ATLANTA, Georgia (June 2, 2014) – The Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership and Atlanta-based Turknett Leadership Group announced an exciting new partnership. The 11th Annual Turknett Leadership Character Awards will be presented under the auspices of the Greenleaf Center, a nonprofit [501(c)3] with international reach. This year’s awards luncheon will be held as part of the Greenleaf Center’s 24th Annual International Servant Leadership Conference at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, September 24, 2014. Nominees will be recognized, winners will be announced and Kent C. “Oz” Nelson will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Character in Leadership at the awards luncheon. The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership Conference, which convenes those interested in building the understanding, awareness and practice of servant leadership, is an ideal venue for recognizing individuals who represent the best in Leadership Character in Georgia.
“We are extremely proud to transfer the Awards to a nonprofit with the history and mission of the Greenleaf Center – we couldn’t have found a more aligned organization.” said Robert Turknett, CEO of Turknett Leadership Group. “Our for-profit business, Turknett Leadership Group, will continue to provide character-based leadership development and coaching, but we feel that the Awards will have a much more appropriate home in a nonprofit setting. Surplus funds can go to extending the important work of the Greenleaf Center,” continued Turknett.
Since 2003, the annual Turknett Leadership Character Awards have recognized Georgia leaders who demonstrate character in leadership based on alignment with the Leadership Character Model, a model developed by Bob and Lyn Turknett in 1995. The model represents character as a scale with integrity as the base and respect and responsibility balanced on either side. Founded in 1964, the Greenleaf Center is an international nonprofit organization that serves students, individuals, workplaces and the community by growing servant-leaders through education and programming. Robert K. Greenleaf was the author of “The Servant as Leader,” a landmark essay that coined the phrase “servant-leader” and launched the modern servant leadership movement. Today the Greenleaf Center nurtures students, enhances workplaces and builds the servant leader community through education, leadership development and conferences. To find out more, please visit www.greenleaf.org.
The partnership will allow members of the corporate and nonprofit community to share dialogue, strategies and ideas involving servant leadership at work and in life, impacting a much larger audience and extending its reach.
Nominations for the awards are being accepted in four categories: Business, Non Profit, Education and “Inspiritor.” Nominations can be made at leadershipcharacterawards.org, and all nominees for the Awards will be honored at the ceremony on September 24th. Winners in each category will be selected by an esteemed panel of judges including:
- Ann Cramer, Senior Consultant with Coxe Curry & Associates and former Director for IBM of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs
- Tom Crawford, retired chairman and CEO of Crawford & Company and a 2007 Turknett Leadership Character Award winner
- David Ratcliffe, retired Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company
- Conchita Robinson, president and CEO, C. Robinson Associates, Inc.
- Dr. Betty Siegel, president emeritus and endowed chair of leadership, ethics, and character, Kennesaw State University
Kent C. “Oz” Nelson, former Chairman and CEO of United Parcel Service, will be the third recipient of the lifetime achievement award for Leadership Character. The award recognizes leaders who exemplify the highest standards of character and integrity over a lifetime of service to an organization and to the larger community.
Mr. Nelson is the retired Chairman and CEO of United Parcel Service, a position he held from November 1989 to December 1996. He continued to serve on the Board until 2002 when he stepped down and ended 43 years of service with the company. He was the CEO when UPS moved its headquarters from Greenwich, Connecticut, to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1991, and immediately began active service in the Atlanta community.
“No one exemplifies the Leadership Character Model better than Oz Nelson. His integrity is immediately apparent, he is accountable and courageous in everything he commits to, and he lives in a uniformly respectful and humble way,” shares Bob Turknett, CEO, Turknett Leadership Group.
“Oz Nelson is the epitome of a global citizen who is the perfect blend of intellect, passion, commitment and integrity. He has become, for so many of us, the icon of a 21st century CEO leader who understands the value of the most important resource that any enterprise has, and that is the human resource, the people! Oz knows what it means to ‘Deliver on his promise.’ His vision, his courageous action, his bold leadership, his perseverance through difficult times and his heart for people have encouraged and empowered many of us to continue the journey,” said Ann Cramer, Senior Consultant, Coxe Curry & Associates.
Currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Carter Center, Mr. Nelson continues his long history of community service, which began while he was employed by UPS. He has served on the Boards and Executive Committees of United Way of America, Ball State University Foundation, Jim Casey Youth Opportunity Initiative and the National Museum of Patriotism. He has chaired the Boards of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta and United Parcel Service Foundation. Oz served for ten years as an advisor for the Turknett Leadership Character Awards.
The 2014 Leadership Character Awards will be sponsored by the Turknett Leadership Group, Kroger and GV Financial Advisors. For additional information regarding sponsorships, please call 770-270-1723.
More information on past Awards programs can be found at www.LeadershipCharacter.com. Nominations are open at www.LeadershipCharacterAwards.org.
Contact:
Bianca Wirth, Consulting Services Coordinator
bwirth@turknett.com
770.270.1723
SPONSORS INCLUDE:
