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Poole College Business Ethics Society Members Honor Companies for Social Responsibility

The Business Ethics Society of the North Carolina State University Poole College of Management announced the winners of its essay competition in which students nominate one company and one individual for the Society’s “North Carolina Champion of Social Responsibility” award.

The award recipients and essay winners are recognized during the annual General Hugh Shelton Leadership Forum, held this year on November 16 at the NC State McKimmon Conference Center.

Jonas Flake and Ashley Warhurst, Poole College undergraduate students, each received $250 for their winning essays. The winning essays and additional information about the competition are available at the Society’s website.

Flake, a Poole College student from the Netherlands, won in the small business category. He wrote about The Redwoods Group, an insurance provider headquartered in Morrisville, N.C., citing its leadership as a citizen of the community, including:

  • Named one of the five Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs in 2010 by Bloomberg Businessweek
  • Received the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Smith Seal of North Carolina Sustainable Business Award in 2009
  • Ranked first in its size for corporate philanthropy by Triangle Business Journal
  • Received the Spirit of North Carolina awards in 2007, 2008 and 2009 from the United Way of North Carolina for its overall commitment to the community, and its Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Corporate Involvement in 2010

Warhurst, a Poole College senior majoring in finance, won in the Large Business Category for her essay recommending IBM for its citizenship activities in North Carolina. Those activities include:

  • bringing science, engineering, and technology to K-12 classrooms
  • certified quality of care for the environment
  • engaging youth in service
  • providing grants toward planning for quality of life in our cities; and
  • employee volunteering and fund raising in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties.