Leading the way

Welcome to the 2010 Pillar Awards.

Few things are more meaningful and important than investing time and resources in supporting our community, and in this issue, we honor companies and their employees who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

All too often, these companies and their workers are our region’s unsung heroes. Several years ago, we decided to do something about that.

In 1998, Medical Mutual of Ohio and Smart Business Network created The Pillar Awards to recognize companies, business leaders and nonprofit executives for their commitment to strengthening the bond between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds.

While support and direction come from management, companies are only as great as their employees.

In 2002, the Pillar SHARE Award was founded to recognize companies whose employees best exemplify the ideals of Medical Mutual’s own employee S.H.A.R.E. committee.

S.H.A.R.E. stands for Serve, Help, Aid, Reach and Educate and is the heart and soul of Medical Mutual’s charitable giving effort. Each year, this committee, made up of Medical Mutual employee volunteers, helps coordinate more than two-dozen community events involving nearly half of the company’s 2,600 employees.

On behalf of Medical Mutual and our Pillar Award co-founding partner, SBN, we are proud to present these annual awards for community service for the 13th consecutive year.

Congratulations!

Rick Chiricosta is the president and CEO of Medical Mutual of Ohio.