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(Photo credit to Leadership Lorain County)

On May 17, 2017 our vice President and Co-Founder was awarded the 2017 Jeptha Carrell Award for Outstanding Leadership. This award was chosen by his fellow Leadership Lorain County Best class of 2017 classmates. The class is tasked with selecting a member of their class that they feel best meets the following criteria:

  • Vision
  • Strength of character
  • Respected by his/her classmates and others
  • Shown enthusiasm, passion, and dedication
  • Put service above self
  • Committed to excellence

As his wife and business partner, I can honestly say that Justis meets all of these criteria. My favorite one, and the one that we base our business philosophy on, is service above self. Justis exemplifies this in not only his professional life, but his personal life as well.

When I came up with my crazy idea to start a business and the even crazier idea that we’d use the business to generate capital for us to donate, Justis did not question it. He simply smiled and said that he loved the idea. He sees the worth in serving others in whatever way possible. We are blessed that we have a hodgepodge of skills that allow us to earn money that we are then able to donate back into the organizations that have made us what we are. Justis is my constant reminder that what we do is worth it because we are serving others.

During his Leadership Lorain County experience, Justis was also the co-captain of a group that built a new storage shed for the Blessing House in Elyria, Ohio. The Blessing House is a crisis care center for children to go to when their parents are dealing with issues such as domestic abuse or hospitalization. Throughout his work on this project I witnessed Justis put service above self and also show his passion for helping others.

Congratulations, Justis on this incredible award!