Four Dallas-based companies will be honored by the North Texas business community at the 16th Annual Greater Dallas Business Ethics Award (GDBEA) program Tuesday, May 17, at 11:30 a.m., at the Westin Galleria Hotel. The program is presented by Akin Gump, Better Business Bureau® serving Dallas and Northeast Texas and D CEO Magazine. The event is open to the public and tickets/tables are available at gdbea.org.

Of 30 companies nominated this year, the 2016 honorees are: Imprimis Group, Lone Star Analysis, Staffelbach, and UR Holdings.

GDBEA will also present the inaugural winner of the Cary M. Maguire “Spirit of Ethics” Award, which recognizes a company that demonstrates and champions above-and-beyond ethical practices. This new level of recognition is named for Dallas businessman, philanthropist and longtime GDBEA supporter Cary Maguire.

The keynote speaker for the program is Richard Bowen, identified by 60 Minutes and The Wall Street Journal as the Citigroup whistleblower who repeatedly warned Citi executive management about risky business practices and potential losses related to mortgage lending prior to 2008.

The Greater Dallas Business Ethics Award recognizes local companies that have made a commitment to ethical business practices and demonstrate that commitment in their everyday operations, management philosophies, and in response to crises or challenges.

A panel of judges, representing academia, business and previous award winners, reviewed submissions containing nominee companies’ ethics policies, programming, communications and review practices. A team of students from the Posey Leadership Institute at Austin College conducted site visits and interviews with the entrants. A Better Business Bureau review and qualifying rating of B+ or above is also a standing requirement for all entrants. Subsequently, the panel convened to determine those whose entries demonstrated a superior standard of ethics in action.

“These companies are great examples of ethics at work,” said Michael Webb, chairman of the award program. “They exemplify businesses operating under ethical principles and doing the right thing for their company and related stakeholders. Their work reinforces the positive, ethical values of our local business community.”

Past winners include:  Atmos Energy, Balfour Beatty Construction, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, Brinker International, Castro Roofing of Texas, CDG & Associates, Community Management Associates, Complete Landsculpture, Corgan Associates, The Container Store, Daisy Brand, Dave & Buster’s, DHD Films, EDS, Ellis: Partners in Mystery Shopping, Fluor Corp., Haven Home Health Inc., Interstate Batteries, HKS, Hospice Plus, Kahn Mechanical, Karlee, Kimberly Clark, Loveable Smiles, MRP Facility Services, Purdy-McGuire, ReGeneration Partners, Sleep Experts, The Richards Group, The Staubach Company, TD Industries, TELOS Fitness Center, Texas Institute for Surgery, Trammell Crow Company, TXU, Weir’s Furniture Village, Wishbone Graphics.

The Dallas program has produced an unprecedented nine winners of the national American Business Ethics Award (ABEA) program, and, in fact, has more national ethics award honorees than any other affiliated program in the United States. The Dallas-area companies that are also ABEA winners include Community Management Associates, Corgan Associates, Daisy Brand, EDS, Kimberly-Clark, The Richards Group, TDIndustries, Texas Instruments and Trammell Crow Company.

Since 2000 the Greater Dallas Business Ethics Award has partnered with business associations and academic centers. These partners include Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility at SMU, Financial Planning Association of Dallas/Fort Worth, the North Texas Ethics Association and Success North Dallas. This partnership continues to honor Dallas-based companies for their commitment to daily ethical business practices.

For more information, please visit www.GDBEA.org.