Founders Circle 1965 - 2025 Auto Team Rush Uniform Giorgi Kitchens (Sam Wilson)
On May 1, 2025, the Better Business Bureau serving Delaware kicked off it's year-long celebration for their 60th anniversary through an awards celebration. BBB recognized 5 companies in May for their outstanding commitment to ethics. The honorees are terrific stewards of BBB’s mission to build trust and embody integrity. Each company takes seriously their commitment to their customers and employees to treat them fairly – to be honest in their practices – and to provide great value and service to everyone they work with. The 2025 award winners do an outstanding job of showcasing their best practices for how they carry out the values of the BBB and advance marketplace trust.
The “Thrive Award for Community Impact” honors those organizations that have gone above and beyond in their efforts to embrace and advance diversity. This award, initially given in 2021,. The BBB Thrive Award for Community Impact is given to a business that demonstrates a commitment to inclusion in Delaware. The 2025 winner is Aging in Place - a champion for inclusivity in aging.
The BBB Torch Awards for Ethics competition recognizes exemplary businesses that strive to go above and beyond in their dealings with customers, employees, vendors and their community. The 2025 Torch Award winners lead by example in all aspects of their business. Three Delaware companies were selected as 2025 recipients of the Torch Awards for Ethics. Those businesses are:
- Seely Homes
- AutoTeam Delaware
- SunnyMac Solar
Winners were recognized at the DuPont Country Club. A highlight of the event will be the announcement of the Edward M. Rush Sr. Memorial Award for an outstanding family-owned business that displays integrity and exemplifies the ideals of community and civic service. The 2025 recipient of the “Rush Award” was Hawkins & Sons Appliance. Company owner, Ed Hawkins, was on hand for the surprise announcement.
Next, the BBB Education Foundation recognized three Delaware high school seniors with $2500 scholarships.
This is the inaugural year for the Douglas M. Hershman Scholarship for Ethics and Civic Engagement. The scholarship is named in honor of BBB past Chairman Doug Hershman who, for over a decade, dedicated himself to advancing the mission and success of the Better Business Bureau. Through his quiet, thoughtful leadership, Doug helped BBB create ways to deliver the mission to the community. He advised BBB on professional challenges, forever reminding the organization to maintain its integrity and to always do the right thing. The Hershman family has generously sponsored this scholarship to honor Doug’s legacy. The first ever winner was Michelle Zhou from Newark Charter School.
Finally, the Student Ethics Scholarship, sponsored by Continental Finance and M&T Bank, has awarded $80,000 to Delaware high school seniors since its inception.
This year’s honorees are:
- Mustafa Kilicarlslan, (Delmar High School)
- Ojas Paudyal, (Concord High School)