The Better Business Bureau Institute for Marketplace Trust announced the winners of the 2020 International Torch Awards for Ethics, which includes local company Walden Security as the winner of the large business category.
This competition is global across all BBB’s in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The ITAE recognizes businesses for their outstanding commitment to leadership character, social responsibility and high standards of organizational ethics that benefit their customers, employees and communities.
Walden Security is the first company in the State of Tennessee to receive this award.
“We are so proud of Walden Security, for demonstrating superior character on a daily basis, and consistently exceeding marketplace standards for ethics in their relationships with its customers, employees, industry peers and the community in which they do business,” said Jim Winsett, president, BBB serving Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia.
The company’s motto—Setting the Standard by Setting the Example—is the benchmark upon which Walden Security was founded 30 years ago and their measure for providing industry-leading security, officials said.
“Integrity has always been at the center of our mission and model for supplying security services to businesses and government entities around the country,” Walden Security President Michael S. Walden said. “It is an honor to be recognized for our ongoing dedication to ethics, both locally and internationally, and we thank the BBB for enforcing their own standard for business ethics throughout North America.”
Officials said, "Walden Security was established with the purpose to provide security services to companies and organizations and support the overall safety of their communities. Started in 1990, the company grown to be the seventh largest contract security services firm in the nation. The company has stringent screening and selection processes in place to recruit and retain the best in the industry. It boasts a low annual employee turnover rate of 32 percent. The company attributes this to their competitive wages, generous benefits package, and a company culture that values the contributions of its security officers. Once a member of the Walden Security family, employees are recognized and rewarded through various means, including personal letters from the president, cash bonuses and challenge coins, a U.S. military tradition. Training is a large component of what the company does. All branch and corporate staff, from receptionists to executives, gather at Walden Security’s Chattanooga-based headquarters for The Walden Way, an award-winning, three-day immersive program where leaders from various departments conduct instructor-led training sessions. Each year, the company contributes to more than 40 nonprofit organizations through community service and fiscal donations. Walden Security has earned significant award recognition for investing in its employees, community leadership and certifications."
Walden Security also received the BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics from BBB serving Southeast Tennessee & Northwest Georgia in both 1997 and 2020.
Additional award winners of this year International Torch Awards for Ethics are:
• Quality Controlled Manufacturing, Inc., Santee, CA
• Black Plumbing, Abilene, TX
• Golden Openings, Urbandale, IA
“This award makes a powerful statement about the commitment of companies to maintain strong relationships with their employees, and the emphasis they place on exceptional customer service,” said Melissa Trumpower, executive director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust. “By recognizing the exemplary commitment of this select group today, we encourage all businesses and leaders to follow the examples set by our honorees.”