Chattanooga Better Business Bureau awards students scholarships and recognizes buinesses

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – The Better Business Bureau Serving Southeast TN & Northwest GA, conducted its annual meeting on Wednesday. The purpose of the meeting is to recognize businesses with the BBB “Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics” and to award “Student of Integrity” scholarships. Ronda Rich, best-selling author, syndicated columnist and sports writer was the keynote speaker. As a small business entrepreneur, she shared humor and stories of how hard work and a never give up attitude are key to success. In business, doing the right thing in any ethical scenario will be rewarded by how others view your business integrity.

Businesses recognized for the 2015 BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics are:

Category I Winner: Alguire Construction, Ooltewah, TN
Category I Honorable Mention: Jason Randall’s Transmission Service, Rossville, GA
Category II Winner: MurMaid Mattress, Cleveland, TN
Category II Honorable Mention: AFS Foundation & Waterproofing Specialist, Cleveland, TN
Category III Winner: Cleveland Utilities, Cleveland, TN
Category III Honorable Mention: Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C., Chattanooga, TN
Category IV Winner: Shaw Industries, Dalton, GA
Category Not-Profit Winner: Lee University, Cleveland, TN
Category Charity Non-Profit Winner: Camp Lookout, Rising Fawn, GA

BBB achieved a milestone in its annual “Student of Integrity” scholarship competition. Now in its 11th year, BBB has awarded $100,000 in the student scholarship program. This year scholarships with the value of $1000 each were awarded to ten (10) students who competed by writing an essay on “the importance of ethics in business and our community”. The competition was available to all high schools seniors in the BBB service area of 21 surrounding counties in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia. 117 students entered the competition this year.

The winners of the BBB 2015 “Student of Integrity” scholarships are:

Jamie B. AdamsSouth Pittsburg High School
Judith M. Bell Central High School
Benjamin P. GruberSignal Mountain High School
Abigail J. MabryLakeview Fort Oglethorpe High
Bryant R. MathisCalhoun High School
Rachel L. McFryModel High School
Dylan H. ScottHeritage High School
Casey A. TudorTrion High School
Elizabeth H. WebbBaylor School
Marah A. WhitakerWalker Valley High School

Congratulations to the winners in the business “Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics” and the “Student of Integrity” scholarships. BBB President Jim Winsett states; “Individually, the business winners and the student winners are exemplary representatives of ethics and integrity in our marketplace”.