used to steer his success and garner BBB’s top honor captured Morse’s attention. Indeed, the Torch Awards for Ethics spirit was distilled in Ward’s six-word motto, “Do what’s right, come what may.”
Morse, now the CEO and president of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, cites his memory of Ward as a highlight of the Torch Awards, which started nearly 30 years ago.
In the early 1990s, Morse came up with the idea of formally recognizing ethical and trustworthy businesses after meeting with the leader of a well-respected local company. During his presentation to the BBB of Central Ohio’s board of directors, a member who was an executive at a prominent regional bank told him: That’s a no-brainer, and we will be the title sponsor.
Out of that was born the Torch Awards for Ethics, which started as the Business Integrity Awards in 1994 until the name change a few years later. And what began as just a Central Ohio event has now spread to more than 45 other BBBs nationwide, spawning a crowning celebration of the best regional winners at IABBB’s International Torch Awards for Ethics. (See IABBB's International Torch Awards for Ethics for more information about the international program.)
“The Torch Awards shines a spotlight on what our mission looks like in action,” says Morse. It rewards members who embrace the BBB’s belief that trust is a fundamental part of the marketplace through the everyday embodiment of the four Cs: Character of the organization’s leadership, an authentic Culture, a transparent relationship with Customers, and the impact in the local Community. He adds it also was part of a plan to change the conversation about BBB from being the place to file complaints to promoting the highest standards of ethics and conduct.
Here are some of Morse’s thoughts on the significance of the Torch Awards:
On what makes a Torch Award winner: “I look at intentionality. You have to be very intentional about the four Cs. You have to be humble. They do it for the right reasons. While some people would say, ‘What’s my ROI,’ typically the winners are the ones who say, ‘Because it is the right thing to do.’
“It’s right to operate in high character. It’s right to treat your staff with respect. It’s right to listen to your customers and make changes based on customer feedback. And, ultimately, if you have been successful as an organization and you have the capability to give back to the community, then that’s a responsibility you have.”
“If you do (all of) that, it resonates with your customers, invigorates your staff and culture and you attract the right people.”
On memorable Torch Award winners: “Kroger won and they bought eight tables, they brought 80 people, brought all their store managers from the whole Midwest, every store manager had a bag at their seat that had badges for all their employees when they went back. They had a cake made for every single one of their staff offices and they took out at a full-page ad in the (local daily newspaper). . . . Then I remember going to Kroger and the person checking me out had one of those ribbons. And I was like, ‘That’s awesome.’ “
On the awards ceremony: “What I love is that they go through this process, they win the award, they bring in their whole staff and then they walk into the room and see how serious we are taking it and they are like ‘wow,’ we are really celebrating what we do on a daily basis.”