BBB’s mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust. BBB accomplishes this mission by creating a community of trustworthy businesses, setting standards for marketplace trust, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models, and denouncing substandard marketplace behavior.
BBB held its 17th Annual Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics luncheon on December 2, honoring 13 local companies that exemplify ethics and integrity.
The event, which hosted more than 375 guests, aims to recognize those companies in San Diego that hold themselves accountable to their customers, their employees, and the community at large. To be considered for the award, businesses must submit an entry that demonstrates their superior adherence to the BBB standards and marketplace ethics. The Torch Award program, which began in 1997, exists not just to recognize deserving companies but also to alert local consumers to organizations that deserve their business.
“The Torch Awards are a great outlet to show our appreciation to companies who do right by their customers, but it’s also a public service,” says BBB President/CEO Sheryl Reichert. “Consumers trust BBB, and we believe the companies that we awarded this year to be in the top tier of trustworthy local businesses.”
The five winners and eight finalists this year ranged in business size from one-man shops to less-than-250-employee companies. Their industries ranged from plumbers and car dealerships to wedding chaplains. The widely varying industries and sizes of the BBB Torch Awards is indicative of the BBB’s reach in the community. With more than 7,500 Accredited Businesses and delivering upwards of 90,000 reports locally, BBB—serving San Diego, Orange, and Imperial Counties—reports on nearly every business in the region regardless of size, industry, or time in business.
This year, the Torch Awards also hosted keynote speaker Ingrid Croce, local restaurateur, author, and singer-songwriter. Ingrid inspired the audience with her speech about her life experiences.
“BBB Torch Awards stand for ethics. They stand for integrity and honesty,” says Reichert. “Not so coincidentally, that is what BBB is all about. We work every day to connect consumers with ethical, deserving companies, and try to protect those same consumers from doing business with a known ‘bad guy.’ “
BBB has been serving the San Diego community since 1921. With more than 2 million hits to its website each year and 7,500 Accredited Businesses, the organization continues to serve both the consumer public through a robust database of business information as well as public service efforts including scholarship programs, military outreach, and various consumer protection efforts.
2014 BBB Torch Awards
Winners & Finalists
Scholarship Recipients
Toyota of El Cajon
Anderson Plumbing, Heating & Air
Bill Howe Family of Companies
On-Site Tech Support
Better Business Bureau Honors Local Companies
BBB President / CEO Sheryl Reichert
