Following two very successful years, the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care, in partnership with St. Edward's University, is launching the 2004 Samaritan Center Ethics in Business Awards program. The 2004 co-chairs, all past Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce chairs, are Ron Kessler, principal owner of Ron Kessler Group LLC; Earl Maxwell, leading partner of Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP and recipient of the 2002 individual Samaritan Center Ethics in Business Award; and Kerry Tate, president of TateAustin, the largest independent public relations firm in Austin.

Nominations of businesses with at least 15 employees, non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, and individuals in Central Texas who exemplify the highest ethical standards and practices with employees, clients, suppliers and the community are due by Wednesday, March 24. In addition to honoring those who set the highest standards, the Samaritan Center Ethics in Business Awards program helps foster a climate of ethical integrity through the awards process, workshops conducted by honored organizations, additional educational activities, and increased media attention to positive business ethics.

Nomination criteria and forms are available from the Samaritan Center at 451-7337 or may be downloaded from the center's web site at www.samaritan-center.org. The site also profiles the 2003 Samaritan Center Ethics in Business Award recipients. Organizations may self-nominate but nominations from the outside are strongly encouraged. Finalists will be announced in early September and the award recipients will be named at the awards dinner on Tuesday, October 19. More than 400 business and community leaders are expected to attend. Proceeds from the event help fund counseling scholarships at the Samaritan Center for Central Texas families, couples and individuals in need.

Nomination and Selection Process Simplified

Changes to the 2004 applications and nomination process will ensure that the procedure is more convenient and expedient for applicants than in past years. The revised process requires applicants to answer a number of specific questions regarding the nomination criteria instead of submitting a two-page essay as was previously required.



St. Edward's University manages the nomination and selection process under the leadership of Phillip Thompson, Ph.D., director of the St. Edward's University Center for Ethics and Leadership, and Linda Ford, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Management. Once nominations are received, a diverse and distinguished selection committee, chaired by Thompson, will determine the nominees for final consideration by comparing the applications with the precise selection criteria in each category. Graduate students in the St. Edward's University Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Ethics (MSOLE) program will conduct research and interviews and provide written evaluations to the selection committee, which will then select the finalists and the five honorees. All information gathered in the research process is kept strictly confidential. Additionally, in 2004 all finalists and semi-finalists will receive feedback derived from the research and interview portion of the process that may aid them in improving their ethical performance.

About The Samaritan Center

Originally created in 1975, the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care is a non-profit organization that provides individual, couples and family counseling, pastoral care and educational services to more than 800 individuals and families each year. Headquartered in Austin, the center has satellite offices in Round Rock and San Marcos. The Austin center is one of nearly 100 centers in the U.S. (including 11 others in Texas) certified by the Samaritan Institute in Denver, Colorado. The Samaritan centers affirm the spiritual dimension of life but are not aligned with and do not promote a particular religious denomination or philosophy.