Heart of Business Award Nominees

Just submitted two people into The 2009 Heart of Business Awards, hosted by the Phoenix Business Journal & HandsOn Greater Phoenix.   One was a work-related entry and the other a guy I work with.  But, not just any guy, my boss Al Maag.

As they say on the Call for Entries, “volunteerism is a key component to many companies’ philanthropic and community affairs programs. Metro Phoenix companies are using a growing number of methods to support, encourage, coordinate and facilitate the volunteer efforts of their employees. Please join us in recognizing those making a difference in our community by nominating the helping hands in our community.”

Ok. Great idea.  Think I will do so.

My first entry was to nominate Priscilla Kadi, the woman who runs the Avnet Cares Governing Board.  Her leadership has really helped this start-up Board accomplish some great things, incredible for an infant organization.  And, in the true spirit of volunteerism, she is doing this on top of an incredibly busy “day job.”

Now Al, that’s another story completely.  Yes, Al has accomplished some great things in the field of community relations here at Avnet.  And, yes, his leadership and vision have helped those of us doing community outreach work to create internationally award winning programs.  But, that’s not why I nominated Al.

I nominated Al because he is a great guy with a heart of gold.  His volunteer spirit is so much bigger than just the work he does within Avnet.  Don’t want to talk too much about the entry but suffice it to say that after I hit the send button on his application, I felt tired.  Really, really tired.  Just reading about all the stuff he’s done in the past year was exhausting.  How he found the energy to do all that stuff is beyond me!

So, for those of you looking for the inspiration to do just one more thing for your neighbors in need, stay tuned.  Read about Priscilla, Al and the hundreds of other worthy applicants who are part of the Heart of Business Awards in the November 13 issue of the Business Journal.  Or better yet, attend the awards reception on November 10.

Read more about it online.