An Artesia native was recently selected for a statewide ethics award recognizing his work to promote good ethics in business and the community.
Grant Taylor, a 1999 Artesia High School graduate, was named the 2016 recipient of the Ethical Young Leadership Award, one category of the annual New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards presented by the Samaritan Counseling Center of Albuquerque.
“The New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards are among the most prestigious in the state,” Taylor said. “This is the highest honor imaginable. I have never been more proud. Thanks to the selection committee, UNM Ethics in Business student-evaluation group, and Samaritan Counseling Center of Albuquerque.”
Started in 2000, the New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards “honor individuals, organizations and companies that reach exceptional standards in ethical business practices and social responsibility,” according to a flyer for the annual awards banquet. Taylor’s award is given “to a young leader in New Mexico who has gone above and beyond in their commitment to ethical excellence.”
“Everyone involved in the Ethics in Business process was impressed by the wonderful work that you do for the community and all the ways that you exhibit exceptional and outstanding ethical practices,” the letter sent to Taylor notifying him of his selection read.
Selection of each year’s New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards recipients is a months-long, rigorous process. In August, the call for nominations is closed and nominees are vetted by a committee for eligibility. Nominees are then forwarded to student groups in an ethics in business course at the UNM Anderson School of Management. Throughout the semester, students conduct research on the nominees as part of their curriculum and write a final report of their findings. The students’ research reports are submitted to the awards’ selection committee, comprised of independent community and business leaders who conduct further review and research of the nominees and determine the recipients.
“Being selected, I think, had much to do with my work to implement an ethics-education component into the Hobbs Chamber of Commerce, subscribing to the Josephson Institute of Ethics and its CHARACTER COUNTS! program,” Taylor said. “I’d long ago set the goal that the first organization for which I was responsible would be a CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition member, and leading a membership organization created the opportunity to promote character in a big way, because ‘good ethics is good business.’”
The 17th Annual New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards will be held Wednesday, April 27, at Hotel Albuquerque. Registration and networking begins at 5 p.m.
Proceeds of the event underwrite the Samaritan Counseling Center’s charitable mental health and educational services as well as further the study of ethical business practices for students at the UNM Anderson School of Management. Artesia businesses and residents are invited to participate as sponsors and attendees.
Taylor has also been recognized as the 2011 Outstanding Young Man by the Hobbs Jaycees, as a 2014 40 Under Forty honoree and as a 2015 Top CEOs honoree, both by Albuquerque Business First. While attending Artesia High, Taylor received the 1998 Bulldog football Sportsmanship Award, Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award, and Principal’s Leadership Award.
“The accolades I have prized most in my lifetime have focused more on character,” Taylor said. “This is certainly an award that I will cherish and will honor by continuing to live up to its high standards of merit.”
