JAINDL COMPANIES WIN SOCIETAS AWARD FOR RESPONSIBLE CORPORATE CONDUCT
by Kevin Flemming, President INTEGRITY Personnel, Inc. / kevin@integritypersonnel.com
Center Valley, PA / February 1, 2013 – The Forum for Ethics in the Workplace produced a lively luncheon program yesterday, during which the winner of the 2012/ 2013 Societas Award for Responsible Corporate Conduct was revealed. The winner of this year’s competition is the Jaindl Companies, known for their synonymous turkey farms and land development operations.
Over 125 local business professionals attended the event, which was held in the Gerald White Pavilion at DeSales University in Center Valley. The competition, introduced in 2011 to demonstrate how real companies apply ethical business practices in the course of their daily operations, was highly publicized this year. Three well-known regional companies were selected as finalists for this year’s award after completing a rigorous application process. They are: Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, P.C.; Jaindl Companies; and Prudential Patt, White Real Estate.
Yesterday’s award program included stories about each finalist that highlighted aspects of their organizations that the Societas Award measures. The multi-media presentations were narrated by business students from DeSales University. The program also featured a speech from Gerald Nau, Chairman & CEO of Lafayette Ambassador Bank, the previous year’s winner.
Mr. Nau and Kevin Flemming, the chairman of the award committee, announced Jaindl as the winner in the final part of the formal program. Company President, David Jaindl, accepted the award on behalf of his businesses, taking time to recognize each of the family members and employees present at the event.
During the program, Mr. Flemming, who is the President of Integrity Personnel, Inc., explained that all three finalists have earned a high honor in achieving their place at the event. He said, “The criteria in this competition is detailed, requiring the companies to evaluate and describe a number of aspects of their organizations that meet best practices in business and corporate citizenship. The resulting documents require binders that are inches thick.”
The finalists’ submissions are evaluated by independent judges using a quantified scoring method for each section. The winner is the company that receives the highest, gross score. This year’s competition was judged by Hank Barnette, Chairman Emeritus of Bethlehem Steel, and Paul Huck, Senior Vice President and CFO of Air Products. The Societas Award for Responsible Corporate Conduct is produced annually by the Forum for Ethics in the Workplace. The next application period will be announced shortly and the competition is open to all for-profit companies operating in Eastern Pennsylvania.
About the Forum
The Forum for Ethics in the Workplace is a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of DeSales University in Center Valley, PA. The Forum seeks to provide opportunities for people to come together for study, reflection, conversation, and action on ethical issues in the workplace. The Forum hosts a quarterly breakfast series at DeSales that feature guest lecturers on topics of controversy or current interests that have real-world ethical implications. More information can be found on the Forum’s web page at www.ethicsforum.org
