Callaway Golf Company (NYSE:ELY) was named the winner of
the 2006 Better Business Bureau International Torch Award for
Marketplace Ethics, topping a field of more than 1,000 international
businesses, all of which had been honored as winners of local 2006 BBB
Torch Awards. The announcement came Monday at the BBB's official award
ceremony in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Callaway Golf prevailed in the largest division, Category 1, for
businesses with 1,000 or more employees. Last fall the Company won top
honors in the San Diego Better Business Bureau's (BBB) 2005 Torch
Award for Marketplace Ethics for the third time in five years, and was
among the finalists in the international competition.
"On behalf of our 3,500 worldwide employees, I want to thank the
Better Business Bureau for recognizing Callaway Golf's ongoing
commitment to ethical business practices in the marketplace," said
George Fellows, President and CEO of Callaway Golf. "We are extremely
proud to receive this award for a number of reasons. It is a tribute
to the way Callaway Golf employees conduct themselves in relationships
with our customers and consumers and it is evidence that the ethical
principles Ely Callaway insisted upon when he started Callaway Golf
nearly 25 years ago have endured to this day throughout the culture of
the Company he created."
Presented annually since 1996, the BBB International Torch Award
recognizes the long-term value of honest and honorable business
practices. The finalists for the 2006 International Torch Award came
from the more than 1,000 businesses honored in local Torch Award
competitions, which were narrowed to the 100 that qualified for entry
at the international level.
"Callaway Golf enjoys a superb reputation for integrity, and can
certainly say that it does well by doing right by its customers,
employees, and business and community partners," said Steven Cole,
president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. "Since
the establishment of the BBB International Torch Award for marketplace
ethics in 1996, only 41 companies have ever earned the honor. This
year we are proud to have Callaway Golf join our winners' circle."
All finalists for the International Torch Award were selected by
an independent panel of business ethics experts. Companies are
evaluated against criteria including commitment to and demonstration
of ethical practices in the marketplace; high standard of behavior
toward customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and communities;
truthfulness and accuracy of advertising and sales practices; ethical
reputation among industry peers and communities in which they do
business; and training and communications programs to assist employees
in carrying out established ethics policies.
Through an unwavering commitment to innovation, Callaway Golf
creates products and services designed to make every golfer a better
golfer. Callaway Golf Company manufactures and sells golf clubs and
golf balls, and sells golf accessories, under the Callaway Golf(R),
Top-Flite(R), Odyssey(R) and Ben Hogan(R) brands. For more information
visit www.callawaygolf.com.
