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HONORED: Jim Piscopo, CEO and executive
director of Bridging AZ Furniture Bank, with his wife, Donna, accepts
the award for nonprofit at the 22nd annual Sterling Awards held at The
Phoenician resort.
Scottsdale Chamber honors top businesses
Donna Hogan, Tribune
a medical practice
and a high-risk insurance company are the top businesses of the year,
according to the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce.
And a local couple who sold their home and used the proceeds to start a
furniture bank for people in need was honored as the nonprofit of the
year by the city’s business leaders.
“These are people who operate on a shoestring and still enrich lives,”
said Debbie Gaby, master of ceremonies at the Sterling Awards ceremony
at The Phoenician resort in east Phoenix on Thursday.
The Scottsdale business group annually honors a small, medium and large
company and a nonprofit for their business success and their commitment
to the community, said Rick Kidder, chamber president.
“It’s about business excellence and also about an organization’s culture
and how employees feel about (the company),” he said. “They have to be a
part of the fabric of a community. Some companies are ‘in’ a place but
not ‘of’ it. These are companies that are ‘of’ the place. They are the
best of the best.”
The awards are especially prestigious because the winners are determined
by a panel of their peers, Kidder said.
Annual
Sterling Award winners are:
• Microbusiness with six or fewer employees: Souvia Tea, a
European-style shop selling premium loose-leaf teas and herbals that can
be prepared at home or in the store, plus pots and cups for a special
tea experience.
• Small business with seven to 99 employees: LifeScape Medical
Associates, an innovative, comprehensive care medical center with
state-of-the-art technology but a patient-focused orientation.
• Big business with 100-plus employees: Nautilus Insurance Group “writes
insurance for those who can’t get coverage,” said CEO Tom Kuzma. The
company employs more than 270 at its 109,000-square-foot Scottsdale
campus.
• Nonprofit: Bridging AZ Furniture Bank supports more than 30 social
service agencies, helping victims of domestic abuse, people
transitioning from homeless shelters and those with health issues or
recovering from addiction furnish bare living quarters. Founders Jim and
Donna Piscopo sold their home to set up the furniture bank. |
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